Remembrance Day Round-Up

This is me taking a break from essay writing to bring you a selection of random thoughts on this Remembrance Day long weekend. Enjoy!

Spine woes
A few weeks ago, I experienced some serious discomfort when my neck was rendered immovable. Since then, I've been battling neck pain and headaches. Good times. I went to see my massage therapist this week and he found some weird stuff with the alignment of my spine. He suggested I visit a chiropractor - which I may do, but I thought I would try and make some "adjustments" of my own first to see if any of it helps. While the LiveStrong Foundation has been marred by Lance Armstrong's doping scandal, I found some pretty great references on their site today on spine health. Check out this article for tips on improving upper spine alignment, as well as all the links on the right-hand side of the page.

Lessons From a Marathon Not Run: From the NYT Run Well Blog
You all know my opinion on the debacle that was the NYC Marathon cancellation. This blog post from the New York Times is a practical take on what happened and a good reminder that life doesn't always work out the way we expect.  

Plug for my research project
I suspect, since you are here and reading a blog about running, that you are either a healthy person or someone who aspires to live a little bit healthier. As part of a research methods course I am taking this term, my team and I have put together a short study exploring people's eating habits and why people make the choices they do when it comes to food. If you are from the Lower Mainland, please complete our survey! It shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes, and it's interesting - I promise!

Remembrance Day
It is Remembrance Day in Canada today. While I did not attend any of the ceremonies in person, I did watch highlights on the news and made sure to fasten a poppy on my hat for today's run. Please be sure to take a moment to honour those who fought and died so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do today.

Back On The Wagon

Quickie post to report: I went for a run today! My plan is working. (Insert evil laugh here.)

I ran 5 km. The weather was gorgeous, and while my legs and lungs were kinda wondering what was going on, my arteries - and self-esteem - rejoiced.

By the way, when did fall happen out there?? Oh right ... it's been hiding behind sheets of rain. They don't call it the "wet" coast for nothing.

Rain may be inevitable, but at least I don't have
to worry about that for a couple more days.

The First Annual Christmas Canter

Admission: I have not been running. Shock! Sad face!

It's not for lack of interest. At first I genuinely believed it was a lack of time given my school schedule. But then a fellow student started training for the Seattle Marathon and he manages to do all of his weekend long runs and runs during the week - and then I feel like I'm just full of poo. 

In 2011, I didn't register for any long distance races. Not coincidentally, I barely ran at all that year. Clearly, I need a motivator. 

I did a little research on local winter races, looking for an 8 or 10 km road race, thinking that either would be a reasonable distance for general fitness and running upkeep. Sadly, I didn't find any that would work for me.

So ... now what? I can't just give up. I don't want to be stagnant for the next few months, and it's painfully obvious that I won't run if I don't have a reason.

If Santa can do it, so can I.

My solution: The Christmas Canter. It's a race I made up, just for me! It will be held on Thursday, December 20 at 9 AM. 

I've been wanting to improve my 10 km, and I think six weeks is ample time to train for that kind of distance. True, I won't have a crowd to urge me on, and there won't be a medal (or free food!) at the end - but at least it's something to work towards that will get me into my running shoes and away from my computer. And if this works the way it's supposed to, maybe I'll make it an annual event!

I'm not sure where I'm going to run this "race" just yet. I have a 10 km training loop, but the route has quite a few traffic lights, etc. Personally, I think it would be nice to have a dedicated course where I don't have to worry about that sort of thing, particularly as one of my goals is to shave off some of my time. More on this later.

What do you think about this idea? Vote on the Five by 35 poll on the home page and let me know!

Thoughts on a Race Cancellation

My apologies for being absent these past few weeks! As you probably have guessed, things have been crazy. Grad school has been keeping me very busy. My parents relocated from the prairies. And if that wasn't enough, one of the bunny rabbits got really sick. Between trips to the vet, calls to my mother and studying for mid-terms, life has been nuts.

As hectic as it's been, however, I am certain that the toils of my life pale in comparison to what happened this week on the east coast with Hurricane Sandy. I sat in front of my computer, worrying, reading updates from friends in New York. But then the storm passed and our friends were all safe. And yesterday, I saw this, the announcement from the ING NYC Marathon:

"The City of New York and New York Road Runners announce that the 2012 ING NYC Marathon has been canceled. While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of disagreement and division. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event - even one as meaningful as this - to distract attention from all the critically important work that is being done to help New York City recover from the storm. New York Road Runners will have additional information in the days ahead and we thank you for your dedication to the spirit of this race. We encourage runners who have already arrived in New York City to help with volunteer relief efforts."

The last thing I'd want to do is be overly critical of a type of decision-making situation which I have never personally experienced.  However, it's become such a big topic in the last 24 hours that I feel a need to comment.  

Source: nyrr.org

I understand that cancelling the race was certainly a challenging decision for race organizers, the New York Road Runners. But it makes a person wonder: why was this so difficult? Why claim no diversion of resources from those undertaking Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts? Seems like a false statement to me. Anyone who's ever observed or run in a road race knows that it takes manpower such as police and city crews to pull off such a large-scale event. In addition to all this, organizers waited until only two days before the event to make this decision when it was clear that many boroughs would not be supportive of the race going ahead. This resulted in many out-of-town runners being unable to cancel their plans and incurring costs which could have been avoided.

