Stop Podcasting Yourself 155

This afternoon I listened to the latest Stop Podcasting Yourself episode while walking the dogs through the trails and by the river as light rain fell. I've only listened to the last few episodes (there's one episode a week), and this one was my favourite by far. Why wasn't I turned on to this podcast earlier? Whyyyy?! One of the hosts is Graham Clark - Biscotti and I have seen him do standup comedy a few times around Vancouver. He was featured on the NBC show "Last Comic Standing". He's funny. I don't know who Dave Shumka is, but he's funny too.

Click here for this week's episode featuring Alicia Tobin.

No, really, it's small

When I first started running regularly, I was slow and unconfident. Okay, I wasn't that slow, but I was unconfident. On the trails in Pacific Spirit Park, whenever I was gaining on another runner I would slow my pace. I knew that at any time my body could reach its limit and say, "it's stopping time", and I didn't want that to happen right after passing a runner. "Hey! Look at me! You so slow and me so fast! Look at me pass you with ease! Wheeeeee! Oh, my bad. After you..."

This continued after our move and as I began running the local trails. Now though, my endurance has picked up considerably, along with my confidence, and I now have no qualms about gaining on and passing other runners. Let them look at my small ass as it gets even smaller off in the distance.

Small ass?, you ask. Yes, I answer.

Having said all that, today was an exercise in perseverance. I haven't run much lately because I've been working more than usual and the weather's been lousy and in the past week I've been fighting a battle against illness (which is now at a standstill at sorethroat hill). My pace today was sooooo slow. Fortunately it was midday on a weekday and just three days before Christmas day, so the trails were nearly vacant 'cept for me and the doggies. So, yeah, I've been feeling like crap, but keeping up the regular running would do me a world of good, so make sure I keep it up, okay? Thanks.

To be fair (to me), it *has* started raining

Sleepy. Want to take the dogs for a snowy walk. Sleepy. Want to take the dogs for a snowy walk. Sleepy. Want to take the dogs for a snowy walk. Sleepy. Want to take the dogs for- zzzzzzzzzzz

It's so pretty and white outside, and it's mid-afternoon with plenty of daylight left, but working overnights this week has me in rest mode right now. A power nap is where it's at. The weather forecast is for rain and warmer temperatures, so after the final two overnights the snow will likely be all gone. Not cool.

Longest run since May 2008

10-kilometre run. With doggies. Pouring rain. Total joy. 49:49.

More running

I've been running more lately. Running more and doing more post-run exercies/stretching than I used to. My regular running routine, when at its most regular, would be every second day. Recently, though, I wondered why I didn't run every day. After all, if the dude from a post in mid-January can run a marathon a day for five straight days, then take two days off, then run a marathon for five straight days, and keep up that routine for a full year, then surely I can run for approximately an hour every day.

Well, I'm not quite there yet. I did run two days in a row, but then took a day off and simply walked the dogs. Then I ran two days in a row, and today would be le troisième jour, mais I'm feeling like it's going to be another walking day. I'm sure that I'll be doing three days in a row soon enough, then four, then five, then six, and so on. But hey, even my body needs to be conditioned.

Marathon Quest 250

Even after taking into account my lack of posts lately, I'm surprised I haven't posted about this yet. Especially considering it is running related. Martin Parnell of Alberta is running 250 marathons in 2010. He'll do a marathon a day for five consecutive days, and then take two days off, and repeat that 50 times. (Well, the 50th time will end with more than two days off, I'm sure.)

From the Marathon Quest 250 homepage:

Martin Parnell will attempt to run 250 marathons in 2010. His goal is to raise $250,000 for Right To Play.

Right To Play is an humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace with children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world.

Right To Play also works in Canadian communities to inspire children and support their right to grow and learn through physical activity. More than 4,500 schools in Canada use the Right To Play program.

To raise $250,000, Martin will run all 250 marathons between January 1st and December 31st 2010. He'll cover a distance of 10,550km or 6550miles, which is approximately the same distance as a run from Cochrane to Boston then west through the US to Vancouver and back to Cochrane.

