Weekend Plans...

It's going to be a soggy weekend here in Nova Scotia! I was hoping to get out and do some gardening - but it looks like it will be an indoor weekend! I'll still head over to our local nursery (Village Nursery) tomorrow morning for their door crasher event (hanging baskets for a ridiculously low price - and they create beautiful hanging baskets). Then, I'll have to see what I can get up to in the house...

I'm envisioning a pajama day (hmm, wonder if I should just keep them on to run up to the nursery) and perhaps a good book or two! I have lots on the TBR pile, but just haven't seemed to be in the reading mood (other than running books). I have my cross stitch project, which is not coming along very fast as I only work on it once a week. Then there's always the option of a movie-fest - perhaps Dirty Dancing followed by Mamma Mia OR I can skip over to town after the nursery (I can't go to town in my pajamas) to see if I can find Rock of Ages, which I have not seen yet because our local movie renter hasn't got it in. Oooh, I could also rent Brave - saw it on the plane back from Toronto last September and would love to see it again.

All of these plans do not take into account The Husband, who seems to have his own agenda for me on weekends. I may have to put my foot down, pull the "I ran a half marathon last weekend and worked all week" card, and/or fake being sick (kidding, kind of). I don't remember hearing anything this week about indoor projects he's thinking of tackling that would involve me! Let's keep our fingers crossed, eh?

In reality, I will probably do some spring cleaning. It's spring and I have the Move Furniture Itch! We also have company coming in a little over two weeks, so I have my list (!) and since it's going to be raining, with the hope next weekend will be nice so I can get some gardening done, I may spend a day trying to cross things off that list! But just one day. I really want to have a Yoko Ono Day!!!

What's on your weekend's agenda? Is the forecast in your area looking like it will be an indoor weekend or an outdoor weekend? Has anyone seen Rock of Ages - worth my scouring the city to find it? Whatever you get up to I hope you have an awesome weekend and I'll 'see' you Monday!

An Open Letter to Marathon Photographers...

Dear Marathon Photographers,

I am the first to admit that I am not a fast runner. And the first to admit that my running form is not pretty or graceful or perfect. But seriously, my recent half-marathon race pictures that you took make me look like I have bricks on my feet instead of running shoes! Why is it you always manage to take my pictured when both feet are on the ground? Never anything where I am airborne?

My other issue is that in every picture I am looking very serious and focused. This, I guess, is good - means that I am definitely involved in my race. But just once I'd like a picture where I am smiling and maybe even giving a thumbs up. I've looked at other runners' pictures and this seems to be a common issue, so I'd like to give you some advice:

DON'T WEAR DARK CLOTHES AND LEAN AGAINST (behind) A POWER POLE!

No one can see you! I certainly don't know you're there until I run past you and happen to see that you're holding a camera! Make your presence known - bright colors, maybe stand out on the street a little bit to distance yourself from the spectators who come out to cheer us on. Hell, you could even create some king of signage - it's not like you move around, you're there for the duration of the race! Stapled to the power pole, it could read:

SMILE, I'M TAKING YOUR PICTURE! or

SMILE, PRETEND YOU'RE HAVING FUN! or simply

SAY CHEESE!

And where are you at the beginning of the race when my legs are fresh and I may not look like I am wearing bricks for running shoes? Every photo you took of me on Sunday has me without gloves and with my earphones in - that means you took all my pictures after the 10 mile mark. Hello? I was done at mile 10! I wanted to stop, sit on the curb and possibly have a brief nap! I was not ready 'for my close-up', Mr. DeMille!!

One last request - could you possibly, next time, use a slimming lens on your camera?

Thank you. I hope to see some of my suggestions implemented on my next race day!!

Yours,

Inspiration - Music...

I don't usually listen to music when I run, just lace up the shoes and go (of course, I run along the highway and need to keep my wits about me). I do, however, use my iPod when I'm on the treadmill to make the hamster-running less tedious! But on Sunday, I took my iPod with me thinking that when I got to a certain part of the race, I may need some distraction - or at least a really good beat to keep time with as I pounded the pavement! I'm glad I did, it really helped after I got past the 10 mile mark.

JB Lynn (hey, if you're not a fan, you should be - check out her guest post and read about her Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series HERE) is also a runner. And she had a half-marathon relay this past weekend. She e-mailed to see whether or not I wanted to do "Dueling Playlists" with her. Since I did use the iPod, here we are. You can check out JB's running music choices by going over to Killer Chicks today!

My playlist for the final bit of the race:

Cotton Fields - Creedance Clearwater Revival
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
Much Too Young - Garth Brooks
Rodeo - Garth Brooks
Walk Softly on this Heart of Mine - Kentucky Headhunters
High Steppin' Daddy - Kentucky Headhunters
Picture - Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow
That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain

I'm pretty sure I didn't sing out loud - although, I  will admit that this is the first time I've been so aware of people wearing iPods and running in groups BECAUSE THEY WERE HAVING VERY LOUD CONVERSATIONS. Really, people, if you're going to run with someone and chat, leave the iPod at home!!

