I was off work today and from waking spent most of the morning and early-afternoon working on the gala and found it hard to tear myself away. I had gala related meetings at 11 a.m. and then 6 p.m. and ended up leaving my run to the mid-afternoon. Due to the 6 p.m. meeting I was unable to attend the U of T track workout. So I did short, very fast sections on the treadmill at up to the 10.1 setting. After that I did some of the circuit training including the hopping upstairs from same leg to same leg. That got my heart beating faster than the short sprints.
The committee member I met with in the evening works 7 evenings a week, 5 days a week, has been taking courses and had started a business as an event planner. She has offered to help with the decor for our event. Wow!
A busy woman
We met at C-5 to discuss the floor plan and add a bit of colour to the black and ivory colour scheme. I enjoyed finding out more about my friend and her ambitions and amazing work ethic. She came to Canada via France and has only been here a couple of years. We enjoyed exotic non-alcoholic beverages, fries with blueberry ketchup and mango and coconut ice cream, coffee and tea. It was a quiet night, ideal for getting to know someone better.
Fries with Blueberry Ketchup
At my earlier meeting I also found out more about another committee member who has just finished writing a first draft of a novel which chronicles the political upheaval and turmoil that began in Ethiopia in the late 70’s. This woman, I discovered spent over eight years in an Ethiopian prison.
The more I find out about the orphan sponsorship program the gala is supporting and the country itself, the more I’m beginning to feel that a trip to Africa may occur in the next couple of year. I have already mentioned the Great Ethiopian Run which is a 10K, I did however forget to mention that it is at an altitude of 2500 feet. That could be really challenging. I think Chung-Yee and I are serious about this.
One of the things I love about being a volunteer is that you meet great people who like to get involved. Hat’s off to the committee! This fundraising adventure is raising friends too.
With six weeks to go until the gala, life is speeding up and I will have to discipline myself not to try to get too much done in a day. That is my excuse for not posting yesterday, though do I need an excuse? I ran three miles on Sunday along West Queen West, that strip of Queen West from Trinity Bellwoods over to Dufferin. the highlight of the run was to run for the very first time through the newly built underpass connecting one part of Dufferin Street to another. Dufferin street just north of Queen, used to do a U-jog east, then south then west but now it goes straight through Queen street down to King and southward. Exciting times for Parkdale. In addition, Gladstone avenue is being extended and I think there was talk of building a foot bridge over the GO Train tracks to connect Queen and King street.
Connecting Dufferin to Dufferin
In the spirit of cutting back mileage to rest up for speedwork, I ran three miles again, this morning and it most certainly did feel like the first day of spring. Yippee! On the way to work I spotted these beautiful snowdrops which made me wonder whether my single snowdrop from last year survived the winter. This bunch was quite developed, so maybe my less mature snowdrop is just taking its time.
Snowdrops
I took a coffee break at the Tampered Press, yet another espresso bar in the downtown coffee zone. This place has a view of Trinity Bellwoods park which makes you feel like you are in smalltown Ontario.
Gala Committee on a Roll
After work, our People4Kids gala committee met at a Kokyo Japanese Restaurant at Alexander and Yonge. It was our first restaurant meeting and the mood was frisky as all are pleased about ticket sales and the response to our event. We are feeling confident that we will sell out. A couple of committee members from Ethiopia recall attending parties at our place and feeling somewhat embarrassed to be part of the very small minority of party attendees who did not run. They were however encouraging Chung-Yee and me to visit Ethiopia and take part in the Great Ethiopian Run in November, the largest 10K in Africa. We both decided that it is something we will consider, probably not this year but maybe in a year or two. But, even more compelling, we would be able to visit the little girl whose education we help sponsor. Considering all the dire news these days, most recently from the Ivory Coast, it feels good to be closely connected to this program.
I attended a birthday celebration for Ed Whitlock held this afternoon.
Ed is most proud of the 2:54 marathon her ran at age 73. His all-time personal record (PR) is 2:31:23 run at the relatively youthful age of 48. While in the 75-79 age group he has run a 3:04:54 marathon and a 39:25 10K. He is still the only 70 year old to have run under 3 hours for a marathon.
All were encouraged to share Ed anecdotes. I told the story about the pre-marathon lunch with Ed that I had blogged about earlier this week.
Ed's Birthday Bash
Yesterday I had a free cupcake at Starbuck’s to celebrate its 40th Anniversary. Today, I felt I could not say no to a piece of Ed’s 80th birthday cake. We went to a Scottish pub for dinner and my husband insisted that since he had given up alcohol for Lent I should use up my one night of the week for a drink and order a drink given the pub ambience. I’m going to have to rethink my lenten sacrifices as I don’t think I’m off to a good start here.
