SLAP!
By shnewt | June 29, 2008
Ok, so I’m in Winnipeg for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary and my Dad’s birthday. It was a surprise but mental note, next time I really should get the code for their home alarm system… that or make sure my parents are home first.
“Yes officer… I really do live here… well, not anymore… but I would, if I did, but I don’t… but that doesn’t mean my parents don’t love me. No, I’m not drunk.”
The day I arrived (Friday) there were tornado warnings. Apparently about 6 dropped down in the surrounding area. Sadly, I didn’t see any. I miss the prairie sky now that I live in BC. I don’t care what people on the west coast say, dramatic cloud cover beat mountains every time.
However, what doesn’t beat mountains are mountain sized mosquitoes. And they are out with a vengeance this year. I really didn’t want to pay a valet to carry my bags from the airport to my cab and I didn’t have to… mosquitoes picked them up and carried them away. You think I’m kidding. About 3 mossies got together, waiting for me to set my case down, just for a moment!, and they came down, picked it up and flew off. They would have been gone for good too if a fat guy in shorts hadn’t walked by right at that time. Mosquitoes just can’t say know to fat, veiny legs…
And with that image, I’ll bid you adieu.
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I Hate Learning Opportunities
By shnewt | June 23, 2008
Have you noticed that when something goes wrong, it’s a learning opportunity? Seldom does something fantastic happen and someone says, “you can learn from that”. It’s always when things get screwed up.
Sunday was not a good day for me. I made some serious mistakes during my first 1/2 marathon which ultimately cost me. Not a good day at all.
It started fine. Good night’s sleep. Good nutrition and well hydrated. Arrived at UBC with time to spare. Race time started at 7am. I wasn’t even tired. Rachel was great to drive me and wait for the race to start before heading to the finish line to greet me. The sky was clear so the rain they feared wasn’t going to happen. The air was cool but perfect for running. I was glad I wore the short sleeve as a long sleeve shirt would have been too warm. But I digress.
So the race started at 7, on time. I started my stop watch as I passed the start line to keep my pace. During training, you learn to run for 10 minutes, then walk for 1. This way you don’t die by the end. I had a pace band on me that tells me what time I should be at for each kilometer so I know if I’m on track to reach my 2 hour target. I’ve never run 21.1 km in 2 hours but this was my goal. Maybe a bit of a stretch goal. So off we were.
Running isn’t fun. It’s quite the opposite actually. I don’t really know why I do it. Perhaps if I didn’t do this, I would be 5 hundred pounds, sitting on my couch, watching reruns of Three’s Company, washing my backside with a mop. I don’t know. Point is though, I wasn’t having a good time Sunday. But I rarely do when I run. At least physically, I felt fine. Apart from the running of course.
By the time I looked at my watch, 16 minutes had passed. Wow. I missed my walk at 10. Oh well. I was running in a sea of people and it would be strange to suddenly start walking. And I felt fine (apart from the running that is). So I said I would walk at 20. 20 came and went and I hadn’t walked yet. I finally saw that we had just passed the 4 km mark and I started to play that awful mind game… “oh man, I have to do this 5 more times”. That is not a fun game to play. Trust me.
I check out my pace band to see how ahead I am and realize that I’m like 90 seconds behind my pace. 90 seconds doesn’t sound like much but multiply that by 5 and it’s a fair bit past 2 hours when you’re done. Not to mention, I hadn’t done any walking yet. Walking only delays your final time. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Just pick up the pace a bit. Ya. That’s all.
Heart rate was still good. Pace was faster and only marginally more painful. Marginally. I did need to walk though. So around 30+, I walked for a minute. Then ran. Walked at 40+ then ran again. Grabbed water at the water stations (do you know how hard it is to run and drink at the same time? It is.). Kept running. Must go faster. Must go faster.
Lots of people running the race. Thousands. Much effort was spent bobbing and weaving around people. It was a bit crowded at first but as the race progressed, more and more it spread out. After about 5 km, it was easy to move around freely. I like to think I did more passing than being passed but all that is moot now. Perhaps I should have let more people pass me…
So around the 7th km (I think), the race goes downhill. No, I don’t mean downhill as in bad but geographically. It’s a hill that goes and goes and goes. The 50 minute passes and I don’t stop for my walk. Why bother? It’s downhill! 1 hour comes and I say to myself that I’ll stop when I get to the bottom. I don’t know how long this hill will last so I better take advantage of it. And I’m making up some great time! Woot!
I finally get to the bottom. I think I’m around the 12 to 13 km distance. I stop for my walk… grab a water… relax. I check out my pace card. It’s about 1:03 or 04. I’m ahead of my pace! At this rate, I may be able to beat 2 hours! Of course, I know there is still the Burrard St. bridge to tackle which sadly is going up, not down. My minute ends so I proceed to run.