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain. ~ Bob Marley

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. ~ Plato

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~ Berthold Auerbach

Music melts all the separate parts of our bodies together. ~ Anais Nin

Short Post...

Short post today - thank you all for your congratulatory comments and e-mails, I really appreciate it!! As a follow-up, my legs are killing me! I did manage to do a 30 minute session on the spin bike yesterday to keep  the streak alive. I may be looking at the same thing today because I don't think I'll be able to run on these pins!

For those who are regulars here, you all know Silver James (my dear friend). She lives in Oklahoma - and is fine! But the devastation from the tornadoes that ripped through that state is horrendous. Keep those who are affected and those helping in the rescue and recovery in your thoughts and prayers.

Hug your loved ones today!

Bluenose Race Report...

The 13.1 miles (26.2K) are in the bag - the race is officially over - although I am carrying around the residue soreness of a run that long! Yesterday was Day 30 in my 50 Day Quest! A great way to log Day 30!!

A short recap - the day began at 5 am (ugh) so that we could be on the road to Halifax by 6 (I drove in with my friend Janice - thanks for the ride, Janice :). Traffic was light and we had no problems getting parked. A short walk down to the race event site, stored my bag (which I brought because I was going to be there for almost the entire day), and headed over to the start line to wish my friends Julie and Colette "Happy Running" as they both were heading off to tackle their first ever full marathon!! The 5K left shortly after, so I was able to scream and yell for Janice's start, too!

Then, some time on my hands - enough to find a bathroom, do some people watching and work my way back to the start line for my 8:45 gun time! I found Misty (another running friend) in the crowd so we stood and chatted. And, oh my, was it chilly. I wore running tights, layers and a pair of mitts! And I was still shivering!

I set my watch after careful thought as to how I wanted to run the race - I planned (!) on doing 10 and 1 intervals, but set my watch to 4:30/1 minute intervals so that when I got tired and needed to drop down to less running time, I would have my beeps to let me know! Now, you must know, I have issues with my watch on race days. This will be fourth time where, for whatever reason, I have done something wrong and thing doesn't work. This time, I managed to get it running just across the start line (it's a long way to the start line when you line up at the back of 1320 runners), BUT no intervals of any kind. It just ticked off the minutes and the miles - when I plugged it in to my computer, I didn't even have any split times - just the total distance and time! Sigh!

So, I found some people who felt like they were doing my pace AND were running intervals of 10 and 1s. I tagged along. But, after checking my timing graph when I got home, they were actually running between a 9:40 minute mile and an 11:00 minute mile. My goad? 11:30!! As usual, I went out too fast. But I felt good. I felt good right up to the 10 mile mark. The timing graph shows my 6 mile split as a personal best (1:03).  But at 10 miles, just shy of 2 hours, I knew I was done. I didn't give up, though.

I plugged in my iPod (I never run with music, but I took it in case I needed some distraction). And I shortened my running time, with more walk breaks. And I just kept going! I finished the race in 2:34:29 - 12 seconds shy of my personal best, but considering the elevation graph below, I'm very happy with my time. And my race!

I collected my medal, headed for the chocolate milk booth (love chocolate milk after my run), over to the food tables (which, because of thousands of people before me who ran the 5K and 10K were down to their last crumbs), collected my bag, found a free coffee vendor and headed upstairs to the arena's washroom and a quite corner where I could just sit (on a chair, because I knew if I sat on the floor, I may need help to get up). After a bit, I changed into dry clothes (should have brought warmer clothes) and headed down to the waterfront (um, downhill, should have given that some thought). I parked myself on Hollis street to wait for Julie and Colette (figuring they should be along as that was the 3/4 mark of the full). I timed it perfectly - about 20 minutes later  they both came into view so I was able to cheer them and give them a hug. They were doing awesome!!

Then, onward. I had a goal in mind and nothing was going to stop me. A waterfront vendor named The Battered Fish Co. for fries. I am not calling this fast food - they make your order up fresh, the fries are not sitting in a warming tray!! I asked the girl what sizes, picked the largest (which could have fed a family of three) and when I got my hot, hand-cut fries, doused them in malt vinegar, salt and ketchup, found an Adirondack chair tucked into a corner of the building in full sun and with a full view of the waterfront and proceeded to inhale those fries! THEY WERE AWESOME!!!!

I had to walk back uphill to get to the finish line to await Janice, who had been volunteering in Point Pleasant Park, and Julie and Colette. Janice found me first and we waited for the girls. They finished - I am so proud of them. They both looked strong, both upright and smiling!!! And I believe one of them is hooked on full marathons!!! After a quick hug and congratulations, Janice and I hoofed it back to her car (all the walking, I think, really helped my legs - they would have been much worse today if I hadn't  walked). We stopped for a bite to eat (Janice - I was still full from my chips, but I had a big mug of tea) and then headed home.