Earlier in the day I ran 14.5 miles but in spite of the good conditions never felt great on the run although I did feel good about the run afterward. Good things happening in the Gala department. My sister and her family are going to be Family-Patron Sponsors and Franklin Templeton is going to buy ten tickets and the Royal York is donating a certificate for a one-night stay to the Silent Auction. WooHoo!
I missed my fourth post of the year due to gala related work and an evening celebration of International Women’s Week and the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. This offered me a very rare chance to walk by the lake, rather than run.
A Harbourfront Winter Sunset
I ran 8.5 miles yesterday, with a 4.5 mile warm-up run to Grand and Toy where I ordered toner for my printer. Then back to the YMCA for about 30 minutes of tempo running, a bit less than previous weeks but I was strapped for time and was not feeling too perky. I did upper body work but skipped the lower body lifting again because of feeling a bit lackluster.
Harbourfront Skating Rink
I met a couple of friends at Il Fornello at the Terminal Quay and having arrived a bit early enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the boardwalk from Queen’s Quay. I enjoy the tourist bustle of the spring and summer but also enjoy the quieter winter mood and the bonus of a beautiful sunset.
Dinner View at Il Fornello
After dinner we walked along the boardwalk to the Brigantine Room at Queen’s Quay for Nightwood Theatre’s FemCab. FemCab is a terrific way to get caught up on a year or more of entertainment. It was a heady brew of irreverence, political history, screaming guitars, dance and an intense monologue written and performed by Judith Thompson. Judy Rebick reminisced about the 1985 IWD march which took a detour into the Eaton’s store. And yes, I was there!
We were most impressed by blueswoman Donna Grantis whose presence was iconic, similar to Lisbeth, the girl with the dragon tatoo. Check out her performance below with Shakura S’Aida who also performed at FemCab.
The next 10 weeks will be busy as Gala planning is really heating up and I apologize in advance to my friends for my sometimes ridiculously constrained schedule. There is however one friend, who I am seeing a little more of as she has joined the Gala organizing committee. Chung-Yee, an economist by profession, embraces all she does with passion be it knitting or running or helping with fundraising endeavours. And I’m very pleased to say that she is going to be my very first guest blogger, tomorrow!
You will hear about how she celebrated her 40th birthday by challenging herself to run four marathons in one month. Imagine that!
I found my 9.5 mile run with speedwork, done yesterday, tough. My legs have been feeling quite heavy lately, which may well be the effects of the Maximum Strength (MS) phase of weightlifting that I am going through. I’ve done squats with 110 pounds on the Smith machine and 210 pounds on the leg press machine. My goal is to squat about 1.2 times my weight and leg press, 2.3 times my weight of 110 pounds.
Walking on Water
I stopped during the run to watch geese on Lake Ontario walk gingerly over the ice, which due to the very temperature was covered with a thin layer of water. There was quite a bit of slipping on the part of the geese, which led my husband to remark that Toronto geese are urban critters, who have lost some of their natural coordination.
The day was full and with evening plans, a post about what is keeping both my husband and I very busy seemed appropriate. This being, People4Kids, a Gala to Benefit AIDS Orphans in Ethiopia. The idea to create this event came out of my experience with gala events, including the Grocery Foundation SuperGala at one time the biggest gala in Canada with over 4000 guests and over $3 million in funds raised. The Beach Boys (or what is left of the Beach Boys, post-law suits) and Nelly Furtado were the headliners during my years of involvement.
Our gala is a baby Gala and a labour of love. We were motivated to get involved with People to People AID Organization Canada as one of my husband’s workmates, who came to Canada as a refugee from Ethiopia many years ago, works tirelessly as a Board member towards the sponsorship of greater numbers of orphans.
Subaru Concept Car
In the evening we were off to attend a preview of the Auto Show as special guests, along with the 8,000 or more other special guests. This is an educated estimate as the SuperGala took place on one floor of the same venue and this crowd seemed at minimum, twice the size, using three times the area.
What a spectacle! The show is not about the legions of women wearing the most sparkling of dresses and the highest of heels, it’s about the cars, cars and more cars. The evening involves a lot of walking so by the end of it, many women were seen in stockinged feet, carrying their shoes. One woman remarked to me, “You are doing well, you’ve still got your shoes on.” I consider wearing heels over two inches to be something of an athletic accomplishment. One of which I am not capable. If those men who admire the high-heeled “look” knew what it feels like to wear high heels, I think their appreciation would be greatly diminished.
