The weekend has come and gone and what have I got to show for it...wet shoes.
The nice sunny autumn days of Vancouver where I walked through the park while the sun shone through the golden leaves seem to have vanished. They have been replaced by rain and all those golden leaves are now slippery mush ready for me to slip on when my mind wanders as it tends to do.
Coming from the UK, I'm used to this type of weather, but for some reason the fantastic summer lulled me into a false sense of security and now I feel slightly betrayed. Actually all this is lies, I say this to justify my complete lack of exercises over the last few weeks, only getting out to run with the club.
I have signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon in March and next Monday hails the start of my training for it. It is a brand new point to point course running from the Dodgers Stadium in the hills, through Hollywood, Century City (think Die Hard), Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and then finishes at the Santa Monica Pier. I'm hoping with this mainly down hill course I should be able to improve my time and edging towards a 3 hour marathon.
Back to the weekend. Saturday I decided to get some fresh air and go see a movie... what????Between my buildings door, the skytrain station and the cinema I was outside in the rain for a good 500 yards.
I went to see Pirate Radio, for those in Europe, The Boat that Rocked. Having been out in England some 6 months back I missed it then but normally enjoy Richard Curtis films so I thought now was as good as time as any.
The first thing to mention about the film was the difference in trailers. In the UK the films trailers had your usual comedy clips from the film showing the story of how they were getting round the Law and Government. In North America it concentrated far more on the one American character, even suggesting he was showing the Brits how it was done. Marketing you have to love it.
The film was enjoyable and Bill Nighy is always fun to watch. One problem that did emerge in the theatre was when the humour relied on regional knowledge. There were a few uncomfortable moments where I was laughing and the people round me were just looking like maybe I was on day release from a straight jacket.
With still some daylight to kill, I decided that Science world might be worth a gander. I go past it on the train a lot and have even run past/around it a few times but have never made it in. The building itself look very futuristic or it did at some point, think Epcot Centre but smaller and with lights all round it. It has to be said, it is mainly set out for kids with lots of hands on stuff to do, but... if you are willing to ignore the looks, whispers and scowls from narky parents adults can fully enjoy it too. With exhibits to test your flexibility (I'm average), your grip (erm, I've got a good grip for some reason), your brain waves (yeah, I think that one was broken) and the worsts one in my opinion, your fears (there were people walking round with fricking snakes!!!). It was fun but I really think it is best to do with a kid so at least you can pass it off as you are there for them, like Disney movies, you know what I mean.
Sunday started early with getting up in time so I could have breakfast and have chance for it to digest before my second attempt at trail running. Sukhi and John from PRR were kind enough to take me back out to the Baden Powell Trail to do what I presume is roughly the third quarter of a race known as the Knee Knacker. We started at Grouse Mountain and ran through to Lynn Valley Headwaters and then back again (the route should be visible through a link in the Garmin section on the right for those that are interested).
The first trail run I did was on a beautiful crisp morning with the sun coming through the trees. It couldn't have been more different on Sunday. The rain while not heavy was consistent and the temperature was cool to say the least, especially up in the mountains. We ran just below the snow line even crossing it at one point although I'm not sure 1/2 an inch of snow on either side of the trail counts. It was an amazing run, all the streams were up and you could here the waterfalls from quite a distance, my favourite part would have to be running over one bridge that was partial submerged due to the rise in water. I think Sukhi summed it up best my saying we had run the Baden Powell stream not trail.
Trail running is a very different art than road running and one I have yet to master in anyway. While my two guides were lithely leaping from rock to rock, gliding over roots and fallen branches, I was clomping around like the tyrannosaur in Jurassic Park. There was no fear of meeting any wildlife along the way, they had heard me from a long way away, and had time to finish what ever they were doing and amble away at a leisurely pace long before we got with in range. Oh well, something for me to work on.
The rest of Sunday past in napping, I did get up early, and doing a bit of food shopping. I did manage to get a whiteboard though where I have laid out my day to day activities so I don't keep forgetting to do them, you know, the small things like getting dressed (I'm not kidding). I did manage to get out to the buildings gym to have a quick run on the treadmill as I'm concerned that I have lost a fair amount of speed and fitness since completing Chicago back at the beginning of October. I was doing great until Jerry McQuire came on the T.V. and I had to stop.
Today has been basically about recovery, all the feet slapping from yesterday has left me a very sore back and calves. To see me this morning would have been like looking at in 50 years (I'm hopeful) I was sort of limping with an arched back and a blanket over my shoulders, It's got cold out side and I'm too cheap to turn the heating on. Thank you pharmaceutical companies for Ibuprofen!
