I missed my first post in 30 days!  That was yesterday.  Here are my excuses; Husband’s 60th birthday;  Frankfurt in the morning, then Cologne in the afternoon.  I ran about 20 minutes in the morning, yesterday and today, to and from the train station in order to confirm details of my train trips.  Today, p.m. I am in Munich.

Cologne Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site

Breakfast in Frankfurt

The past two days run together as one very long day.   Starting with the long run and then post-long run meal a famous California veal sandwich.

Then onto blogging in the departure lounge and arrival in Frankfurt at noon.

The flight was uneventful and the early hours of the weeks seem to have paid off because it is 11 p.m. here and it feels like 11 p.m. We lunched on cheeses, bread and fruit from a vendor at an Alsatian fair in the market near our hotel.

Time for bed . . . Gute Nacht!

Dear friends,

I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to post tonight.  Thanks to the wonder of no-bag-to-check I made it to the boarding area for my flight in record time.  No line-up at the flight counter, just straight to security.  So here I am, in a plum spot by an electrical outlet blogging.  I hear there will be parties happening at our house while we are away.  Our son has been returning on the weekends, and while he has flown the coup, we have as a roommate one of his inner circle.

I left my camera behind this morning, thinking to myself, that I’d come upon the usual sights, and leave the photography for another day.  Who knew, that while running through Mt. Pleasant cemetery we would see a deer!  YES, a young buck with antlers about 10-12 inches long.  As it turns out this was not a one-in-a-lifetime moment as research revealed that there have been regular deer sightings in the Don Valley and the Moore park ravine.  A cyclist took this PHOTO of what looks like the very same deer we saw.  Amazing!

After completing our loop through the cemetery, we approached a group of 12-15 very fit looking young women.  After passing by, someone called my name, and the leader of this impressive group was Nicole Stevenson, one of Canada’s top marathon runners.  Again, a great photo opportunity missed.

As one run company slogan says, “the more ground you cover, the more you see”.  I’ll be thinking twice about leaving the camera behind on my next long run.

From the airport!

Since we are on the topic of shoes, and since it is past my bedtime and I almost forgot to post. Here is a preview of a blog I intend to do on one of my peak racing experiences. The race was the Canadian masters cross-country championships in Guelph. The conditions were challenging with packed snow and ice and a rolling golf course in -8C temperatures. In case you were wondering what kind of shoes you wear for this type of race . . . viola!

You can see the full photo on the EXERTION tab of my blog.  If you click on the the caption you’ll hear the song that really was playing when I got to the finish, which was atop an extended hill.  WooHoo!

New Balance Cross-country spikes

New Balance Cross-country spikes

I’ll be taking 3 pairs of shoes on my trip, all of which are comfortable because of the rubber in their soles.

1. One of my current New Balance running shoes, the 758 model, a lighter weight training shoe which weighs 10 ounces and is currently on sale, $40 off
2. My work shoes, which are comfortable enough for a few hours of sustained walking and which I’ll wear to the opera.
3. My trusty Blundstones which are great for running up sand dunes.  There’s a photo of the dune-running on the EXERTION tab of my blog. I also ran a few miles in them earlier this year when I had forgotten my running shoes on a trip to ‘Tofino.  Those boots are a story in themselves which I’ll save for another time.

 
How fortuitous that within seconds of seeking the right spot in my living room to photograph my shoes, I came upon the perfect prop, my husband’s framed Rubber Soul record album.  I wonder what the story is behind that name.

Be good to your feet!

Rubber Soles for foot health

I was awake before my alarm, set for 4:45 a.m. went off. The plan to ease the upcoming 7 hour time difference is taking hold. I love the mornings, the more of it, the better. I will try to get to bed at 9:15 p.m. although I do confess that this is much easier to accomplish with my husband away on a business trip.

