And The Oscar Goes To…

A few years ago I wrote a post about the Oscars, specifically about the sausage arms that were seen on the red carpet. And although the trend was still popular this year, it was not for one Miss Cameron Diaz. Check out the winner in the category “Pipes Of Steel”!

I have always said that squats and lunges are your friends. And you should be eating and sleeping them if you are about to walk the red carpet, but come on, leave them at the gym Angelina.

Awkward. Poor Brad.

Friday Yoga

Way back when, Friday lunch hours were usually spent with a couple of co-workers at the Cactus Club sipping a Belini and eating a zone salad (I now reserve that special place for Sunday lunches.  The zone salad is no longer on the menu so I have moved to the rocket salad, dressing on the side, and since swearing off brain freeze drinks one New Year’s day while sitting on a deck somewhere in Huntington Beach, I was forced to look elsewhere on the menu and that’s how I met Kim.  True story.).  Since trading the corporate world and tailored business suits for motherhood and Lululemon, I now spend my Friday lunch hour with the other Kim in my life, Kim my yoga instructor.

I look forward to Friday yoga all week.  I wouldn’t say that I am particularly good at it, but I do take it pretty seriously because for 45 minutes once per week I can get out of my head.  My mind is clear and I am calm and relaaaaaaxed, so relaxed that I almost always fall asleep during shavasana  and enjoy the rest of my  afternoon walking around in a yoga fog.  My muscles also benefit from my yoga, my incredibly tight hip flexors, calves, hamstrings, quads, ok my entire body always feels well stretched as I head into Saturday which is my long run day.  And when I miss my Friday ritual, my body knows it and it just isn’t the same when I try to practice on my own.

Today I brought Team Boston with me.  The class is always very full so I arrived early and laid mats out for us, and when I looked around, I did not see Kim, instead I saw a stranger at the front of the class, it was a sub.  One of the other regulars must have seen the panic on my face, because she made a point of telling me right away that Leo was very good and I would really enjoy his class.

Team Boston arrived and I let them know that my Kim wouldn’t be teaching today, and that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, they didn’t seem to worry.  I guess I am a bit of a creature of habit because I started to get a little anxious when Leo asked us to change the placement of our mats from horizontal to vertical.  Would I be able to see?  I have never done yoga this way….ok, get over yourself it is only a mat.

The beginning of Kim’s class always starts with 5 minutes of breathing exercises which I have grown to enjoy, especially since my mind is usually full of random thoughts, that first 5 minutes really settles me down and Kim’s voice is so soothing.  Leo did not start us here, instead we started in child’s pose, again I am a creature of habit….we moved from child’s pose into angry cat/camel and back into child’s pose…oh, I do like this.  The rest of class was a combination of things that I had done before but not necessarily in the order that I was used to doing them in.  Lots of chest opening and back extensions, which was something that I really needed after pulling a muscle in my lower back yesterday from sneezing.  Oh, I am getting old, I guess reading glasses are next.  The best part, Leo’s shavasana was longer than Kim’s, by a good 3 minutes! And although I didn’t fall asleep I really did feel rested.

So Kim, on the off chance that you are reading this, it wasn’t your class, but Leo did your timeslot justice and if he were ever to sub your class again I would not hesitate to tell those around me that he was a fantastic instructor.

Namaste.

Fat And Rainy Tuesday

Sometimes I wonder why I run.  Oh, I love to run, but I hate being cold and wet (and yet I still live on the West Coast).  Add hungry to the mix and I turn into a raving lunatic, I would so not make it on Survivor.  Just as a quick left turn, why do they not wear rain jackets instead of blazers and flouncy sweaters when they are being dropped off on the island? (Not to mention properly fitted undergarments, the image of Phillip and his saggy raspberry y-fronts is burned in my brain forever, ew.)  You know that you will be spending the next 39 days in monsoon season (and in your underwear), I’m just saying.

Anyway, when I was getting ready for my run this morning I couldn’t help but be a bit whiney.  I received a text on my way to the trail that said “I am jealous of you hot tubbing”.  I followed this up with an immediate phone call to set the situation straight, and when the handsome voice on the other end said “good morning” I in a snappy voice said “you know what I have to run through in order to get to the hot tub”.  I know Tuesday mornings suck, poor me.

The hardest step was the first one out of the car.  Conny was already in the parking lot, soaked, and there was no putting off the inevitable.

There is a big difference in 2-degree rain and 5-degree rain.  Both are equally as wet but one not quite as cold and miserable as the other; the difference between Saturday morning and today.  So when I dressed this morning for a mild 5 degree run I dressed using my add 10 degrees rule, and dressed as I would for 15 degrees, and that is almost t-shirt and shorts weather (I did not go with shorts this morning purely because of the rain/chafe factor, poor Soraiya).