Whats this? My left knee is hurting. No, it’s not hurting, it’s killing me. I stop running and go back to walking. Hmm. thats not good. I walk about 10 feet, shake it off and try to run again. I can’t . I literally can’t run. I have torn some ligament or muscle or something in my knee. And it really, really hurts. I go back to walking. Now I can barely walk. And all I can think about is… “If you don’t start running, you won’t beat 2 hours”. Then my mind finally shifts to “Ok, 2:15… I can still beat 2:15 but I have to start running again”. And I’m looking at all these people who are passing me! All the people I just passed!!! Look at all the people I have to now try and pass again. If I don’t start running, I’m going to be the last person! I will be the last person to run across the finish line. And you start to panic a bit. I know that sounds a bit silly but when you’re there to run… after you’ve been training… the thought of not finishing doesn’t really cross your mind. Until reality sets in.
Not only am I not going to finish… there is no way I can walk for the next 8km. There is no way. Fortunately, I brought my phone and text’d Rachel. Told her that I’ve hurt my knee. I tried running again (still a bit in denial). I call her. I’m devastated. And everyone just keeps running past me…
She was waiting for me around 15km marker. As soon as I told her that I was out of the race, she ran and got me a coffee and a cinnamon bun. And she continued to take pictures of me as I approached her like I was the Kenyan in first place. I don’t know what I would have done if she wasn’t there for me.
Damn. I knew my left knee wasn’t 100% but I never thought it would cost me the race. I knew my body wasn’t going to be happy once I finished but I always thought I was going to finish! I’m part angry. Part embarrassed. Part… loser.
Before my untimely end, I was thinking during the race that I don’t want to do this anymore. I don’t want to run. This is hard. I would finish this race then consider my early retirement. But now…
Damn if I’m not going to finish at least one race. Time to start training again.
… I HATE learning experiences.
Topics: crappy... | 10 Comments »
This is the weekend…
By shnewt | June 20, 2008
Baring any last minute accidents, my alarm not going off or me chickening out, Sunday should be my first 1/2 marathon race. The Scotiabank starts at UBC and ends up somewhere around Stanley Park. I’ll be the one in the back of the ambulance.
I don’t think I’m as ready as I was right before the Vancouver Marathon that I was training for a couple of months ago. I didn’t run that race as we were in Mexico with the family on a cruise. So I keep telling people “I don’t think I’m ready” and they’re all like “Sure you are! You’ll be fine!!”. gulp.
Anyway. If anyone is looking for me on Sunday afternoon, I’ll be in a vegetative state, at home, under a blanket, watching Battlestar Galactica on DVD…
Hope you have a fun weekend!
Topics: Dazed and Contused. | 5 Comments »
Well That’s Odd
By shnewt | June 18, 2008
One of the guys on my team had a heart attack today. He’s younger than I am and apart from his smoking, seemed to be in fine health. Yes, I know smoking is bad for you… but regardless. I think 37 is too young to have a heart attack.
I had kind of taken Sam under my wing somewhat as he’s on one of my smaller teams. He’s one of those guys who is so eager to learn and do well but just needs polish. Someone to explain why we use this verbiage over that or the method behind the strategic decisions we make. He’s a great team player and someone you always want to do well. Sam is the one you want to win the lottery (if it can’t be you). Is there someone in your life that you think “If I ever do really well, I’ll make sure this guy is taken care of”. Do you know people like that? People who deserve better?
He’s had a somewhat strange and rough life. Born and raised in the Yukon (I’m pretty sure he lived in a log cabin… I’m not joking) he is well over 6 feet but the nicest guy. His brother died when the fan belt broke on the engine of the car he was tuning cutting him from ear to ear. He’s separated from his wife who now lives with his daughter and his ex-best friend. Because they do very well for themselves (his two ex’s), they want to put their daughter in an exclusive day care which is very expensive and insist Sam pays half, which is about half of his entire pay cheque. Sam’s common law wife is bi-polar which creates issues when she stops her meds. He had to leave work early a short while ago because she called him to tell him that they were about to be evicted from their apartment because she had stopped paying rent 3 months earlier to cover bad debts left behind from her ex-husband who is now in jail. It was a situation which spiraled out of control and because of her condition, she didn’t know how to handle it. Speaking of apartments, they live in a 2 bedroom apartment in North Van with 3 kids from her previous marriage. That’s 5 people in a 2 bedroom apartment that overlooks a crack den. Last year a person was executed in their back lane. Sam found his wife’s underwear under their 7 year old son’s pillow and when questioned, he replied that he feels that he should be a girl. He’s always felt that he should be a girl, not a boy. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… But it goes on. And on.
And still, he’s the easiest going guy you’ll ever meet. And he deserves better. Fortunately the heart attack was mild. He’s going to be fine but they are keeping him for observation. I like to think that everyone ultimately gets what they deserve. But deep down, I’m not sure if that’s true. I believe in karma somewhat but bottom line, bad things happen to good people. And not all bad people get what they really deserve.
Oh, I know this is strange blogging intimate details about someone I know but a) he doesn’t know about this site. b) I’ve changes his name and c) I’ll probably end up deleting this post… someday. Maybe.
Topics: crappy... | 1 Comment »