New Year's Eve

Saturday December 31, 2005

I have to play catch up again because Flo-Jo and I spent a few days in Vancouver. We had a terrific time! We visited my family and did some shopping...basically just relaxed. We went to a super Sushi joint one night with my brother Al, his girlfriend and my brother Gord.

We ran along the sea-wall on Wednesday afternoon at an easy pace. We couldn't do the whole route since we left a bit late in the day and it was getting dark. I think we covered about 8km and I did a few short pick-ups practicing some Pose. We were planning on getting home on Thursday night but found out that both the 9:00 and the 11:00 were full. Apparently one of the boats broke down canceling the 7:00 sailing so there was a backlog of passengers. We had to make a quick decision to take the 9:00 ferry to Nanaimo, however the weather was so bad, we had to take a hotel room in Nanaimo and spend the night there!

We drove back to Victoria the next morning, stopping at good ol' Tim Horton's on the way. We ran around the lakes later that afternoon. The first 20 minutes we did at a very easy pace (5 min+/km). At about the 4km marker, I picked it up just a bit pulling FJ along (to 4:45/km), encouraging him between his grumblings! Ha! We ran the loop in 50 minutes, took a short rest and then did a 5 minute out and back at a super easy pace as a cool down. Of course FJ grumbled a bit because I said it would just be a 1 minute out and back....He should know better by now! They don't call me the Black Widow for nothing! Ha! As usual, when I announced he had run for an hour, he was all proud!

This morning I drove out to the lakes with DE and met RB's group at 8:00am. This was particularly brutal for me this morning since FJ and I were out until almost 1:00am the night before at a dinner party...I drank a lot of red wine. I normally don't bother drinking red wine since the effects the next day (even if it's just a half a glass) are just too painful. This wine was tasty though, so I went berserk and had two whole glasses!

Shan met us at the lakes too. There must have been at least twelve runners there. RB suggested 10 minutes easy, 10 minutes moderate and then 20-30 minutes of tempo running. The first minute of the 10 minutes were easy and then moved right into moderate for me, so I have to pull back next time and let the group go. Shan and I took a quick pee break and then started our tempo pace just before the 6km marker. I felt pretty good and my legs felt happy running at a quicker pace. We were doing about a 4 min/km pace and managed to hold onto that for 20 minutes. That was about as much as I could do. I felt happy that my cardio wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be after not stressing it for three weeks. 

We had Shan, DE and Pan over for brunch after the run. Pan-Pan FI-nally got the stupid waffles he has been hounding me about since the summer. I made him eat lot's of them!

Here is the brunch table with Shan's lovely floral contribution!

 

The chef doing his thing:

 

Yes, that is me actually cooking and Joey talking on the phone...you don't see that role reversal very often, I'll tell ya! I looked dazed and in a trance...where am I? What is this in my hand?

 

The Brunch Gang.

 

Shan displaying one of Maestro's masterpieces...quite a cute picture of her if 'twernt for the big floppy waffle she's dangling next to her face! Ha!

 

Happy New Year!!!

Sylvan's Boxing Day Race!

Monday December 26, 2005

FJ and I met Shan out at the Prairie Inn Pub to run the Boxing Day 10 mile handicap race. Shan and I started at the same time. FJ didn't sign up and just ran 5 miles and Syl decided not to run but took some great photos. There were 30-40 runners and everyone started at different times depending on their best 10k time from the year. Sylvan takes these times to calculate a predicted finishing time for each runner. Those who will take longer to complete the 10 miles start earlier and those who will take less time, start later. The idea being that we end up finishing nearly all together. The course was a bit hilly but nothing too bad, with two out and backs of 5 miles each. Shan and I ran the entire way together. Since she was coming off two weeks of high mileage and since I am still on my break, we didn't kill ourselves and ran at a tempo-ish pace. We chatted most of the way and just enjoyed the scenery and fresh air, cruising in at just under 1:10. FJ said his 5 miles went well. He helped Sylvan by clicking the finisher's times into an electronic device Sylvan uses...he liked that!

Sylvan had hilaroius prizes...a dozen eggs, a can of clams, a box of Granola bars...very funny!

