Salutation Nation

Salutation Nation is an annual, international day of yoga hosted by Lululemon where people from all over the world gather to do yoga together at the same time (9-10am).  And yesterday we rolled out our mats and joined the Lululemon Coquitlam Centre community for their inaugural Salutation Nation led by the fabulous Andrew Colyn!

But what would Saturday morning be without a run?  Not Saturday.  We hit the road early and made our way to a place very near and dear to my heart, Rocky Point.  I got to ride shotgun with Smurfraiya for the journey and was educated almost immediately about the vulgarity of hamster music – shame on you! I also found out that the Jersey Shore theme song really is a song!  I hope that my Tommy is receiving copyrights.

The morning could not have been anymore lovely; the sun shone, the water was calm, lots of runners/hikers out, and all so well dressed! We ran an out and back to Old Orchard Park, nothing serious but enough to get our sweat on.

We made our way over to the Plaza at Coquitlam Centre, signed our lives away, secured a good spot for our mats, grabbed a complimentary coconut water (I have always wanted to try, but never have, turns out it’s not my thing) and ever so discreetly changed out of our sweaty running gear. It is never an easy task changing out of a sweaty sports bra into a dry sports bra, the dry one gets stuck half way up your back, there is always a lot of twisting and grunting, and that is in the privacy of a change room, try it in a car in the middle of a parking lot.

By the time we were on our mats, the sun was high in the sky it was hot!

This pose is called as Astavakrasana and as you can see from my positioning, it is absolutely not going to happen, but check out little miss Conny!

Thank you ladies, Lulu and Andrew for a wonderful morning. Namaste.

Salutation Nation Photography by Olga Kundilivski, Happy Moments

Eating On The Run

Nothing like a strategically placed water break to enjoy the scenery and indulge in the fruits of late summer!  Reason number 29 of why I run.

Tuesday

How can something hurt when you walk but not when you run? It seems to be a bit of a pattern for me lately…maybe it’s this whole aging thing, I don’t recommend it!

I met Conny bright and early this morning, left my aches and pains at the side of the road and ran one of the most fantastic loops of Hayward Lake to date. The sun was shining, the air was warm, the pace was right (except when running through the construction zone on the dam, it quickened to the point that I felt a little left behind), the trails were peaceful and the water was a degree or two above refreshing.

Ahhhhh, I love summer runs.

Today Was The Day

Summer thus far on the west coast has consisted of 3 days, 2 back to back a couple of weeks ago and last Sunday. But this morning the sun was out, the temperature was above 17 degrees and I decided that today was going to be the day.

Conny and I had made reference to this day on several occasions over the last few months, but because of the lake drawdown in June and the crappy weather in May, June and July, the remarks were really only wishful thinking. So when I arrived for our run this morning and waved my pretty pink towel at Conny, her grin was a bit hesitant but it was definitely there.

The plan was for an hour run, but today being the day (and also a work day for Conny, the poor thing), this changed everything. Our run plan was quickly amended to 25 minutes out and then back. For the second time this week I took one for the team and got the honour of breaking the spider webs (I hate the feeling of spider webs on my bare arm, I guess it’s better than in my mouth). I have a sneaky suspicion that this was all part of Conny’s plan because when we hit our turn back point, Conny took the lead…

The trail was fantastic; it really felt like summer, still a little mucky in spots, but dry for the most part and even starting to get a little overgrown. We skipped our last water break and blazed down to the floating bridge. I kid you not, before I even had chance to take my camelback off, Conny was already in! She let out a little yelp and said it was refreshing.

Conny’s and my entrance to the water completely differ, she is graceful and slips in without getting her hair wet, I on the other hand am not so graceful and need to be fully submerged. I was told that my dive today was pitiful. I hesitated once and nearly went in anyway and knowing full well that the water was refreshing, dove so shallow that it was more like a skim the top of the surface dive.

REFRESHING???? IT WAS FREAKING COLD! It was glacier water! I couldn’t catch my breath for a moment. She didn’t say it but the look on Conny’s face told me that she thought I was being a bit dramatic, whatever. At the risk of looking like a cold water wussy, I was out within a minute.

Not quite the beer commercial swim that I had in mind when I left my house this morning, but never the less the first swim of summer and the water can’t get any colder, right?

Plantar What?

Turns out that my psychosomatic plantar fasciitis wasn’t in my head after all. A few years ago one of my friends who was also suffering with this foot problem told a group of very proper ladies that she had plantar fellatio…oh yeah.  And since I have been known to order my wine (on more than one occasion) in inches rather than ounces, when I tell someone about my foot I enunciate p-l-a-n-t-a-r f-a-s-c-i-i-t-i-s very slowly and carefully.

Last week I received the official all clear to get back out on the trails and log some distance before the half (not full) marathon.

Lesson learned last week, this morning Conny and I drove to the Reservoir Trail for my final long run, and her taper run.  We were both a little disappointed in the weather, I guess after three days of sun we just expected that it wouldn’t rain this morning; on the bright side I guess we didn’t overheat.

Once again we were taunted by the ravens cawing “back fat” as we walked through the parking lot.  I shot some footage this morning for the non-believers out there, and if I can ever figure out how to get video from my phone to youtube, you will be able to hear this for yourself, because I am not crazy.

So a little out and back to the floating bridge.  Whoever designs the signs for BC Hydro, we would love to meet you.  Although sometimes a little dramatic, the poor little stick figure always seems to be on the verge of a near death experience.