Surprisingly after my Saturday morning long run on the dykes and my Sunday morning run for bacon (really I did, I ran to the store bought bacon and ran home with it in my pack, thank goodness we had plenty of eggs) my legs didn’t feel nearly as fatigued as I thought they would and I had a really great run.  And yes, the end reward was fabulous, homemade bagels (thanks Sharon) and coffee in the hot tub.  I know Tuesday mornings suck.

Running Tips for the Approaching Race Season

Article post: 5km tours

As the weather begins to break and race season approaches, it’s time to make that transition from the treadmill back to outdoor training.  Whether you’re training for a 5K, Half Marathon, or Marathon, being prepared for the training season will help you get off to a smooth start.  Following you will find a few excellent running tips from our expert contributor on what to do to prepare for the longer runs ahead.

Running Tips for Getting Out of the Gym and Onto the Pavement

Keep your gym shoes for the gym and invest in a professionally fit pair of running shoes.

Start the running season off with a fresh start and keep track of your miles, runners should be good for 3-6 months depending on your stature and running frequency. Many hip, knee and ankle issues can be resolved with new runners and by keeping your shoes sport specific will give them a longer life.

Start off slow.

The transition from treadmill to road is not always seamless. The road does not move, and your body will need to adjust to that. When you are ready to add mileage do so by adding no more than 10% a week to your long run. Remember that a run should consist of 2-3 short runs where you can work on speed, hills and tempo and 1 long run where you accumulate time and distance.

Just because it is nice outside, don’t forget to cross train.

As a runner there are many benefits to cross training which include; improvement of cardiovascular fitness, helping maintain muscle balance and reducing the chance of injury. Try a non impact form of cardio cross training such as taking a spin class or pool running, strength train your entire body, core train and don’t forget to stretch, stretch, stretch.

Celebrate the nice weather and freshen up your running attire.

Buy a new running top and new socks. Don’t forget to replace your sunscreen and update your running playlist!

Keri Cawthorne, Owner, Iron Mountain Movement

Read entire article

Another Memorable Run

Ask most runners and they will tell you that running on the dykes of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows feels like punishment.  It isn’t really, honest.   From a training point of view it does have a purpose believe it or not, and it is for recovery.  And the dykes are fla-a-t.  I think that there may only be a 16 meter elevation gain/loss over the entire 21km and that is only if you decide to split off the trail for 30 seconds, so for all intents and purposes it could be a pancake flat 21km.

So what they are flat, BFD, but the dykes are also exposed.  Any element, I mean any, sun, rain, wind and you feel it times 100 out there. So when the rain and wind woke me early this morning I wanted to curl up into the fetal position and cry.

I would like to give huge kudos to the ½ Marathon and Intermediate running group that slogged some serious miles in the sideways rain, puddles and all around miserableness this morning.  Really, I wouldn’t have blamed you at all if you had hit the snooze button instead.  I wish that I had pictures for you but I was a bit concerned that my phone would become completely water logged (again) and my hands were just too cold and numb so you are just going to have to take my word for it.

Heavy Medal

When it comes to a race souvenir, I will take a medal over a shirt any day. To be honest I never wear the shirts, they are usually ill fitting and an ugly colour, did you see this year’s big bird yellow First Half shirt? But a medal, ahh a medal is forever (even better when it is a placement medal)!

Last year I completed two races in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series, Seattle and Las Vegas. Now when you complete two or more of these races in a calendar year you qualify for the Heavy Medals, ooooo. According to their website no application is required and within 8 to 10 weeks of your qualifying event you will receive your Heavy Medal in the mail.  And yes, you can qualify for multiple medals.

Look what I received in the mail today 9 1/2 weeks after completing my qualifying event…

Congratulations 2012 Vancouver First Half 1/2 Marathoners!

Yesterday I headed downtown and joined Bev, Cheryl and Elizabeth to cheer in some of our run family as they finished the 2012 Vancouver First Half 1/2 Marathon.

Big congratulations to everyone who ran and a huge shout out to Connie H and Jim W on their PB’s (my apologies to Jim, you came in so fast I didn’t have my camera ready)!

Here are a couple of pics from the sidelines…

A ‘Lil Rant

It’s been a while since I have had a blog rant.  Here it comes…what is so hard about putting your garbage in the garbage?  Especially when the garbage receptacle is within arms reach, really.