Christmas Day!

Sunday December 25, 2005

Woke up at about 8:00 but lay in bed for an hour, half awake. Flo-Jo and I spent the morning drinking coffee in our PJs and opening our stocking stuffers. FJ's stocking is a regular sized one....mine however  as FJ says, is like an Anaconda...it is big to begin with but just keeps stretching the more you put into it! Ha!...I love my stocking!

Joey's favorite gift was one from the Squintch, Pan-Pan and Lyn. It was a TPB T-shirt signed by Mr Lahey ("To the Sh!t Maestro") and Randy ("To the Green Bastard...Frigg Off!"). It also came with a Conkey hand-puppet.

He was really surprised!

We decided to do a lap at the lakes. It was gorgeous out, sunny and warm. We did an easy lap in 52 minutes. FJ hadn't run in two weeks but he did well anyway! We spent the rest of the day calling family who live back east. Due to a mix-up (a long story) our dinner plans were cancelled and since we didn't have any food to cook we ended up having to find a restaurant that was open in order to eat dinner. We ended up eating Christmas dinner at Swann's! Ha! This has definitely been a different Christmas!

Christmas Eve Run

Getting up at 7:15 this morning wasn't too fun but I am glad I went for a run. RB set up two runs, one at 8:00am and one at 9:00am. He had assured me it wouldn't be a workout. There were about 14 of us that showed up at the Lakes. RB said to do a lap or two at whatever pace we wanted but to start off easy and pick it up if you felt good. I did not run hard at all and to stuck with my rest period. It was hard becuase I wanted to keep up with the women up ahead but I restrained myself becuase I knew I would be dead afterwards! I ran with Joanie, Jennie and Christa. We chatted most of the way and had a great time. RB managed to meet us at various spots around the route and was kind enough to hold onto clothing we shed as we ran. It was 12C that morning!!! What a shock to my system! We did a short out and back after we got back to the parking lot to make the run an hour. I just love the trails around the lakes...I never seem to get bored of them!

Flo-Jo and I spent the rest of the day fixing up our place...finally!! We emptied some more boxes and set up the living room. I hung some lights around the patio windows. We didn't even do a tree this year! Jarhead and T came over and had some mulled wine and munchies.

After they left, Flo-Jo and I just had a quiet dinner (yummy Halibut) and watched TV. I fell asleep for an hour then perked up enough to do the dishes then we went to bed...ahhh...relaxing!!!!

IRR Christmas Party

Friday, December 23, 2005

Went to work this morning but I was sent home at noon since there was no one around anyway. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing some last minute Christmas stuff with Flo-Jo. We are keeping things really low key this year so we didn't have too much to do. We bought some goodies at the Italian Bakery and bought our gifts for the gift exchange that night for the IRR party. I didn't bother going for a run. It was kind of raining on and off all day so I wasn't too inspired to go.

The IRR party was at Tony's this year. He has a really neat house, very modern and we all got to see his new renovations. There were about 30 people and since everyone brought a dish, there was a lot of food. I actually had two whole ciders and a glass of red wine. Shan was impressed! I'm amazed I wasn't tanked! The gift exchange was the highlight of the night with some tacky and outrageous gifts. Brent seemed to have an obsession with a sparkly thong that Qayam managed to get stuck with! I'm sure Brent does not remember sticking it on his head or wearing it (over his clothes, of course!)...it was pretty funny! Here are some shots from the party:

We left at about 11:30 and the party was still going strong! Thanks Tony!!!

Easy Hills

Thursday, December 22, 2005

It was a bit brutal coming into work this morning after such a late night. The University campus was extremely quiet. My boss took me out for lunch at the University Club which was great since I left my wallet at home and didn't have time to make lunch. It was very nice of him.

Flo-Jo called from home to say he was feeling a bit wonky with flu symptoms and sure enough when we took his temperature, he was at 100.8. I went to the Hill run on my own and met up with the group at the 'Y'. It was so great to see evryone again! It was a smaller group than normal since most were out doing last minute Christmas shopping etc. I took it really easy tonight and just stayed at the back of the pack. I focused on my form going up the hills rather than worrying about speed. I just tried to keep my cadence the same as on the flat parts and concentrated on leaning into the hill to let gravity do as much work as possible.  I felt a bit winded even at the slower pace at the start but felt better as the run progressed.

