Seriously. After all this time, how did I manage to get through many winters without the aid of a scarf? How did I put up with having a chilly neck? With today’s frigid temperatures I decided to head to Mexx to pick up a new toque and scarf. I never thought of myself as a scarf person, but I figured I’d give it a shot. Sweet mercy, that scarf made me so comfortable out there. Even with the winds blowing at my face I felt like I could take on anything. All this time I’ve been going without one like a chump! Ugh!
Category Archive: mother nature
Raining positivity
Over the few times that I’ve coached running clinics I’ve learned not to underestimate the power of positivity as a tool to motivate other people. This is why, no matter how rough I might be feeling as a result of things earlier in the day, when I get to my coaching gig I slap a smile on and do my best to be cheerful. Last night’s class was a perfect example of the power of positive thought. The weather was quite nasty. It was cold, windy, and raining hard. Despite that a large group of people were there to run. After the class portion of the night we all filed out the front door. People started huddling under the covered walkway but I called out to them to get into the rain. ”You’re going to get wet anyway so you might as well come out.” True, right? From that point I thanked them for coming out on such a night. I cheered them on.
As we were going, I laughed out loud a great deal. Every time we crossed and stepped into a cold puddle I laughed even louder. And why not? The situation truly is ridiculous, you know? The other runners seemed to take my cue and were laughing along. The route for that night was a 4K steady run. Everyone seemed to be running ever so slightly faster just to get the run over with as soon as possible. All the same, people were in good spirits. By the time I got back to store, I was keeping an eye out for the others who still had to get back. I quickly noted that every single person that had already come back had a huge smile on his or her face. As more people came in, the smiles kept on coming. Overall, the feeling from finishing in nasty conditions seemed to buoy everyone. Now, imagine if I had gone out with a sour look, cursing having to come out on such a night: people wouldn’t be nearly as happy. And so, I plan on keeping my positivity going as much as possible. Everyone will be better off for it.
Thick clouds on the ground
Walking home from the station slightly inebriated through a thick eerie fog. Horror films start this way. http://twitpic.com/36cwhp
@jnery
Jay Nery
Yeah, I made it back. It’s only a short walk back home from the station, but the fog made things a bit tougher. As I crossed a major intersection I hoped out loud that the left-turning vehicles would see me; they have trouble paying attention to pedestrians even in clearer weather. Shadowy figures emerging through the mist passed me along the way. I swear, it felt like something out of a movie.
Yay, technology!
Earlier today, after work I decided to walk up to the subway station instead of taking the streetcar. It was raining at the time, but since I had an umbrella I really didn’t mind getting out there. Sounds like me, right? It’s a relatively short walk, but about midway I think the weather in combination with the warm air and the dimming sunlight was just making me feel a little bit sick. The discomfort increased to the point where I figured that hopping on a streetcar would be the best option. I still had about 8 minutes left in my walk if I wanted to finish my trek. I didn’t think it was worth it to finish the walk, just because the discomfort was mounting.
As I waited at the stop I checked my phone for the next arrival times. A while back I bookmarked the NextBus website which lists predicted arrival times for the many streetcar lines in the city. My phone said that the next vehicles would arrive in 1 minute and 3 minutes. I figured I could manage that. The first vehicle came around and only dropped off a few passengers. It was so packed that it couldn’t take anyone waiting. I waited for the second one and saw that it was just as packed. It was so full that the driver actually just drove right passed us. I checked my phone and saw that the next ones would come in 6 minutes and 8 minutes. Again, I waited there patiently.
While waiting I recalled the fact that this stop was pretty bad in terms of catching a ride. Usually I’m inside the streetcar though so it never really affected me before. Anyway, the next streetcar came and again it was packed such that the driver didn’t bother stopping. This time I growled out loud. Knowing that one was coming in 1-2 minutes, I told myself that if I couldn’t get on this one I’d just walk. I checked my phone and it said that the next one after the one coming was 9 minutes away. The the streetcar came, it was once again packed. The driver held the door open though. I was going to avoid getting in, but then I remembered what my phone was predicting. I wasn’t willing to hang around for another 9 minutes or so, so at the last moment I got on. Pfft. Sure, it was snug in there, and I really had to jockey for position. All the same, there would have been no point in just hanging around for a fifth streetcar to pass by. It probably would be filled anyway. All of this proved to me just how useful smartphones can be. I mean, the crowd at the stop didn’t do much to find a way on, but as a result they ended up waiting there for another good chunk of time in unpleasant weather. Yay technology!
