Running out of the Passage

This past Friday my husband and I decided to take the day off work to celebrate our anniversary. To me that meant an opportunity to get a long run in before we spent the rest of the day together. So, after sleeping into 6:30 (hey, I've got a 2 year old) I got up and decided to "just go" and run until I hit 20km. So, off I went, down Cow Bay Road, following the stream of cars on their way to work. The Passage was still in its early morning quiet mode-even with the traffic lined up at the Tim Hortons for coffee. It was so nice just to get into my own head running along the shore. As I went down Pleasant street I cut down to the trail the goes behind the old value Village-now Farmers Market. I was pleasantly surprised to see the graffiti artists have been busy there, creating some rather beautiful works of art. Some look straight out of a graphic novel, other look like they belong on canvas in an art gallery-really something to see! I was staring so hard at them that I nearly ran right off the trail. After that I had a steep hill to climb before passing in front of my workplace before crossing the bridge. As I ran across the bridge I noticed that I was running only slightly slower than the rush hour crawl the cars were doing. Now I was in full rush hour craziness. It definitely woke me up from the sleepy quiet of the Passage. I ran down Barrington Street, figuring that it was probably 4km to the Superstore. Not even close. As I breezed by the buildings and came to Scotia Square I still had 3km left to go, and as I reached the Superstore I still had another 2km left. So, I ran down to the waterfront, still 1km left. Some people might have just packed it in then and hopped on the ferry back home, but no, I came this far and darn it I was going to finish that entire 20km! So, up and down the streets I went working in that last 1km until I finally heard my iPod say, Congratulations you've finished your 20km run! All I could think was "thank god!" as I pressed "end workout" on my iPod.
It was a neat way to see the Passage, Dartmouth and Halifax wake up. I don't think I'd do that route every time I have 20kms to run, but if I have the time I'll try it again.

I'm having a fight with my iPod

This morning I had a tempo run planned of about 10km. I didn't want to really push the distance since my legs were tired from running the track the last two days. So I'm out, chugging along and everything seems to be going well. The friendly little voice tells me I've done 1, 2, 3, 4 kms, then just 5 more to go. Then the iPod voice seemed to disappear. I was a bit distracted by the beautiful colors the sky was making off the coast; the blue clouds with red and pink edges-just gorgeous! But still, no voice. I know I've gone more than another 2km but still my iPod reads at 6.5km with-what?! A 10 minute per km pace?! What the heck? So I stop and the stupid thing isn't even getting a decent reading of my pace. Good grief.

So I finished my run, frustrated that I appear to only have run 8km and have been out running for over an hour. My iPod has been given a "time out" for bad behaviour. I checked my distance on mapmyrun.com once I got to work-yes I wouldn't just be "zen" about it all, I needed to know how far I actually went- and it turns out I ran 12km. Grrr. Looks like I've got a date tonight with my new pal-the foam roller :-)

Fall is here!

During my last couple of morning runs I've noticed how much more chilly the air has been. This summer was far too brief in my opinion. It felt like we had one serious week of summer and then Mother Nature snapped her fingers and boom-we're in fall. I've (sadly) had to start wearing my outer shell out on my runs.
The Passage is so nice to run in during the fall, the sun makes some beautiful colors as it rises in the morning, the leaves on the trees and seeing the fishing boats trail out of the cove reminds me that most people are usually still asleep at this hour.
Recently "Qigley's Corner" has begun a kind of face-lift. My husband and I were sad to see the trees and flower bushes removed from the corner, but pleased when it was replaced with a new sidewalk and an interesting-Ode to the sea- mural that's still evolving. Our daughter loves to announce the fishies -as she calls them-when we drive or walk past.
Also our little community strip (The Sandpiper) -mall has undergone some changes. The old Movie Gallery had it's last day yesterday, madly selling everything for 80% off. The Chris Brothers next door has left as well, opening the space up for-apparently-a Valu Foods. If this is true I would be SO pleased. I know we in the Passage don't have to travel very far for groceries, but paying an arm and a leg for pop or a snack is a pain when you don't want to make the 15 minute drive.
On my morning runs I've noticed more and more people out and about. I try to make a point to say good morning to anyone I see walking or jogging. I think it's nice to know there are other people out there dragging their butts out of bed early to get up to do the same thing, and so I like to say hi to them as I pass. Sometimes I get a good morning or hello back, other times not. Usually the other runners will say hello, while I find most walkers don't. I'm not really sure why walkers don't say hello, but I just figure they're too into their workout to notice me and my cheerful little good morning as I bound past. Maybe they're just not morning people, out exercising in the morning. That would be hard.
This Friday my husband and I are taking the day off to celebrate our 7 year anniversary. I'm planning on a nice long run out to the Moose and probably Rainbow Haven beach and back. The route is really hilly but the scenery is what some people pay big vacation bucks for. Yet another reason I love living in the Passage.

A foul smelling and bug ridden morning run-but I got it done!