After the run I went back home and got Flo-Jo to bed. We were invited to the Squintch's for dinner that night and FJ insisted I go and he would rest on the coach. I made sure he was all cozy and then went over to the Squintch's place. His Mom and brother were there all the way from Ontario! I had already met his Mom (the sweetist Mom you could imagine) and met his brother for the first time (also equally sweet). Pan, Jarhead and T were there too. We were treated to an awsome turkey dinner with all the fixin's including dessert which I and the others had two helpings of! After dinner we played a game of Uno and I have to say, it was pretty sweet beating Pan and the Squintch....once again, I might add!! Ha! I won't let them forget it too soon, either! Squintch's Mom had made me a beautiful scarf and gave it to me for Christmas! On the way home, I picked up some Gatorade for Flo-Jo. His temperature was still up so he took two Tylenol. He woke up this morning feeling fine.

Winter Running

Well, I wasn't able to get access to a computer this last week so I have fallen behind a bit!

Wednesday we had two 3-hour rehearsals. Flo-Jo and I went to his Mom's for dinner that night and saw his whole family. It was so fun! No running to report.

Thursday the group headed to Toronto. I decided to fly there with my friends Caroline and Dev instead of taking the six hour bus ride. It was a smart move as a storm hit TO just as we landed so those who took the bus ended up ariving nearly three hours later than planned!. I got my gear on as soon as I got to the hotel. I ran for 15 minutes along the waterfront with wet, icey snow whipping at my face. I had to turn around and could barely see anything in front of me. There was a lot of cursing, I'll tell ya!

Friday my brother Eddie picked me up and we drove back to his place . I got to meet my newest nephew who was just adorable and played with my little niece. We had lunch and then he and his wife Jen drove me back to TO in time for the sound-check. We got to have dinner together before the show which they got tickets for. During intermission, they snuck down to two empty seats right in the front row. Ed made faces at me during the rest of the concert ! Ha!

Saturday we headed back to Montreal by bus. Since Montreal got hit with a huge pile of snow, we decided to take the bus as the airports were backlogged. As soon as we got back I suited up and met Mal at the mountain for a run. It was quite a chore just getting there as the sidewalks had not been cleared. It normally takes me 8 minutes to get to the base of the mountain where we meet, but this time it took me 15 minutes! We ran in the dark but the snow-covered trail lit the way and we could see perfectly. They had just groomed the road so the snow was hard-packed and easy to run on. It was very cold (-20C) but with no wind...we just heard the crunch, crunch sound from underfoot. What a beauty run. We ran really easy, chatting the whole way, stopped at the lookout which has a panoramic view of the city and ran back down. I only brought my tights with me so my legs and butt were a tad frozen on my way back down the mountain.

Sunday was a bright, sunny day.... another cold one. I met up with Emmanuelle, one of the organizers of the tour for a run in the morning who lives in Quebec City. She doesn't run a lot but does another sport....Ice Canoo. Yep, these nutcases stick runners on a canoe and with one foot in the canoe and the other with ice clamps doing the propelling, they race on the extremely cold and windy St. Lawrence River. It's usually a one and a half hour race. Here are some shots of these kooks doing their thing:

Doesn't that just look like a load of fun...ugh! Now that's a wacky sport! Anyway, we met Mal and once again did a really easy run up to the lookout and back. It was a real shuffle so as to not kill Emmanuelle on her first run in weeks. We were out for 75 minutes.

Our concert that night in Montreal was our best of the bunch I think, and it was completely sold out.

Monday was a day off from singing and running. I basically just went shopping. There was just too many people so I went back to my room and vegged. I scooted up to my friends' room later that night (Casey and Richard) and ordered pizza and watched a movie. 

Tuesday morning I met Mal for a 40 minute run. I was a bit pressed for time as we were heading to Québec City in the late morning. It was cloudy so it was a bit warmer however, Québec City was freezing! The concert there was in a church and was picked up as a live broadcast on CBC. I believe it will be played again next week sometime. We arrived back in Montreal at about one in the morning.

