I make it look as hard as it is.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
Training Upstream
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Falling Up
Mountain colours and speed work.
I make it look as hard as it is.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
I make it look as hard as it is.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
The End
This is me this morning at the 8:30 start of the Montreal RocknRoll Marathon. I ran the half.
With about 26,999 other runners, I relaxed a little about being so slow. The anonymity really helps.
Ironically, of course, your name is on display for all to see, alongside the corral. Mine was 12 because I lied about my estimated finish time of 2:15 when I registered. Let me put this way: I dream of a 2:15 finish, if only for my feet. My poor, bloodied toe feet. I did see some barefooters out there. I don't know how they handle it.
Still. Quite a view. My normally severe vertigo was redirected somehow.
Better than horizontal.
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
With about 26,999 other runners, I relaxed a little about being so slow. The anonymity really helps.
Ironically, of course, your name is on display for all to see, alongside the corral. Mine was 12 because I lied about my estimated finish time of 2:15 when I registered. Let me put this way: I dream of a 2:15 finish, if only for my feet. My poor, bloodied toe feet. I did see some barefooters out there. I don't know how they handle it.
Still. Quite a view. My normally severe vertigo was redirected somehow.
Better than horizontal.
-Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
Location:Montreal
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Back to the Future
When last I wrote, I was in the midst of over-compensation. You know: life's knotted up, gnarly bits doing their thing. Making sideways adventures of straight forward plans. This, I've found is usually my undoing as far as training is concerned.
As it turns out, it is my general state of being. There is such a thing as trying too hard.
...Still beats horizontal, though.
For now.
Cheers from the mountain!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
As it turns out, it is my general state of being. There is such a thing as trying too hard.
...Still beats horizontal, though.
For now.
Cheers from the mountain!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Back to Basics
Hill work.
View.
Intervals.
You know. The four letter part of running.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
View.
Intervals.
You know. The four letter part of running.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone.
Location:Montreal
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Running for Life
I haven't NOT posted in this long since I started blogging several years ago. And yes. That was a double negative. And no. I won't apologize. For better or worse.
I haven't posted mainly because Paul, my husband, life partner, best friend, soul mate, whatever you want to call him, had a heart attack at age 47. Two weeks later, he had triple bypass surgery. One week after this, he's at home, recovering like the maniacal runner he is. Running is saving and has saved his life. We're convinced.
Let's put it to you this way.
If you're reading this, you might know that I have a kind of love hate relationship with training. I started this particular blog because I wanted to focus the writing and training on a triathlon I'd signed up for last January. Well, it turned out that the race itself (last June) was a bit of a bust: the bike rental got screwed up and I couldn't do the bike part. I was devastated in the moment, but got over it pretty quickly. I was on holidays. I was in Bali and I was with Paul. Not all bad, of course.
Ten days after I returned from this vacation, Paul wasn't feeling well. In fact, he was feeling so poorly, we cancelled doing the 20k Jazz Tune Up race here in Toronto. This is bad news as we've both run races in less than winning conditions, finishing last in at least one of the races we did together. BUT, being the unqualified nonphysicians we are, we figured that he had some sort of infection, maybe even pleurisy, but only in a worst case scenario. Walking pneumonia...something like that...whatever that is. A few days later, Paul went to the doctor, who prescribed him some antacids and offhandedly gave him a proper referral to another doctor, saying "You might want to get a stress test or something."
Paul acted on the referral. Jesus.
Turns out that he'd had a heart attack within the previous 7-10 days and didn't know it. He was sent straight from that appointment late one Friday afternoon to the Emergency Room at Toronto Eastern Hospital. He was then moved to St. Michael's Hospital. Within two weeks, he would have the bypass procedure, not totally uncommon for someone his age, but pretty surprising to everyone we encountered. First question to him: Do you smoke cigarettes. We saw all kinds of people in the ER and later in the ward and post op who struggle with this addiction. As a former smoker, I understand their predicament. Thankfully, Paul has never smoked. He inherited his heart disease. For the record, the care was excellent and had we been in the U.S. we figure we'd owe about $200,000 for the hospitalization, emergency care, incidentals and oh yeah, the surgery itself. We'd probably have to declare bankruptcy because we don't actually own anything worth even a fraction of this that we could sell to pay a medical bill like that.
Anyway. This is a person who ran his first full marathon on a stress fracture and collapsed about 50 feet from the finish line. Didn't know the pain in his leg was being caused by this. Didn't know that what he thought was sweat was actually the marrow seeping out of his bone subcutaneously. I've heard the story a thousand times, and mercifully, fortunately and miraculously I will get to hear it a thousand more times, mixed in with the "I had a heart attack and didn't know it" story too.
I haven't posted mainly because Paul, my husband, life partner, best friend, soul mate, whatever you want to call him, had a heart attack at age 47. Two weeks later, he had triple bypass surgery. One week after this, he's at home, recovering like the maniacal runner he is. Running is saving and has saved his life. We're convinced.
Let's put it to you this way.
If you're reading this, you might know that I have a kind of love hate relationship with training. I started this particular blog because I wanted to focus the writing and training on a triathlon I'd signed up for last January. Well, it turned out that the race itself (last June) was a bit of a bust: the bike rental got screwed up and I couldn't do the bike part. I was devastated in the moment, but got over it pretty quickly. I was on holidays. I was in Bali and I was with Paul. Not all bad, of course.