This morning I ran with my neighbour. She is my hero in that she has four kids age 2-12 years, works full-time and for the sake of her mental and physical health has taken to running every day. You can see her in the 2nd photo enjoying the view of the lake at my 5 mile turnaround point.

Strachan & Wellington - Wednesday, September 15, 6:50 a.m.

I wonder if readers are tiring of the sunrise shots. With that in mind, I checked out the day that the clocks with change and it is Sunday, November 7, 2010 at 1:59:57 a.m. So that will seriously impact the morning photos.

The one-carry-on-bag initiative is going well. I visited Mountain Equipment Co-op and Europe Bound and purchased some multi-tasking athletic gear. I also bought a universal sink plug and a portable clothesline. I can’t find my lightweight Teva sandals with cork soles but I think I can do without sandals. I’m taking 4 pairs of merino wool Smart socks which will double as running and walking socks. I may take a 5th pair of heavier hiking socks which are good to have in lieu of slippers.

I’ve decided to do my speedwork tomorrow morning as the evening workout at U of T will not jive with my time acclimatization plan. All these details . . . I feel like I’m about the run a marathon . . . I suppose 4 cities in 9 days, with two days for travel is a marathon of another kind.

The audio books I’ve purchased will ease the book problem. In the past, I usually take 3-4 books and return with 7-8. I’m going to take 2 books at the very most. Time to think on that.

Good night.

My neighbour enjoys the sunrise on the lake

Early in my running career, I became familiar with the running culture of the Tarahumara. This knowledge stretched my conception of what the human body is capable of.

The first video offers a small snippet of Tarahumara women doing their long-distance running. The second video narrated in the exclamatory, constantly amazed tone often used used by history or science narrators takes a kinesiology approach to the phenomena. Although it doesn’t touch upon the spiritual, transcendental elements of the Tarahumara running experience.

The good news – I had a fantastic track workout on Thursday and the bad news, I was unable to do my long run this weekend.  Marathon training is all about balancing three key components, speed, long runs and tempo (steady state or threshold) running.  In the past I’ve been fastidious about injecting speed into my training routine in small increments because “speed kills”.  However with over two years of  easy running and no speedwork, I seem to have a lot to prove to myself.  Foolishly I completed a massive 36 X 150 meter workout at a pace suitable for an 800 metre race.  Three days later, I am still in recovery mode.  I went out this morning intending to run at least two hours but managed only an hour due to the residual stiffness and soreness in my legs accompanied by greatly reduced stride length.

My target last week was 57 miles and I did 55 miles.

This week the target was 61 and I did 44.

One of the pitfalls of doing track work with a group is the risk of doing other people’s workouts to your detriment.  |The desire to do what your peers are doing is strong.   And, was I influenced by the appearance of the U of T Varsity Cross-Country teams, football team and women’s hockey team in the vicinity?  You betcha . . . never too old to exhibit foolhardy bravado.

Limp, hobble, sigh . . .

After a summer of vacations and irregular schedules my long run group, Smart Men & One Fast Woman convened in full today. Having blown out my legs at the track on Thursday, I had to ditch my plans for a Saturday 18 miler and do a gentle 6 miler. How unfortunate that on this beautiful late summer day with an abundance of good company, I must defer to Sunday, running solo, rain predicted.    😦

Publication of a full photo of the group is pending approval from legal counsel.

p.s. The middle set of legs belong to my husband.

In order to maintain my 18 day posting streak and lacking inspiration I post for your enlightenment photos of some treats that I have been able to enjoy thanks to my marathon training. And, debut my 5 star rating system for sweet things.

Friday, September 3, Drake Hotel

MAPLE CRUNCH ***

Wednesday, August 25, Aroma Espresso Bar

ALFAJORES **** 1/2

Sunday September 5, Mandarin Restaurant

FLAN, RICE PUDDING & LEMON CAKE ***

Saturday, August 21, Cafe on St. Joseph's Island

COOKIE WITH DATE FILLING *** 1/2