My gut reaction to all this is that organizers were wrong to have waited so long. The backlash they are receiving now is not unfounded. What makes it worse, is the way they have positioned the media as a combatant, citing: "extensive and growing media coverage antagonistic to the marathon and its participants." 

Screen shot from stridenation.com.

In this day and age of being able to continually receive feedback through social media channels, I find it hard to believe that organizers were oblivious to growing negative public sentiment to continue with the race following Hurricane Sandy. It's an unfortunate situation caused by something beyond anyone's control. It became even worse when organizers refused to listen to what people were telling them - but rather, forged on stubbornly with a frustrating kind of arrogance, even going so far as to say, "this year's marathon is dedicated to the City of New York, the victims of the hurricane, and their families."

People in New York told them to cancel, media reiterated that continuing with the race was a bad idea, and even runners around the world felt it would be wrong to go ahead. It's a shame that organizers weren't able to recognize all of this at a time when they should have been paying closer attention to what New York City really needed - not a race, not a defense to continue, but a need to come together instead of pulling people apart.

Looking Back, Thinking Back

“Don't forget what you've got.” - Lauryn Hill

Autumn in Regina
© Harry2010

My parents recently decided to sell their home on the Canadian prairies to move out west and be closer to their children and grandchildren. I spent the past few days in my home town, helping them pack and purge and tidy up some last loose ends before their big move at the end of the month.

While they have plenty to look forward to, this move is still rather emotional; they've lived in that house for more than 30 years. The neighbours have been next door for the same period of time. Mom and Dad will be leaving their community, friends, and all the activities to which they've become accustomed, for unfamiliar surroundings and a new life in British Columbia.

TransCanada Trail at Regina
© safariTT

For me, being back for what could, presumably, be the last time, was also a little difficult. I may not live there any more, but I'm still connected to it; it's where I grew up. Our house is located along the TransCanada Trail, which is where I used to ride my bicycle as a kid. I found my love of running on those paths and would spend hours roaming around, discovering the parks and playgrounds with my friends. 

As my parents' move draws ever nearer, I want to pay recognition and give thanks to growing up on the prairies. That experience forever bonded me to other prairie-dwellers, past and present. It made me the person I am, the runner I was to become, and the friend and daughter that those close to me know me as today. 

I left a decade ago, with a naïve belief that this house would always be there for me - somewhere I could always call home. But as Thomas Wolfe once wrote: "You can never go home again." It is sad that now, more than ever, this holds true. 

All that's left is this: a sincere and heartfelt farewell to my home. Thank you for everything.

The Church of Running

I recently had an epiphany. I was getting ready to go for my first run after being off sick and, for some reason, I'd paid particular attention that day to the individual elements that go into getting ready for a run - which, for me, consist mainly of the following:

• Pick out a running outfit.  
• Find my socks.
• Find my hat.
• Make sure the watch is charged up (and hopefully I remembered to do this in advance).
• Put all my clothes on, including the heart rate monitor.
• Lace up the shoes.

There was such ease in doing all of these things which were so familiar - have been so familiar for years, I never even really thought about them before. Sure, I was only out of commission for a few weeks. But amidst a time when so much change was/is going on in my life, it's so comforting to know that these things remain the same. 

And this is what I realized: 

Running is a constant. It's my comfort. My joy. Everything else could be falling apart or crumbling all around me, but I know I can always come back to running. It won't judge me. It won't scorn me. It will always take me back, even if I've been away. Those routines will always be there; they're not going anywhere. 

So, yah. It was cathartic. And in a way I really wasn't expecting. (It was pretty rad.)

My friend Jeny once told me that running provides her with a balance in her life which she never before realized she needed. I believe that's true for many people - me included. But this was something new. Something wonderful. And a nice reminder that one can find solace in even the smallest routines.

Running? What Running?

It's been a crazy few weeks. In a nutshell, this is what I've been up to:

• I wrapped up things at work before going on my educational leave. This was a surprisingly hectic task.
• I started my graduate degree program and had a small freak-out about the volume of required reading ... so I've spent a lot of time this week with my nose in many different books. 
• I've also been suffering from an extremely stubborn and irritating cough and cold. Can't seem to shake it, either. It's super annoying.

What I have not been doing, sadly, is running. I'd try, except for this small issue of being prone to unexpected and sudden coughing fits. I'm hoping this will change soon.

Rest assured, I will get back out there once my itchy throat goes away. I'm looking forward to discovering just how my new schedule and school routine affect my ability and motivation to run (and blog!). Will I have to run first thing in the morning versus in the afternoons? Will Sundays need to be reserved for group project work instead of long runs? Will the blog accidentally creep into my life as a student? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear about what you guys have been up to, as I feel this need to live vicariously through my running peeps! Did anyone do the Vancouver Triathlon last weekend? Who's running the Queen City Marathon this weekend in Regina? And what other races do you have coming up in the fall?

I go to school here. It kinda rules.
© 2008 Harbour Centre Complex Ltd.