Sunday’s probabilities
As Sunday approaches I’ve been keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts. Ideally, I would love it if the whole race took place with temperatures at around 10°C, or even less. Overcast skies would be wonderful. My experience tells me that it’s not bloody likely: the past two times I’ve done this event have been warm and humid. As such, all I can do is hope and pray that things will be in my favour. I really want this race to go well.
The thing about forecasts, though, is that they’re never perfectly accurate. By nature, it’s just not possible. Instead, weather forecasts always deal with probabilities. The powers that be have heavy duty computers that do a lot of number crunching based on trends and empirical evidence to predict what’s likely to happen. In terms of short term forecasts, the scientific models are good enough to have a good grasp of likely temperature trends. Precipitation is a tricky matter. I mean, that’s why they always talk in terms of POP (probability of precipitation), right? If they could say with certainty whether it’s going to rain or not on a particular day, the forecasts would always give a POP of 0 or 100%. That’s often not the case, is it?
Anyway, for Sunday’s weather, the date is still outside of the short term, so I’m taking the forecast with a grain of salt so far. Still, as the date approaches I’m getting more and more anxious. We all could use a good forecast. No matter what though, I predict that the probability of awesomeness will indeed be 100%.
Spanked by humidity
Training’s important, yeah? That’s the only way to get better at anything you do. It’s why I’ve been putting in so much time on the road over the past few years. Of course, if I compare my running abilities now with how I was then, of course I’m a lot better these days. Duh. There are still things though that don’t seem to get easier. No matter how mentally prepared I am to do a particular distance, if the weather conditions don’t cooperate I’m going to have trouble. There’s no shame in it, but it’s something I have to be aware of.
This morning I had a 32 kilometres run scheduled. I was mentally psyching myself up for it since the day before. I knew that such a run would likely take me around 4 to 4.5 hours at a slow speed. I wasn’t intending to go fast at all because I wasn’t sure how my body would react to tackling such a long distance. There was a light breeze going, and the sky was overcast. I thought these were great conditions. It wasn’t until an experienced veteran commented on the humidity level that I became worried. How could I not notice? It really was gross. I didn’t want to let that stop me though. By the 7K mark my shirt was already soaked with sweat. It was so water-logged that my shorts became wet as well. Not pleasant. Now, as much as I label myself as a particularly sweaty person, even that’s pretty ridiculous for me.
I kept going as best I could. I was starting to really feel heavy fatigue by 23K. Along the way there’s a long up hill portion. I pushed through it, but from that point I was wiped out. At 27K I basically hit the wall. It’s such an odd experience. No matter how much I wanted to move my legs, I just could not maintain a run. I was mentally telling myself that I could do it, and that the discomfort can be ignored. My legs begged to differ. Even as much as I wanted to move forward, I kept reverting to a walk. There were a few moments where I felt like I’d just vomit if I tried to push any more. Man, mentally I was feeling bad. On the way back, things were really stop and go. I did make it back, but I really had absolutely nothing left in the tank.
It took me a few moments and some pep talks from the store staff to help put things into perspective. At the very least, I can say that I really pushed my body to its physical limit. With better weather I’m sure I would have made it back without feeling so gross. Yeah, I’m not happy, but when Mother Nature chooses such conditions there’s nothing you can really do. This is one of the aspects of summer running that people don’t often consider. It’s entirely why I prefer winter running to summer running.
Above the clouds
Every now and then, it’s good to experience what’s it’s like to be high above the clouds.
Took this picture from my seat on the way back in to Toronto.
They’ll call me freedom
K’naan’s song Wavin’ Flag off his album Troubadour (awesome album, by the way) was re-recorded featuring a whole pile of Canadian music artists in support of Haitian relief efforts. This is the result. It’s Very We Are The World in a way, but frankly I like this song a whole lot better.
Though, perhaps I’m biased.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB7L1BIDELc
Find this song in iTunes already, k?
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