Car Painter
The event is sponsored by the Toronto Star. Throughout the Metro Toronto Convention Centre are drink and food stations. A few years ago some of the Japanese auto makers were serving sushi. The fare this year was fairly standard with one exception. Tucked away in a quieter corner, Rodney’s Oyster House was serving four different types of oysters. My dad has always loved oysters and as kids we used to have them with shoyu (Japanese soy sauce).
Thank you Rodney's Oyster House
Signs are that automakers are feeling optimistic about business and have done a big paradigm shift, post-meltdown, adapting to the need and demand for high efficiency vehicles. There was an area highlighting cars earning national kudos for efficiency.
Here is a photo of us in front of a sign at the Mini-Cooper display. The screen behind us was flashing various words and I was hoping for the word SPORTY. However my eyes were closed for that one. But at the moment the word INSPIRING makes me think of my husband, who has pushed himself very far outside his comfort zone to ask a lot of people to support the Gala with tremendous results. Well done my love!
People4Kids
a Gala to Benefit AIDS-HIV Orphans in Ethiopia
Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
C5 Restaurant at the Royal Ontario Museum
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Tickets $150 Sponsorship details available on request
Imagine spring. The cherry trees in bloom, and an evening party in the elegant and sophisticated lounge setting of C5 at the ROM. You will enjoy artisanal cuisine, a silent auction, stunning views of the city and an internationally flavoured musical backdrop of melodious, soulful jazz-funk performed by the Ethio Fidel Jazz Band. As the evening evolves, the sun sets over the Toronto skyline and a very special guest vocalist provides a musical flourish with an inspired rendition ofSomewhere Over the Rainbow. Over the Rainbow is our vision of how this friendly gathering of concerned individuals will contribute to improving the lives of “some” of the over one million AIDS orphans in Ethiopia. It doesn’t take much to make a dream come true for one of these children. We are inspired by their resilience in spite of the unthinkable circumstances of their life journey. The simple dreams of these orphaned children are firmly rooted in very basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and education.
Imagine free-flowing goodwill, camaraderie and friendship as you meet, mingle and establish a sense of community with others who wish to enlarge the hopes and dreams of these young, resilient souls. Imagine, the hopefulness you will feel knowing that the orphan sponsorship program you are supporting makes a difference – that you are directly connected to leadership within Toronto’s Ethiopian community who have created cost-effective links between orphans and North American sponsors.
Please mark Tuesday, May 3rd in your calendar, for this first-time gala event and commit now to purchasing tickets. The volunteer committee is hard at work and every ticket sold brings us closer to our goal of 500 orphans sponsored. You are invited; in friendship, in hope — join us please. You are needed!
One of the activities keeping me busy lately is my #1 Goal of 2011, which is to raise funds for a sponsorship program organized by People to People AID Organization (Canada) Inc. We have a personal connection to the dedicated individuals involved with this program and have done a lot of research to feel assured that funds are well used to benefit children who have been orphaned in Ethiopia because of HIV-AIDS.
C5 - Fabulous City Views on 3 Sides
I’m so very happy to announce that we have firmed up the venue and the date for the fundraising gala my husband and I are organizing. It will be held on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at C5 Restaurant in the ROM. Check out C5 and the Winterliscious menu HERE
My morning run was a loop over to drop a birthday present off to a niece. I passed through Hillcrest Park with its fine view of the city. Although, my small camera does not at all do it justice.
View From Hillcrest Park, Toronto
On the way back I took a pit stop at the Athletic Centre at University of Toronto and spotted some advertisements for some interesting sport-related presentations, all open to the public.
What's up at U of T?
The one I was most interested in took place yesterday. Too bad. I’ll have to remember to drop in more regularly to see what is on offer.
Defending an Idea. Interesting.
Runs, overdue photography assignments, gala planning, blogging, weightlifting . . . makes for busy days. So much to do, so little time, gotta go . . . ciao!
p.s. Please leave a comment if you would like more information about the Gala. Thank you.
Today I lunched with a friend who is helping my husband and I organize a gala for a sponsorship program for AIDS-HIV orphans in Ethiopia. The program is supported mainly by volunteers, here in Canada is run by People to People Aid Organization, Canada Inc. . Thus I thought it would be timely to profile one of Ethiopia’s finest runners, Fatuma Roba who was the mother of five children when she won the Olympic gold medal.