Yesterday Nova Scotia got slapped by a rather large hurricane (aka Big Bill). He luckily didn't make landfall, but his effect on the shoreline was dramatic. The shoreline is totally churned up and the waves still huge at low tide. I stayed inside yesterday as the storm raged on but this morning's run tempted me to go to the shore to get a look at what the storm had done. Bad idea. Today's workout called for speed segements following by easy running. So happily I went trotting down the street towards the shore when it hit me-peee-eww! The storm had caused a rather smelly after-effect, the smell from the seaweed and other foul-smelling sea life floated about a half kilometer up the road. Okay I thought, I can run through this, it's just a bit stinky.
Onward I go to the shore, passing a few other people out on the boardwalk likely doing what I am, checking out the damage. Suddenly something hits my face, yuck a black fly, (I think) and keep running, then another, then another. In a couple of minutes it was pretty much raining little black flies (the kind that noramlly live on the sand, but now they have no home so to the boardwalk they went). As I ran they flew into my mouth (so I shut that, flaring my nostrils to breathe through my speed sets), my eyes (so I shut them as much as I could and still see) and eventually my nose (which was a big problem at that point). As I ran like this I got a few curious looks from people in bus shelters, but then again they weren't running down the street either so the flies probably didn't seem that bad. I'm feeling pretty ridiculous at this point (especially since I was considering running with my hand in front of my face to block the onslaught of flies) so I went uphill away from the shore to get away from them. I cut my workout a bit short, but I still got my speed work in. Note to self; after a major storm, the shore is NOT the place to run.

Is the news getting more dumb?

Yesterday I was directed by a coworker to check out an article that was entered in our company's monthly newsletter. The headline read: Cold Water Linked to Cancer. Apparently drinking cold water after a meal will solidify "oily stuff" present in the food consumed and will lead to cancer. This absurd article had me extra sensitive to other bizarre new articles that I saw later; for example: Don't brush your hair, it may cause baldness!, and this morning's little gem; A High Fat Diet will make you Stupid and Lazy. So I've decided; if the news isn't reporting blatantly wrong information it swings to the other extreme and reports on the painfully obvious.
Has our culture become so dependant on outside sources of information that we'll buy anything these news organizations will throw out there? Has the Internet, while bringing us all closer together, also taken away our confidence in our own inner voices? Look at the diet industry for instance. Every diet out there claims to help you lose weight but all follow the same simple root principle; the fewer calories you consume the less you will weigh. I like to think the Internet has given humanity more than what it has taken, but with headlines like those above, it makes me wonder...

Beautiful morning run

I SO didn't want to get up this morning. I looked outside and saw the heavy dark clouds that are becoming too much of a fixture in the sky lately and decided to give myself 10 more minutes in bed. Surprisingly 10 minutes later I actually got back up and repeating my morning mantra-"both feet on the floor" I got up and got dressed for a morning run.
Stepping outside I was greeted with a slight breeze and a chilly mist that I knew I would appreciate later in my run. I set the Nike trainer my husband and I share and took off to see if I could run the 7km in 45 minutes. My legs felt like someone had filled them with puddy, they felt sluggish and raising my legs took a bit more effort than I thought it would. But after a kilometer they had warmed up and aside from a pesky side stitch I felt ready to dig into the run. As I ran along the road beside the shore I noticed how calm the ocean was compared to the huge fluffy clouds that were forming in the sky. I thought that maybe Mother Nature has her signals mixed up and prayed that I would make it through this run without a huge downpour.
The last leg of my run was a long stretch uphill back to my subdivision. As dozens of cars passed by I was glad that I've found a job that allows me to have such flexible hours so I can get out and have a run before work. I ran over the crest of the last hill and I saw a beautiful sight coming over the horizon-the Sun! I checked my Nike trainer and saw I had finished my 7km run in 46 minutes, not too bad considering my slow start. I ran back down to my house listening to "Running the Sahara" soundtrack imagining the sun and sand knowing I had gotten a beautiful start to my day just by going for a run.

The Mosquito Click doohickey really works!

Okay, so my husband is in medical sales. He travels all over the states to sell his company's wares at various trade shows. During a visit to Las Vegas this past spring he brought home a Mosquito Click(er). This thing looks like something you might use to punch holes in a garden for seeds, but instead it literally "zapps" your mosquito bite into submission and even takes away the swelling. I was hesitant to use it (I remember in fact telling my husband that he was crazy to use that zapper thing on his face for a bite). But after this past weekend and a run through some woods resulting in over 15 bites on my legs, I relented and decided for the sake of scratching my skin off I would try this zapper thing. Well, it works. I read the packaging to see how many times I would have to "zap" myself. I had to click about 10 times on one, really bad bite, but after about 30 seconds the urge to Itch was GONE!! Now this isn't a one-time cure. I've had to zap various bites a few times, but the results are always the same, the itch is gone.
This gadget probably isn't a good idea for anyone with a pace-maker or nerve issue-it really does give an electrical shock you can see at the bottom of the thing, but for a healthy person who spends alot of time outdoors (like us runners) this thing is total magic.

Getting back on track

I feel like these past two weeks have been a bit of a running and diet vacation for me. I have only run a total of 4 times and my diet has completly gone out the window. So, today I resolved that I would get everything back on track. I've noticed how grumpy I am when I don't follow my regular schedule and that needs to change.
I've been reading alot from Mark's Daily Apple (MDA) and trying to figure out how I can incorporate his type of lifestyle into that of an aspiring endurance athlete. These past 2 years I've been told that as an endurance runner I need alot of carbohydrates in order to run. For me that was a lisence to eat bread. Never mind carbs can come from vegetables and fruit too, my eyes were set on a nice soft loaf of white bread. Yummm. That's worked out okay and I've lost weight, but I haven't feel really strong. I know that when I ate low-carb before I had alot more energy and just felt happier overall, but a low carb diet is REALLY hard to maintain with a young child and a full time job. So, I think I've figured out that I can still have my carbs, just through more vegetables and fruit (like Grok). We'll see how this affects my running.