I was supposed to meet Mal at 10:00am but slept in until 9:40 by mistake. Luckily I called and caught him before he had left. I met him at 10:20...it was brutally cold that morning as there was no cloud cover. We ran to the man-made pond that they have up on the mountain and did some running on the ice for about 15 minutes incorporating some Pose drills. The pond had just been groomed so it was super slippery. Running on ice is a great exercise on getting you to pull your support foot off of the ground as quickly as possible, otherwise the longer you stick on the landing the more you will slide. It really works the elasticity in your hamstrings. If you get it, you can really scoot quickly across the ice without slipping at all! When you get back on a regular surface after running like that you feel incredibly light on your feet...a great way to stimulate a quick and light cadence!

I flew back home later that day. My flight was delayed in Toronto so I got home later than anticipated. I am so glad to be back in beautiful, warm Victoria!! I still have another week of rest before I get back into any training runs. I feel very flabby but very rested!

Celine Dion

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

It was a long day today...and cold (-20C) so no running to report. Flo-Jo and I just got back (it's midnight). I had rehearsal until 9:30 and FJ had another concert. He was invited to dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurant afterwards by the music director's partner who also happens to play in the orchestra and a friend of his (the music director was out of town). I was invited to join them after my rehearsal. They got there before me and when I joined them at the table they told me that Celine Dion was also having dinner there too. Sure enough, soon after we finished our meal, out walks Rene her husband who came over to say hello to some people at the table next to us. Soon after, Ms. Dion showed up by his side and stood there chatting. We of course were trying not to stare....but we were! Ha! It wasn't as exciting for me as meeting Randy and Mr.
Lahey from Trailor Park Boys but it was still kind of neat! Ha! Sorry...no photos....

Mont Royale

Monday December 12, 2005

I woke up after a lousy, jet-lagged sleep. Our hotel room is soooo dry. I've tried every trick in the book...turned on the shower for a period of time, hung wet towels, stuck almond oil up my  nose with a Q-tip (bet you haven't heard that one!) all in  an attempt to keep my throat and vocal chords happy. I still woke up feeling like I had swallowed a bag of sawdust. I had a rehearsal at 9:30 this morning but surprisingly I felt pretty good....go figure!

Flo-Jo and I spent the afternooon shopping around downtown...wow there is just too much stuff here! People are buying all this stuff too. It's a bit much!

I promised to meet Malcolm at the base of Mont Royale in the late afternoon. I layered up with two pairs of tights (bottom layer-spandex, top layer-a thicker pair with fleece), two tops(same idea) and my running jacket, double layer of mitts, a neck band and a head band. I felt like I was wearing a snow-suit!
The "Mountain" as people here call it, was snow-packed and bright from the sun- shine which made running fantastic. It was -14C with no wind. Mal and I just ran and chatted to get caught up. He had to keep slowing me down. After three days completely off I was chomping at the bit. He was great and just kept holding me back. We did about an hour of easy running. My fingers were frozen stiff despite the layering.

Flo-Jo's concert was amazing! Standing ovations as soon as it finished!

It's Snowing

Sunday Decemeber 11, 2005

The flight to Montreal was pretty smooth. When I grabbed a cab at the Montrael airport, the driver asked if I was a student at McGill (I had my knapsack with me...and it was dark). I said I went there at one time. He asked what I studied. Music I said. He then proceeded to crank up a mixed CD he had of Lebanese music. He drove 125 km/hour weaving in and around cars who were doing the same, all the while turning his head (for what felt like minutes at a time ) to tell me what each song meant in English. I was clutching the seat the whole way!

I slept in until 9:30 this morning. I thought of runnning and decided since I had two rehearsals later that day I would take another day off. I will go tomorrow afternoon after my morning rehearsal.It's suppose to be -12C Joey has a concert so I will run while he is napping...he is happy about that! By the way, he did too say he would run with me...the little brat!

The rehearsals went well today. The music is gorgeous!! It should be a nice concert.