And just for the record, I did get dressed today as per schedule :)
The nice sunny autumn days of Vancouver where I walked through the park while the sun shone through the golden leaves seem to have vanished. They have been replaced by rain and all those golden leaves are now slippery mush ready for me to slip on when my mind wanders as it tends to do.
Coming from the UK, I'm used to this type of weather, but for some reason the fantastic summer lulled me into a false sense of security and now I feel slightly betrayed. Actually all this is lies, I say this to justify my complete lack of exercises over the last few weeks, only getting out to run with the club.
I have signed up for the Los Angeles Marathon in March and next Monday hails the start of my training for it. It is a brand new point to point course running from the Dodgers Stadium in the hills, through Hollywood, Century City (think Die Hard), Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills and then finishes at the Santa Monica Pier. I'm hoping with this mainly down hill course I should be able to improve my time and edging towards a 3 hour marathon.Back to the weekend. Saturday I decided to get some fresh air and go see a movie... what????Between my buildings door, the skytrain station and the cinema I was outside in the rain for a good 500 yards.
I went to see Pirate Radio, for those in Europe, The Boat that Rocked. Having been out in England some 6 months back I missed it then but normally enjoy Richard Curtis films so I thought now was as good as time as any.
The first thing to mention about the film was the difference in trailers. In the UK the films trailers had your usual comedy clips from the film showing the story of how they were getting round the Law and Government. In North America it concentrated far more on the one American character, even suggesting he was showing the Brits how it was done. Marketing you have to love it.
The film was enjoyable and Bill Nighy is always fun to watch. One problem that did emerge in the theatre was when the humour relied on regional knowledge. There were a few uncomfortable moments where I was laughing and the people round me were just looking like maybe I was on day release from a straight jacket.
With still some daylight to kill, I decided that Science world might be worth a gander. I go past it on the train a lot and have even run past/around it a few times but have never made it in. The building itself look very futuristic or it did at some point, think Epcot Centre but smaller and with lights all round it. It has to be said, it is mainly set out for kids with lots of hands on stuff to do, but... if you are willing to ignore the looks, whispers and scowls from narky parents adults can fully enjoy it too. With exhibits to test your flexibility (I'm average), your grip (erm, I've got a good grip for some reason), your brain waves (yeah, I think that one was broken) and the worsts one in my opinion, your fears (there were people walking round with fricking snakes!!!). It was fun but I really think it is best to do with a kid so at least you can pass it off as you are there for them, like Disney movies, you know what I mean.Sunday started early with getting up in time so I could have breakfast and have chance for it to digest before my second attempt at trail running. Sukhi and John from PRR were kind enough to take me back out to the Baden Powell Trail to do what I presume is roughly the third quarter of a race known as the Knee Knacker. We started at Grouse Mountain and ran through to Lynn Valley Headwaters and then back again (the route should be visible through a link in the Garmin section on the right for those that are interested).
The first trail run I did was on a beautiful crisp morning with the sun coming through the trees. It couldn't have been more different on Sunday. The rain while not heavy was consistent and the temperature was cool to say the least, especially up in the mountains. We ran just below the snow line even crossing it at one point although I'm not sure 1/2 an inch of snow on either side of the trail counts. It was an amazing run, all the streams were up and you could here the waterfalls from quite a distance, my favourite part would have to be running over one bridge that was partial submerged due to the rise in water. I think Sukhi summed it up best my saying we had run the Baden Powell stream not trail.
Trail running is a very different art than road running and one I have yet to master in anyway. While my two guides were lithely leaping from rock to rock, gliding over roots and fallen branches, I was clomping around like the tyrannosaur in Jurassic Park. There was no fear of meeting any wildlife along the way, they had heard me from a long way away, and had time to finish what ever they were doing and amble away at a leisurely pace long before we got with in range. Oh well, something for me to work on.
The rest of Sunday past in napping, I did get up early, and doing a bit of food shopping. I did manage to get a whiteboard though where I have laid out my day to day activities so I don't keep forgetting to do them, you know, the small things like getting dressed (I'm not kidding). I did manage to get out to the buildings gym to have a quick run on the treadmill as I'm concerned that I have lost a fair amount of speed and fitness since completing Chicago back at the beginning of October. I was doing great until Jerry McQuire came on the T.V. and I had to stop.
Today has been basically about recovery, all the feet slapping from yesterday has left me a very sore back and calves. To see me this morning would have been like looking at in 50 years (I'm hopeful) I was sort of limping with an arched back and a blanket over my shoulders, It's got cold out side and I'm too cheap to turn the heating on. Thank you pharmaceutical companies for Ibuprofen!
And just for the record, I did get dressed today as per schedule :)
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