Mind, Motion & Matter

Running, Essentially . . .

Monthly Archives: April 2012


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Guide My Feet

Team Spirit, on the run

Since running in a 10K race last Sunday, I’ve been pushing steadily on the homestretch of gala planning. I was satisfied with my race effort of 43:25 but felt that I was sharper for the 5K run on March 31st. I placed 1st in my category by 7  1/2 minutes and was almost three minutes faster than 10K I ran last fall. Training with a team has really paid off. My post-race plan calls for 10-12 days of reduced mileage and lots of recovery time in order to boost my energy stores for Wednesday, May 2nd, the day of the People4Kids gala fundraiser for children orphaned by HIV-AIDS in Ethiopia to take place at the ROM.

Team Spirit - with work to do

I ran eight  miles this morning with two friends. The pace was brisk as I was eager to get on with my day. I woke at 4:30 a.m. in order to prepare all the materials to for a big work session at our home. A couple of hours after the run cookies were packaged, envelopes and goodie bags stuffed and decorative elements created, all in a few hours with the help of ten volunteers.

Envelope stuffers

Expert goodie bag stuffer, John, oversees kitchen crew

Rewinding to last Saturday, I rested up for the Sunday race by baking 35 dozen cookies with a friend. THANK YOU ROBYN!

I can't believe we baked 35 dozen cookies!

Our event is technically sold-out but we are open to overbooking the few spots that will be free on event day due to usual unforeseen circumstances that will inevitably arise for some guests. As I work away with four days to go, I’ll be humming this song to myself and thinking about the little girl we sponsor and the estimated 123 million or more orphaned children in the world.

Decorative elements

You can listen to one rendition of Guide My Feet here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z64X_LWQrN8

GUIDE MY FEET

Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

I’m your child while I run this race.
I’m your child while I run this race.
I’m your child while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race,
for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

Text & Music: African American Spiritual

Harmony: Wendell Whallum


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Busiest month ever?

I had meant to post these quotes last weekend but time has slipped by quickly in this which is perhaps the busiest month of my life. Belated Easter Greetings!

Happy Easter

“There is enough in the world for everyone’s need, but not for everyone’s greed.”  Frank Buchman

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But … the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’  Martin Luther King

At the moment I am oh-so-tired but I got my long run of 15 miles in today and it looks like I will hit my mileage goal of 55 mile/89 km for the week. My plan seemed at risk on Thursday when I could feel a cold coming on. I decided to make it a short day at work due to fatigue but stopped at Starbuck’s on the way home hoping for a caffeine lift. Sinking into one of the big cushy chairs after one sip of my latte, I fell asleep for 30 minutes. When I got home I napped for 90 minutes and didn’t feel too bad afterward so I picked myself up and headed to my team workout. The workout was 4-6 800’s which I ran at a brisk, but far from top-end pace. Surprisingly, I felt better after the workout than I had felt all day. I slept well that night and ran an easy six miles before work.

Moving back in time, I ran 50 miles last week on the heels of my 21:04 in the 5K.  In spite of over-stimulation on three fronts, my course, my work and working towards the People4Kids Gala on May 2nd I have managed a bit of fun since my last blog. And now, more blogging fun as post-long-run fatigue finds me a little lacking in the focus needed to plow through my school assignment.

Bay of Quinte, Prince Edward County

In early April we stayed overnight at a B & B in Prince Edward County, a stay that prompted me to write a 2 Star review on Trip Advisor, my second bad review, the first being at a hotel on the Ramblas in Barcelona.  The main benefit of the time away was that we were very happy to return home.

Never too old for an Easter egg hunt

We had some fun on Easter Sunday with a family gathering and I was pleased that my trademark home-baked challah was a bit hit. Another highlight was a lunch at C-5 our gala venue with my mom and two of her friends from her days of fighting for redress for Japanese Canadians. One friend a writer and Companion of the Order of Canada and the other the first female judge of Asian descent in Canada. I enjoyed hearing them catch up on news. On the topic of busy months I’ll have to ask my mom, mother of six children and 14 grandchildren, how my busiest month stacks up to hers?

Trio of role models (my mom in the center)


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Happy legs are here again

Not quite a balmy beach run

I accomplished a lot in March but one goal I missed was to blog at least four times. Two activities that are “fun” for me are blogging and running but while blogging may have some mental fitness benefits, the physical and mental benefits of blowing out your lungs while running aerobically and anaerobically just can’t be beat. Running with my track club in the evening is an amazing way to be transported away from the worries of the world of work. There’s no room to squeeze in any stressful thoughts while focusing on running 6 X 1000 meters really hard with a 2 minute rest in between.

I ran the Beaches Spring Sprint on Saturday and ran very close to my spring-summer goal of going under 21 minutes for 5K. I had hoped to run about 21:40 but ran 21:04 a time over 2 minutes faster than the 5K I ran last fall. I had really begun to think that I would never see the other side of 20 minutes at age 56 but sub-20 minute 5k, here I come.

This 5K is packed with high school track stars who run 5K’s for strength. Normally, young runners go out too hard and fade in the second half but there were a ton of great times run by the youngsters in this race including the male winner (13-17 year old category) who nearly set a course record in a time of 14:53 and a junior girl who ran under 18 minutes.

A cautious start

I concentrated on holding back in the first half and had a very strong finish, passing one young woman whose coach helpfully shouted out that she was on 21:30 pace with about 600 meters to go. I knew I would get my time and put on a final burst in the last 20 meters to pass a couple more runners right at the finish line. My confidence has come back in droves. After years of marathon training, my weary legs are remembering what it is like to run fast.

Happy, happy and more happy.