We thought that this one was very Wile. E Coyote

We always manage to find something of interest on our runs. Last time we ran at Hayward Lake we found the orange jumpsuit, today we found a random hip joint.

What did you do today?

National Running Day 2011

Today was Conny’s final long run before the Seattle Marathon coincidentally (really) also National Running Day.

She was already an hour into her run when I joined her.  Our plan was to run a loop of Hayward Lake, but due to the low water levels, the instability of the floating bridge, oh and that little matter of how one side of the bridge was disconnected from the other, our plans changed.   Conny said that she would have done it if it were up to her, but the idea of shimmying down the platform on my butt, tearing my Lulus and quite possibly a hamstring and then swimming in the sess pond that was once my beautiful lake, even though “it would only be for a second” (that is Conny speaking) frankly did not appeal to me.  So 5 minutes into our loop of the lake we turned around and hit the road sans road shoes and running glasses.

Most days I would gladly take trail over road any day, but running the country roads on a beautiful spring morning that stretches into the afternoon can be kinda nice too.

What goes up, must come down, and today I am so happy to say it was without any pain, woo-hoo! Only one near death experience, no mean dogs and I think that we made a few new friends along the way as well.

We finished our run with a little cryotherapy in Conny’s creek.

Congratulations my friend, you are ready to rock again!   I am so proud of you.  I wish I could do it with you but I will be waiting to cheer you through the finish line where the celebrations will begin!

Taking Advice

Yesterday’s run could be taken right from “The Gambler”, I’ve been here a lot lately and not always running related. I just wanted to hold ‘em, but I knew I had to fold ‘em, it killed me to walk away, when all I wanted to do was run.  Why is it always so hard to take your own advice?  One pitty party, half a bag of chocolate chips, a valiant Herb Brooks speech and an aggressive 45-minute spin class later, I moved on.

Today I took Conny’s advice…retail therapy!  Conny’s advice was so much easier to take and I treated myself to a new pair of running glasses.  What do you think?

Mine are slightly different; they have vented lenses and $140 less than the Oakley glasses that I was originally looking at, so really I saved money.

Because I did the smart thing yesterday and cut my long run short, nothing hurt today, and I took my new glasses for a pain free 5km in the sun.  I should listen to myself more often.

PS – My lunch choice for today was also much smarter.

Rebuilt to Run Another Day

With six weeks to go until the Seattle Marathon, the miles are starting to add up, and so are the aches and pains.  To be quite honest I didn’t think that I would be able to do my long run this morning, but after being poked and prodded by my friend Daryl and a fantastic taping job by Norm, I was given a cautionary all clear to run.

This was my first taping experience so I watched and learned.  Norm sprayed my foot with Tuff Skin to ensure that the tape would stay in place throughout my long run (Ever wonder how those gymnasts never seem to get wedgies when they are wearing those high cut leotards?  I think that I my need to add a can of this to my beach bag!). I was really surprised how much support some strategically placed athletic tape gave me.

So better late than never, Conny and I hit the trails for what would be the greatest find day ever…

My ankle and foot held up, but my finger is pretty close to the eject button.

Go Canucks Go

Training for a marathon is tough, especially the last 10 minutes of your weekly long run.  It’s the longest part of your training program to date, and you just want to get it done.  And that is usually what Conny and I talk about during that last mile, eating, stopping, eating, how good the 20 minute shower is going to feel, eating… Yesterday something very strange happened and our conversation went where it has never gone before, we talked about the Canucks.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock for the past couple of weeks, which I had been until this weekend, Vancouver is in full playoff mode.  I wasn’t completely under a rock, I did know that they were in the playoffs and that they were 3 up in the series and then they weren’t.  It’s not that I didn’t care; it just didn’t really interest me.  All that changed after my family ate Easter dinner in front of the TV.

Before being accused of jumping on the bandwagon let me just say that although I have never called myself a fan, I have always been a supporter.  I have been known to go to the occasional game, especially if they are box seats, but I have also been known to turn down a ticket (never a box seat) with the thought that it would be given to someone who appreciates the game more than I.  I have never cheered for another team, never badmouthed the Canucks and for the harmony of my house always want them to win.

So I am interested. So much so that I listened to the game on AM radio on the way home from spin class last night, ate my dinner once again in front of the TV and closed my laptop with 5 minutes remaining in the third period.

Now don’t expect to see my face painted on game nights or my blue car (that’s right blue) turned into the Canuck mobile, but my support will not go unnoticed.  And I will overlook the awkward face-in-crotch hug/butt slapping (22 seconds in) from the coaching team after that spectacular game winning goal was scored in overtime!
Go Canucks Go!!!!

I’m in, I’m out, I’m…

These days I am pretty black and white. Friday I was running the Seattle Marathon, and Saturday I was not, and today while we ran around Hayward Lake would be the day that I broke the news to Conny.

I didn’t beat around the bush; about 20 minutes into our run I just came out and said it. We have both been battling a few tweaks and I thought that she might be relieved if I just came out and said that I wasn’t going to run the full. It didn’t go quite the way I had imagined, because she said that there was still plenty of time and it was too early to make a decision. Hmmm.

I like hills, I like undulation, in fact I like the word undulation, so the first part of our loop is not normally something that I ever enjoy. Today was different. The sun was shining, the salmon berries were starting to flower, the trillium had bloomed and the lower section of the lake did not feel like a chore. The hill from the Powerhouse is always a grind, today it felt ok, and the s-curves up to the Reservoir Trail, which are the toughest part of the run, felt more than ok.

The marathon is back on.

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