Born in 1973 and raised in the village of Cokeji in Ethiopia’s mountainous southern region—also home to internationally known 10K champion Derartu Tulu—Roba was one of seven children born to a farming couple who raised and herded cattle. Like most children growing up in rural Africa, if she wanted to go somewhere, the quickest way to get there was to run. The daily run to and from her school—much of it going up and down hills—trained the young Roba in the art of sprinting. As a child her hero was 1960 and 1964 Olympic marathon champion Abebe Bikila, a fellow Ethiopian. After completing school, the five-foot-five-inch Roba decided to train to become a police officer after her performance at a national cross-country championship caught the attention of members of the Adis Ababa prison police athletic team.
Fatuma Roba, Fluid Grace
Roba first gained an international profile in 1990 when at age 18 she placed fourth in the 3,000 meter and 10K competition during the African Championships. Three years later she decided to attempt the 26.2-mile marathon distance in her home town of Addis Ababa, and had reached a personal best time of 2 hours 35 minutes 25 seconds by 1995. Roba continued to reduce her marathon time throughout the spring of 1996, helped along by the coaching of Yilma Berta. To train to excel at the 26.2-mile marathon distance, the 22-year-old Roba logged an average of 125 miles a week, most of it at high altitude, thereby forcing her body to use its resources of oxygen efficiently. She ran and won two marathons early in 1996, the first in January at Marakech and the second in Rome, Italy, two months later.
When Roba joined the field of the 1996 Olympic women’s marathon in Atlanta, Georgia, in July of 1996, she was ranked only 29th among the elite women athletes assembled there. Surprising almost all onlookers of that years’ Summer Games, she managed consistent five-minute miles, gained the lead by mile 13, and left behind Japanese runner Yuko Arimori, who had won the silver at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. At mile 19 timers clocked her race pace at 5:21; relaxed and alert, Roba waved as she passed, the crowds cheering on the first woman in the pack. She went on to cross the line in 2:26:05, her lead a remarkable two minutes. “This is not only a special thing for me but also for my country and all African women,” Roba was quoted as commenting by Amanda Mays in the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The Ethiopian women are coming up in the marathon. This was the breakthrough and now we are ready to challenge the others.”
Roba’s success in Atlanta was balanced by an equally notable performance in 1997 at the 101st Boston Marathon. She gained and held an easy lead by mile 20 to win in 2:26:23. The first African woman ever to win the historic Boston race, Roba bested an elite field that included defending champion Uta Pippig, Japan’s Junko Asari, and South African runners Colleen de Reuck and Elana Meyer. “She ran with the same smooth stride and placid, dispassionate look on her face that she carried through the Olympic race,” reported Runnersworld.com. “Race commentator (and fellow Olympic marathon champion) Frank Shorter called her ‘The most relaxed-looking runner I have ever seen.'” Roba’s performance at the World Championship Marathon held in Athens, Greece, the following fall was a disappointment when she was forced to leave the course after being injured.
One for Ethiopia!
In 1999 the 25-year-old Roba took her third straight win at Boston, her time a personal best of 2:23:25 that set a new women’s overall course record. She won the silver at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:27:05, but at the World Championships in Seville, Spain she finished a disappointing fourth. Roba’s winning streak at Boston ended in 2000, when she fell to third, barely losing the Boston gold to Kenyan runner Catherine Ndereba in one of the closest finishes in Boston Marathon history. Like Seville, the summer heat in Sydney, Australia proved hot enough to stall Roba, who finished a disappointing ninth at September 2000’s Sydney Olympics with a time of 2:27:38.
Like her hero Abebe Bikila, Roba has become a role model for African runners, women runners in particular. Her own younger sister, Sennaito Tekru, has followed in her path, and has embarked on a course as a competitive marathon runner. With her grace and seemingly effortless performances, Roba has broken the barrier for African women with her triumphs at both the Olympic Games and the Boston Marathon. Despite her disappointment in Sydney, she has continued to rank among elite women marathoners, handily winning the San Diego Marathon in 2001 with a time of 2:27:22.
This Movember, the month formerly known as November I’ve decided to donate my face to raising awareness about prostate cancer. My donation and commitment is the growth of a moustache for the entire month of Movember, which I know will generate conversation, controversy and laughter.
I’m doing this because 4,400 men die of prostate cancer in Canada each year and one in six men will be diagnosed during his lifetime. This is a cause that I feel passionately about and I’m asking you to support my efforts by making a donation to Prostate Cancer Canada.
To help, you can either:
* Click this link http://ca.movember.com/mospace/1295688 and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account
* Write a cheque payable to Prostate Cancer Canada, referencing my name or Registration Number 1295688 and mail to: Prostate Cancer Canada, Suite 306 145 Front Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1E3, Canada.
All donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Mind, Motion & Matter 