All in all, a great day!! The best part - the huge bucket of fries ;)

List Madness...

I am a list maker. A couple of years ago I found an old diary as I was cleaning out a drawer at my mom's - yes, I still have stuff at my mom's that I really should deal with one of these days. Anyway, it was one of my first diaries - the kind with the little lock and key. After some 30+ years, the lock mechanism had rusted, so no key was required and the thing popped open at my first touch. I enjoyed reading about my 10 year old self and discovered much hadn't changed: I was still keeping diaries and making lists.

The list on that page was pretty basic - breakfast, go to school, play with Glenda after school, do homework. Ah, the simple life :) Nowadays, my list making is a little more detailed - and, as I look around my desk, has grown to be multiple lists written on multiple pieces of paper.

Just ahead of me is my list for Sunday's run. I'll be heading in with a friend first thing in the morning (early, early) so I'll need to take a bag. My scrap piece of paper is the start of what I need to remember to put in that bag: my extra pair of glasses, money, dry clothes, iPod, dry socks (the list will continue to grow over the course of today and tomorrow). On the back of that list is my wish list for when I go into Halifax to pick up my race package. There's an expo set up with all kinds of running related stuff (I love the race expos), so I have a list of things I'd like to purchase: new Buff, lock laces, foam rollers (again, the list will grow).

To my left is a work list where I've scribbled down my new passwords to one of our vendors. I am the administrator and as such I have to go in to update people's permissions. Sometimes, someone has to re-register their computer. To do that, they have to log in as me (obviously, I don't work anywhere near where 'the office', so I can't do it myself). After they've done that, I go in and change my password. We've all been having computer issues, which means a lot of password changes. My brain is not that good to remember my new passwords, so I write them down. Also on that list is a couple of 'must do' items, again work related.

Further to the left are three pieces of paper - three more lists. One is an on-going grocery list. One is a list of blogging ideas (I forgot it was there - could have used that this week). And the other is a wish list of stuff I'd like to pick up sometime soon (written down so I don't forget). Some of those items have been transferred to my Expo Wish List, but there are others still there that I may or may not get around to purchasing: a plant pot, a new pen (purple), an outdoor rug for the front door, a cool pitcher I saw online that has a inner cylinder you could use for ice or fruit, Rock of Ages soundtrack.

These are just the lists on my desk. I also keep a notebook for work where I write down things I need to remember to do. In my basket next to my monitor, I an see four scraps of paper. I trust those are more lists, but if I lean over to pick them up, I may discover something I forgot to do since the lists have been buried under a thank you card for the past month. And then there's my day timer where I, again, have more items listed (more agenda items like oil changes, doctors' appointments, etc).

I think I have too many lists!!

How about you? Are you a list person? Do you have a method to your madness (because after writing this post, I believe I have List Madness)? And what's on your To Do list this weekend?

Reading, Writing and Running on Canada's East Coast...

I'm at a loss today for a journal entry - the only thing on mind these days is running, especially with the half marathon coming up, but even I get bored with that one-track recording so I can imagine you guys do, too!

I considered a reading post - afterall, this is 'Reading, Writing and Running on Canada's East Coast'. But I haven't been reading. No, sorry, that's not true. I have been reading - books about running! Yep, the song plays again. I have quite a few books lined up once I get over my obsession with running books - Wolf Hall by Hilery Mantel, The Dinner by Herman Koch, and Maeve Binchy's last novel: A Week in Winter. I also have a non-fiction book called The Gin and Tonic Gardener (by Janice Wells), which I'm looking forward to 'digging' into!! Maybe once I get this race over and done with!

There's no use doing a writing post - not writing. But I think my new habit to cultivate will be writing. Nothing huge - I'll follow the same guidelines I did to start my running habit - short time frame and the mindset of 'streaking'! With my running (I know, I'm going there), I'm marking my days on my calendar with a red marker. At a quick glance I can see how many days I've continued with the streak. And because I'm a little over the top, I also have a stack of pennies (poor pennies, no longer wanted or needed in Canada I felt they needed some loving) - 25 - that I count with (like an abacus - as an aside, have you ever seen someone skilled at using the abacus? Amazing). I have 4 days to prepare for my new habit.

So, reading, writing, running - East Coast! I've been doing some searching on line for my brother and sister-in-law who are coming for a visit at the end of next month (so excited). I live in an amazing place. They're going to go up to New Brunswick to take in the Hopewell Rocks Park (I blogged about it long, long ago - go HERE if you're interested in seeing the pictures and learning about this wonderful place where, when the tide is out, you can walk on the ocean floor and 6 hours later, Kayak among the rocks far above where you had just been walking - the difference between low tide and high tide: 0 ft to 40 ft). They're also going out Digby Neck to whale watch with this fabulous package - http://www.brierisland.com/ I'll take some time off work and do some day trips with them - including a trip into Halifax!

There, I managed to cover all my bases and not talk exclusively about running - yay! Happy Thursday, Everyone :)