The Break Begins

Friday Decemeber 9, 2005

I was thinking of doing a run today but decided I needed to pack instead. I will try and do some blogging while I'm away but I can't promise it will be every day. Flo-Jo said he would do a couple of easy runs with me while we are there together. I have to pack some warmer clothes for him since he said it's getting quite cold there...brrrrr....We'll miss running with the club but look forward to seeing everyone again at T's IRR party on the 23rd!

7 Hills

Thursday December 8, 2005.

Oh….see I am already starting to slip with this blog-thing. I’ve kept it going for about three weeks, right? Uh-huh, well this is a record so far as far as keeping a diary. I am actually surprised I’ve kept at it so long. Ok, enough rambling. I met the gang tonight at the Y’ for my last 7 Hills run before I leave. It was another perfect night…no wind, a bit chilly. There was quite a bit of chatting going on. For some reason, no one wore Supertights or Chastity Shorts so it was a bit of a disappointment.I had to think of other things to tease Pan and Dave about. Patrick and Shan had the same look tonight with their shoulder-length hair peaking out from under their hats! We had some fun with that! Syl didn't do his cadence calls as he promised...I was bummed. We mentioned Jarhead wasn't there due to T's teeth extraction. Squintch said JH will probably have photos up on his blog of T's teeth...Yuk!

I called Jarhead at home tonight to see how T was feeling …What a brave kid! I got to speak to her. I was surprised she could speak at all! I asked her if her Dad was in his PJ’s yet! Ha! JH is such a great Dad…Good job, Jarhead!!! By the way...he is planning to put those photos up....

Flo-Jo called. He did his first concert tonight in Montreal. His family went to this concert including his ‘paesan’. They hadn’t seen him perform in a long time (since high school, practically). His sister said she cried as soon as he walked on stage! Ha! The concert went very well. Yay! Way to go Flo-Jo!!

Cruisin' Tuesday

Tuesday December 6, 2006.

There was a big group at the track workout tonight. The Squintch is still holding off on the Supertights. It was pretty nipply out there too…I thought for sure there would be a sighting! The workout was 4 x 600m with 200m rests, 400m set break, then 4 x 400 with 200m rests. Boob said to take it easy…exactly what R said to do….no problem!  A bunch of us ran in a pack, each taking turns pacing. There was a lot of teasing going on too! Great fun! We’ve even got the new women poking fun at the Squintch!

I really wish people would stop hitting that bad Karma button...sheesh...my aura is taking a beating these days! Ha!

Day Off

Monday December 5, 2005.

I took the day off today. I  had a student after work instead. She’s really funny so we spend a lot of time laughing in her lessons. She emailed me last week to say she had a “break-through” and was singing really well. Today when she came announced; ‘Forget what I said last week…I practiced yesterday and I suck again!’ Ha! She said it with this smirk on her face...too funny! I love people who can make fun of themselves! The neat thing is, she ended up having a great lesson. She really has improved. It’s not really because of what I’ve told her about singing that has made her improve but just by encouraging her and letting her know that…she doesn’t suck. Her voice is freeing up on its own! Really cool!

Wow...it's almost 8:00 and I'm not yet in my PJ's! I'm going to call Shan...I bet she's been in hers for two hours already! Ha!

Sunday Easy 1:05

Sunday December 4, 2005.

I decided not to run Thetis Lake this morning and had a great sleep in instead. I rang Shan and she was going to do an easy lap around the lakes so I decided to go and enjoy an easy run. It was a beauty day! No wind and a nice temperature. There were so many dogs out there today. Boy, do they love running free without a leash! Imagine being tied up all the time...they’re meant to run free! Shan grumbled a couple of times when they ran right into us. Ha! We ended up doing a lap and to the boat house and back. I felt good. No muscle fatigue or tightness at all.

I met some of the group who ran Thetis at Brannigan’s which is a five minute walk from our new place. They sounded like they had an amazing run. Jarhead, the Squintch, Lisa, DE and Darryne were all there.

I came home and did a good two hours on my music for next week. I still need to have another go at it before it sinks in.