I teach several classes a week at the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre.  Parking is free for the first hour at the adjacent lot or in the underground parkade, but you need to get a parking ticket to do so.  Granted the line-ups can be long, but it takes less than 30 seconds per person to enter your stall number and have your ticket printed.  When the ticket prints it comes out of the bottom of the machine, the idea being that you take it with you as proof of payment or as proof of your free 60 minutes as it is date stamped.  I know that 15 seconds from the time one has entered in their stall number until the time that one’s ticket has been printed can be a long time to wait for some, I know you are very busy lazy.  What tends to happen is that the ticket comes out of the machine and with no one there to receive it, the ticket flutters from the machine and to the floor. Times that by the other busy lazy people frequenting the facility over the course of an hour or day, and it grows to be a nasty pile of garbage within arms reach of a garbage can.  As my daughter would say “what is wrong with you?”

So today I taught a lunch hour class at the Leisure Centre.  I parked my car and made my way over to the ticket machine.  There were a few people ahead of me so I repeated my stall number over and over again in my mind, because there is nothing worse than when it is finally your turn and you forget which stall you parked in.  It was my turn, but the lady ahead of me forgot (or so I thought) her ticket.  Naturally I pulled it from the machine and handed it to her, it was her ticket.

Me “Oh, you forgot you ticket.”

Her “No, I don’t need it.”

Me “Ok, well I guess I will put it in the garbage for you.”

Her “You don’t need to, I just leave it there (pointing to the ground), everyone else does.  Is this your first time here?”

She promptly exited the area.

Breathe Keri, breathe!  Calm, blue waters.  I counted to ten and prayed out loud that she was coming to my class, today was Tabata (sadly she was not, Christine, I hope that you kicked her sorry ass).

In answer to your question orange-leathery lady with the over-sized blingy gym purse, NO, this is not my first time here.  And no, everyone else does not do that.  The person before you didn’t, the person after you didn’t, and those behind me who watched my head almost explode didn’t.  The twenty people in my class may or may not have done it before, but after my class I can assure you that they will never do it again!

I know that getting bent out of shape about a 2” x 3 ½ “ piece of paper may come across a little ridiculous, but for me it is really about the blatant disregard and lack of respect that some have for community.  Could you imagine if we all had orange-leathery lady’s attitude?  Put your fucking (sorry Mum and Nadine)  garbage in the garbage can!

After 8 rounds of tabata, I let it go, I was not about to let ‘garbage’ ruin my day, especially because I am going to be an Aunt.  But look what I passed and cleaned up when I returned to my car.

Reclaiming My Trail

When something significant happens in your life, where you were and what you were doing is etched in your mind forever. I am also like that with issues pertaining to running.

I can tell you the exact rock that I stepped on last Thanksgiving when I rolled my ankle, the root that I tripped over and had my epic superman recovery, I could never forget Conny’s near death experience bridge or the exact location where I knew that my Seattle marathon training was over. And each time I pass said spot, I can’t help but acknowledge it, even if it’s only in my mind.

My most recent place of injury is different. It is a particularly lovely section of trail, with a spectacular view, a place that I want to continue to enjoy without the reminder of the incident.

So this morning I returned to the scene. I took a moment, had a few words with it and then reclaimed my trail.

Cold Legs, Warm Hands, Big Heart

This weekend’s road trip to Penticton could not have been more perfectly timed. You know when you just need to get away?

I always say that the best way to see a new city is to go for a run and on Saturday morning that is what I did. I also needed to log 100 minutes on the road for my upcoming ½ marathon and after the debauchery of last week’s run, the thought of pounding the pavement for 17 or so km’s, just me and my nano, made me giddy!

There is something so peaceful in an early morning run; first light, the world still sleeping, and knowing that once you are done you still have the whole day ahead of you. As I left my dark room, my fam still tucked away in their beds, my peaceful-easy mindset was hit with sub zero temperatures as I opened the front door. HOLY CRAP IT WAS COLD! I had checked the weather before I had left, low of 0, high of 7, I packed shorts, what was I thinking?

Sometimes I do things just because I can (even more so if you tell me I can’t), it’s part of my charm. And although my warm bed was calling me back, Flo-rida and his good feeling were beckoning me out into the cold. I had my gloves so at least my hands would be warm, it really wasn’t much of a decision, I followed the music.

I ran from Okanagan Lake to Skaha Lake and back again, added a little out and back along the lakefront and it was fantastic. By the time I returned to the hotel, my legs had gone from pink to red, my face was so cold that I had that fresh from the dentist feeling…the one after you have a filling and your mouth is frozen and you drool when you talk. I’m not sure if a non-runner would get this, but this is one of the many reasons why I run, just because I can.

The rest of the weekend was equally fantastic, great hockey, fine Okanagan wine and good food, just what the doctor ordered.