Visit the site to see a video introduction, and then keep checking back to follow his progress. I encourage you to consider making a donation to Right To Play through his site. Today Parnell did his 13th marathon of the year; in -7C weather his time was 5 hours, 56 minutes, 33 seconds. Ha - that's nothing compared to my run of 49 minutes, 59 seconds in 12C weather.

Today's run time

I went for a run today, but today's post title is only Today's run time, not the usual Today's run route and time. Why? Because my runs are usually going to be the same route, and I'm tired of copying and pasting the route from previous posts. So from now on I'm only going to post the route if it's significantly different from the usual. Plus, I'm going to be posting more non-running stuff and can just post a one-liner run-time at the end of the posts. Today I felt like crap - felt as though each leg weighed 300lbs. But I fought through it and felt great at the end. Yay me.

Today's run time: 50 minutes, 5 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
50 minutes 57 seconds

A wet run is great fun. The dogs didn't notice any of the many herons.

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
52 minutes 48 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
From our front door, run south on the Trans Canada Trail in Coquitlam River Park, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, turn around at David Ave, retrace route in reverse to our front door.

Today's run time
51 minutes 4 seconds

Today's run route and time

Today's run route
In Coquitlam River Park, start near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave, south on the Trans Canada Trail, left to cross the pedestrian bridge near Patricia Ave, left to go north along the Trans Canada Trail / Coquitlam River, go about ten minutes before turning around*, run south along the trail, turn around near Lougheed Hwy, cross the pedestrian bridge near Patrica Ave, right to go north along the Trans Canada Trail/Coquitlam River, end near Gabriola Dr and Cortes Ave.
Today's run time
48 minutes 03 seconds

* The turn around was due to several people in different spots along the river telling me that a bear was a little farther north on the trail. I am fairly certain the bear wouldn't have been a threat, but I didn't want my off-leash dogs to provoke it.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

05:44 - Wake up.
06:12 - Leave the house, and put gear and dogs in Tracker.
06:38 - Take Cypress exit off the highway; learn that the road up is closed until 07:00. D'oh.
07:01 - Stop at Cypress road viewpoint to take pictures.
07:20 - Begin snowshoeing.
08:23 - Reach the peak! There's no wind and it's sunny and clear. Nobody else around.
09:26 - While descending, see first person since Cypress road viewpoint.
09:55 - Return to car.
10:34 - Pull into carport at home.

A week later - upload 97 photos and 3 videos to a flickr set.

Here's one pic. Click it to enlarge it.

A Dog's Mysterious Prompting

As Biscotti and I snowshoed towards Hollyburn Peak on Wednesday, the behavior of our dogs reminded me of a specific passage from Jack London's "To Build a Fire". The short story is about a man, new to the land and experiencing his first winter, walking a Yukon trail with his dog in conditions colder than fifty degrees below zero.

Our outing, while not in the neighborhood of fifty degrees below zero, had similarities to this paragraph:

In the course of the next two hours he came upon several similar traps. Usually the snow above the hidden pools had a sunken, candied appearance that advertised the danger. Once again, however, he had a close call; and once, suspecting danger, he compelled the dog to go on in front. The dog did not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward, and then it went quickly across the white, unbroken surface. Suddenly it broke through, floundered to one side, and got away to firmer footing. It had wet its forefeet and legs, and almost immediately the water that clung to it turned to ice. It made quick efforts to lick the ice off its legs, then dropped down in the snow and began the to bite out the ice that had formed between the toes. This was a matter of instinct. To permit the ice to remain would mean sore feet. It did not know this. It merely obeyed the mysterious prompting that arose from the deep crypts of its being. But the man knew, having achieved a judgment on the subject, and he removed the mitten from his right hand and helped to tear out the ice particles. He did not expose his fingers more than a minute, and was astonished at the swift numbness that smote them. It certainly was cold. He pulled on the mitten hastily, and beat the hand savagely across his chest.

Recent craigslist Best-Ofs

After unsuccessfully perusing craigslist for a chair that fit certain parameters, I browsed the best-of-craigslist section for a few minutes. In the rough I found some diamonds. Here are links to three diamonds, with one local entry:

• Note to the dogs
• F#%k you CHORES
• from your pizza delivery girl