Oh my GOD. The rest of the LTR class is trying to convince me to sign up for the 5K race. They’re really being very encouraging about it. I’ll be honest and say that just the thought of it has got me terrified.
Should I? Shouldn’t I? I think I’ll probably sign up. However…holy crap! 
You know, some days, I feel like I actively drive some friends away with my anti-social behavior. I think, “well who could blame them, considering you can be a drag to be with.” Harsh, no? There’s some truth to that adage about everyone being their own worst critic.
Then, I consider that there are a few people who’ve been able to see past all that and have cracked in through the shell. They’ve seen that other self and have stuck by me even through all these faults.
Lucky. Blessed, really.
In the end though, I can’t rely on them too much. I have to build a stronger reliance on myself and the fact that I’m worth the time. Maybe I don’t necessarily believe that right now–not fully anyway.
Let’s just say that I’m working on it.
It’s been a few days since my last run, and I’ve been getting antsy. I want so much to just do better. So, this morning was really anxious to get out there. At the same time, I was feeling sort of cautious. Last night, I went to a barbecue at a friend’s house and had a couple of beers. This morning, I was still belching out some beer gas, which wasn’t a good sign. Oh, but it was nothing a lot of water couldn’t fix.
We were doing 10 minute intervals. The instructor and the run leaders changed the route by just doing the route backwards. Throughout, I decided to take it easy. I kept an eye on my heart rate monitor and tried to keep things below 180 bpm. If I was getting a bit high over, I slowed down. I think that made a huge difference. That helped me to not tire out too quickly. Even though I was close to the rear, I was still feeling alright. The first two intervals went by really well. Soon we were on the third, and I was feeling a bit tired, but still doing fine. As people turned around to rein the group together, they’d ask me how I was doing. Each time I replied: “I’m hangin’ in there!” I was. By the end off the third interval, we were still far from our starting point, and one of the run leaders started wondering: “What in the world is going on? Something is a bit off…” I just thought we were running slower than usual. I mean, we were usually done after about 3 and a bit. The fourth interval was tough. I was really slowing down, but I kept going. By the end of that one, I was really puzzled. Why weren’t we there yet???
In the end, we ran four intervals and a little bit. As we gathered, one of the run leaders announced that we had run 6.2km. What? Holy crap! 
6.2km in 42 minutes isn’t all that bad, I guess. I keep mentioning this, but yeah, I never would have imagined running that much and this far. It’s amazing. Everyone was all smiles then and there.
I have to say that we’re doing fantastic for a learn to run class. It’s a little bittersweet for the class to come to a close. However, I’m ready to take on the 5k class. I want to be stronger! I want to run farther! Gotta keep going!
On Wednesday, I left work a bit early to get to the RR a little earlier than usual. I made it to the train station in good time and was at my car pretty quickly. As I headed north on Warden, I heard on the radio that the intersection of Lawrence and Warden was closed for some reason. By the time I heard it, I was already past Eglinton, so it was too late to really change my route. Indeed the intersection was closed, but it seemed like the reason must have been really bad. That’s because the area was closed within a one block radius. Traffic was really slow moving all around. It wasn’t until I got home after my run that I found out what it was all about.
Intersection a danger zone
Family, friends mourn truck crash victim
(Links may expire in two weeks time)
It’s really a sad story. I mean, it’s one of those wrong place, wrong time things, which is really just tragic.
The next day, Thursday, on my way home from work, I was kind of reluctant to pass by the intersection. In my mind, there was still something hanging over the area in terms of blocked energy. In the end though, curiosity won out and I drove by. I happened to come to a red light, so I ended up stopping. I looked around, and every person in every car that was stopped with me was looking off to the right to get a look at the damage.
Even though things had been cleaned up since the day before, it was sort of an eerie scene. I swear, everything to me seemed like it was moving in slow motion. At the corner, there were a couple of men standing around a few bouquets of flowers looking down solemnly. The windows of the store that the truck collided into where boarded up. It made me think of what people in Florida might do upon hearing of an approaching hurricane. There was this mother walking around the scene with her child. The child seemed to be so carefree, while the mother was more mindful of where they were.
At that time, it felt like there was a sense of sanctity about the place because of the freshness of it all. I could feel the heaviness in the air. It was so interesting to be part of that collective consciousness at that very moment. Even though we didn’t know who died, or who got hurt, we were all grieving silently in unison.
I’m really not sure why I’m blogging about this.
As me and my coworker were heading about to enter our building, pasted on the front door was a printed sign for the nightclub below our workplace. The nightclub often puts these signs up to direct people attending events that they host around to the back of the building where the real entrance is. Apparently last night, the night club was holding the Canada’s Next Top Model After Party.
I just thought that was sort of nifty. It’s like the TV world and my world are colliding and my building is the union in the Venn Diagram of those worlds. Of course, I’m still in my world, and they’re in theirs. Heh.
Oh crap. Just spilled a container of tempura sauce on the floor. A whole bunch landed on my pants as well. I’m going to go the whole day and ride the streetcar back smelling of tempura. That’s fantastic.
In a professional environment, it remains unprofessional to hit your coworkers.
I really really need to remember that.
So, I heard from someone at work that the Second Cup at Richmond and Spadina is shutting down, and in its place a Tim Hortons will open. Now, I pass by this Second Cup daily on my way to work from the streetcar. When I pass by it, I don’t think I’ve ever felt the urge to go inside to get a drink in the morning. I tried buying a chai latte there once, and it wasn’t all that great–it was heavy on the spice grit.
When I mention the switch to some people at work, I tend to spike the conversation with “this is not a good thing!” Inevitably, they ask if I’ve got a problem with Tim’s. Oh, on the contrary. Are you kidding me?
Right now, the closest TH is about a few minutes away from work (Dundas and Spadina). It’s close, but I still have to go out of my way to get there. When I decide that I want to drop by, it’s usually only when I’m really wanting something from there. It’s not really a spontaneous thing, so I really haven’t gone there all that much. So, if there’s a TH that’s on the way to work that’s all too conveniently placed, I might be tempted to drop by daily to buy…something.
That’s why it’s not a good thing. Will power!
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