I spoke to Ron and we discussed the race a bit and about what I should do as far as a training rest goes during the rest of December. No hard workouts, just some easy running for fun. This comes at a great time since I’ll be in Montreal for almost two weeks. It’s really difficult to motivate myself to do workouts on my own…in -25C weather. Brutal. I will do some running there though. I plan on visiting my old running route up Mount Royale. It’s a wide road with no cars and it will be snow-packed by the time I get there. I will check with Ron first but it would be a great time to start doing some Pose drills again and practice doing short strides on the ice-pond up there!

Later that Day...

Saturday Evening, December 3, 2005.

I know this has absolutely nothing to do with running…but the blogs on this site seem to wander off…so here we go! When I got home after the race I returned the Squintch’s phone call. He, Pan and Lin were at Il Greco’s and were going to pick me up in twenty minutes. I jumped in the shower, scraped off all the mud that had hardened on my legs (charming) and quickly headed out the door. The Squintch had bought tickets to see Mr. Lahey and Randy from the Trailer Park Boys and that’s where we were going!

They were doing their show at Sugar downtown. The place was jam-packed with drunk, hollering TPB fans. The Squintch looked sooo thrilled when he spotted Randy and Lahey on stage!

We met up with Pan and Lin and watched the first half of the show from the mezzanine. I have never heard such nonsense in all my life...and yet it was funny! The two of them just said sh!t this and sh!t that and were swaggering around on stage improvising, talking about nothing really. At one point, they had people come up on stage and compete to see who had the biggest difference in gut size before and after sucking their stomachs in…it was revolting! A pregnant woman who was well into her 8th month, I’m sure, put her belly next to Randy’s and I swear they looked exactly the same!! Needless to say, it was far from a cultural experience! Ha!

The highlight of the night was when the two actors came out after the show to mingle with the crowd. Mr. Lahey nearly tripped coming down the mezzanine stairs to come and give me a hug.

He then turned around and spotted Lin and gave her a big hug too. The guys were cracking up. We got their autographs and something special for J who couldn’t come because he is away in Montreal. He was sad he missed the event, but the surprise we have for him will make up for it!

 

Everyone was pretty thrilled to meet these guys. They were quite generous with their time and took pictures with everyone...even the Squintch!

All and all, it was an epic night!...I think Lin and Randy make a stunning couple!

Watch out Pan!!

X-Country Race

Saturday, December 3, 2005. 

I picked M up on the way to the ferry to go the Nationals at Jericho Beach in Vancouver. J got up with me and we were chatting so I lost track of time and had to really fly along the highway to make it on time. It looked like the weather was going to cooperate for the race which made me feel better. 

We got to the race sight early and saw Syl, his back covered in mud, fresh from his 5km race earlier in the day. We decided we would scope out a place to eat after the race to kill some time. We also drove around where all the UBC running trails are. M showed me where he used to do his workouts….a pretty nice set of trails! 

I did about a twenty minute warm-up by myself. The other girls from Victoria had already gone and I just missed them. I just skirted the race route…had a gander at the one muddy hill we had to run and realized it didn’t look too bad. I was going to wear Rob’s Retro spikes again so I knew those babies who help me up that slippery slope! I got back and grabbed my spikes from M who was so kind to hold my plastic bag for me…next time I will bring a knapsack! I got some quick advice from Coach Ron. Take it easy at the start and see what you can do as you go….much like what I planned to do. I did some strides, wished the Victoria gals good luck and off we went. The race went just as I thought. I felt better than at Lambrick but my turn-over felt a bit slow. I did my best and really pushed on the last lap just to see what would happen….well, it frickin’ hurt and I was dead at the finish! Ha! We stuck around and watched the exciting men’s senior race. What a thing to see so many talented runners! I am so geared now to train this year and try and get some speed into my legs.

M and I left right after the Men’s race and grabbed a bite at Earl’s…he paid for dinner the little brat. I’ll get him next time! We just made it to the 5:00 ferry with two minutes to spare…great driving M!

Here are some shots from the race taken by Syl...

Jericho Beach

A great shot of Lucy smiling with Cheryl just in front.

I'm smiling on the inside..

Check out these chicks!