Ten days after I returned from this vacation, Paul wasn't feeling well. In fact, he was feeling so poorly, we cancelled doing the 20k Jazz Tune Up race here in Toronto. This is bad news as we've both run races in less than winning conditions, finishing last in at least one of the races we did together. BUT, being the unqualified nonphysicians we are, we figured that he had some sort of infection, maybe even pleurisy, but only in a worst case scenario. Walking pneumonia...something like that...whatever that is. A few days later, Paul went to the doctor, who prescribed him some antacids and offhandedly gave him a proper referral to another doctor, saying "You might want to get a stress test or something."
Paul acted on the referral. Jesus.
Turns out that he'd had a heart attack within the previous 7-10 days and didn't know it. He was sent straight from that appointment late one Friday afternoon to the Emergency Room at Toronto Eastern Hospital. He was then moved to St. Michael's Hospital. Within two weeks, he would have the bypass procedure, not totally uncommon for someone his age, but pretty surprising to everyone we encountered. First question to him: Do you smoke cigarettes. We saw all kinds of people in the ER and later in the ward and post op who struggle with this addiction. As a former smoker, I understand their predicament. Thankfully, Paul has never smoked. He inherited his heart disease. For the record, the care was excellent and had we been in the U.S. we figure we'd owe about $200,000 for the hospitalization, emergency care, incidentals and oh yeah, the surgery itself. We'd probably have to declare bankruptcy because we don't actually own anything worth even a fraction of this that we could sell to pay a medical bill like that.
Anyway. This is a person who ran his first full marathon on a stress fracture and collapsed about 50 feet from the finish line. Didn't know the pain in his leg was being caused by this. Didn't know that what he thought was sweat was actually the marrow seeping out of his bone subcutaneously. I've heard the story a thousand times, and mercifully, fortunately and miraculously I will get to hear it a thousand more times, mixed in with the "I had a heart attack and didn't know it" story too.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Life is a Beach
I have just had the most amazing carrot ginger drink. I feel like a 1,000,000,000 rupiah, which is not that much truthfully, but still a significant amount by Indonesian standards, of course. Now I will have Gado-Gado, my second favorite Indonesian dish comprised of peanut sauce and some form of vegetable: I have not had two the same.
My first favorite is nasi campur, basically rice and a variety of side dishes, some spicy, not always identifiable.
The congestion of tourists, traffic and gamelan music has been the most consistent soundtrack to the month I have just spent here, in a stupor of various stages of adjustment. I leave in a few hours and in fact the traffic has been almost as oppressive as the various financial fiascos that have accompanied me in the journey. My small world here has been shockingly literal from the traffic to the monkeys to the bouts of illness...which started on the long haul flight between Vancouver and Taipei. I might have already blogged about how the very nice flight attendant brought me a massive plastic shopping bag when I discreetly informed her that I thought I was going to be sick. You should have seen the passengers around me.
This weird trend continued my first night in Bali, which I spent in Ubud. The aesthetically pleasing home stay was a lot less so when I realized my room faced the noise of the very busy Hanoman street.
That noise-filled first night of jet lag and fatigue met with a strong adversary in Paypal which suspended my account because, well I am not really sure why. I have sent PP three emails and have received three form letters in response. I even messaged PP because I thought that the company site had been hacked.
There are bits of beauty everywhere here, even if and despite the irritating constant drone of horn honking and engines. I never tire of this, for example:
I move forward to train some more, replace my lost i.d. and credit cards and even reset some goals. I have a 20k race in Toronto in about a week and a half marathon in Montreal in September. The triathlon was a bit of a bust and that swim saltwatered the life out of me (never again, I say now), but try I did; screw you bike rental.
My first favorite is nasi campur, basically rice and a variety of side dishes, some spicy, not always identifiable.
The congestion of tourists, traffic and gamelan music has been the most consistent soundtrack to the month I have just spent here, in a stupor of various stages of adjustment. I leave in a few hours and in fact the traffic has been almost as oppressive as the various financial fiascos that have accompanied me in the journey. My small world here has been shockingly literal from the traffic to the monkeys to the bouts of illness...which started on the long haul flight between Vancouver and Taipei. I might have already blogged about how the very nice flight attendant brought me a massive plastic shopping bag when I discreetly informed her that I thought I was going to be sick. You should have seen the passengers around me.
This weird trend continued my first night in Bali, which I spent in Ubud. The aesthetically pleasing home stay was a lot less so when I realized my room faced the noise of the very busy Hanoman street.
That noise-filled first night of jet lag and fatigue met with a strong adversary in Paypal which suspended my account because, well I am not really sure why. I have sent PP three emails and have received three form letters in response. I even messaged PP because I thought that the company site had been hacked.
There are bits of beauty everywhere here, even if and despite the irritating constant drone of horn honking and engines. I never tire of this, for example:
I move forward to train some more, replace my lost i.d. and credit cards and even reset some goals. I have a 20k race in Toronto in about a week and a half marathon in Montreal in September. The triathlon was a bit of a bust and that swim saltwatered the life out of me (never again, I say now), but try I did; screw you bike rental.
Location:Kuta Bali Indonesia
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)