Some of the top guys.

 The Finish!

Pre-Race Jaunt

Friday, December 2, 2005. 

I just did an easy 10 minute run around the park across the street from us. There were all these Boot Camp chicks doing their workout there. Our park is used a lot for that kind of stuff, I notice. It’s great! I did a few short strides just to test the perkiness factor. I think I feel good in the legs…it will be my lungs that may cause me grief tomorrow. I plan to run the first lap conservatively and not get sucked up in the pace at the start, then try and pick it up as I go along if I can. I have to remember to stay relaxed on the hills. M and I are taking the 9:00 ferry over so we should get there in plenty of time to warm-up for the 1:30 race. It should be a great experience and exciting to run with such a fast group!

Hill Route...Minus the Hills!

Thursday December 1, 2005. 

I went with J to the ‘’Y’ and met the group who were doing the 7 Hills. Everyone was all keyed up because of the snowfall today! Jarhead was there along with Q, Pan, Chantal, Sam and Syl who had an eclectic outfit on….”epic”! Two of the new women showed up and I heard that Jim and Tony joined the group later on. I just ran to the first hill with Syl and then turned around and headed back to the ‘Y’. I am glad I have decided to run the race on Saturday. It would kill me just  watching the race and I am feeling loads better than last week. I should do just fine. I did a few Pose drills leading into easy strides. While the gang was pounding the hills I went and had a little browse through London Drugs. I love that place! I always buy my running socks there. They’re cheap and are exactly like the New Balance socks that are twice the price! I picked up J in the car as soon as I saw the group coming in. He had a great time….he seems to like the hills!

A Post for Chris

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Hi there Chris. I saw that you asked Hugh about the Pose method on his blog, so here's some info. Actually, first you should go to http://www.posetech.com/ >

I also want to say that Hugh wasn't quite accurate in his description of Pose. There is no "bending" in Pose for instance. This is actually a big mistake people make trying to learn to "fall" or "lean". We tend to bend from the waist when we think of falling or moving forward but in Pose (and in any good use of the body) you want to keep a vertical alignment at all times. The falling actually starts all the way down from your ankles. The hips (or core) in fact, are what leads you forward, but you never bend at the waist, you should always feel lengthened not hunched. Ideally your feet land (mid-foot) in line under your hips with each step (this is the Pose) as you change your support from one foot to the next, using your hamstrings to pull your foot off the ground with no direct use of quadriceps muscles. The "falling" in the meantime is continuous and is never exaggerated and never out of control to the point where you lose your balance. The cadence quickens as your foot spends less time sticking on each landing step because you are no longer over striding (i.e. you’re not landing with a braking action with your foot in front of your hips landing with a straight leg and finishing off with a heel-to toe- roll-out of the foot). Less time on the ground, less "muscling" each step (therefore expending less energy), letting gravity move you instead with perpetual falling. There is more to it obviuosly, but you can read all about it yourself on the web site.

I was a heel-landing, heavy footed runner before I learned Pose. I always felt achy after a run and was always working really hard (muscling every step) to get any speed. So I just stopped trying to run fast…I just plodded along. I never had the advantage of having track experience so efficiency was not a natural thing for me which running track can teach you…a lot of us don’t have that background, or we are not naturals so we just plug along until we get injured or bored. Learning to run better and more efficiently takes time and can be frustrating, but it can also make running a lot of fun, extend your running life and give you a different focus while you are running. Learning a running technique is a good workout for your brain too; learning any new skills is... and believe me, learning Pose is a mental workout! I have to remind myself of the commands I need to give my body during a run. When I do I am always amazed at the difference I feel in my whole body. I feel lighter, taller and more confident. That’s how you should feel when you run (or walk for that matter!) 

So there you have it. I am not saying the Pose Method is THE method to run with and I am certainly not a poster-girl for the method. Believe me, I am afraid to post this because I am sure I am going to get bombarded with comments about why it doesn't work etc. All I can say is it spoke to me when I found out about it and has made a difference for me and my running so naturally I believe it works. If you are happy with your running, feel truly good and are not getting injured….then don’t fix what ain’t broke!