Today, I woke up after Ragnar had to go, and I didn't really feel like running. I knew we would have a long walking day with Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium.
Fast forward past the traffic jam to Vancouver, getting somewhat lost in Stanley Park, and the Aquarium, as lovely as it was. Ragnar suggested we get out the rollerblades and since it had been years since I'd last rolled, I was excited and nervous all at once.
You can imagine that it started out badly. The car, our starting point, was parked on an incline, and I was nervously clutching at Ragnar. I did land on my butt once. However, once we got down to the actual sea wall, it was pretty straight-forward, with some curves. As I continued on, I gained confidence and speed. Through children and runners and other rollerbladers, I made my way through. It really didn't feel like a cardio work out, and perhaps at the speed I was going, it wasn't a huge cardio effort.
Blading along the Seawall was amazing. Sheer stone to our left, sea to our right, it was a beautiful day to be out there. Sunscreen was an absolute necessity, but so worth it. Ragnar estimates we went about 8km, but I was having so much fun that I didn't notice. We saw boats coming in, seaplanes taking off, and the diversity that is Vancouver.
After we landed back at the car (no other traumas to my self), Ragnar and I went for ice cream. Worth it!!
Showing posts with label cross-training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross-training. Show all posts
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
Swimming
Mother Nature has decided that she herself is funnier than Mel Brooks, and tried another April Fool's dump of snow yesterday. This time, I had planned ahead and come up with an alternative cardio regime: swimming!
I've never been the strongest swimmer, and frankly, I get nervous about having my head in water. I watch people glide along, calmly and without thrashing about, and envy their poise and lack of worry. But I have one person on my side, another non-swimming swimmer over at Running Mania. She has reassured me that no, just because 25 meters of freestyle makes me breathless does not mean I'm in worse shape than I thought.
Anyways, I went into the pool, wearing my new goggles (love them!) and old swim cap and my blue swimsuit, and did about 300 meters. Frankly, that's a lot more than I expected to be able to do. It helped that an older guy came into the pool and started those long, lazy strokes that make me feel like I've never been in water; finally I had something to compete against!
I also quickly found that backstroke is my best friend because then, I can breathe! I did a lot of backstroke yesterday. I also decided to try making it across two lengths with the power of my legs alone! And did it!
Today, my upper arms, right below the shoulder, are very sore. My back is quite stiff too, though I figure it could certainly feel worse.
As an all-body work-out and a new and novel one, swimming is definitely up there. I just need more practice!
I've never been the strongest swimmer, and frankly, I get nervous about having my head in water. I watch people glide along, calmly and without thrashing about, and envy their poise and lack of worry. But I have one person on my side, another non-swimming swimmer over at Running Mania. She has reassured me that no, just because 25 meters of freestyle makes me breathless does not mean I'm in worse shape than I thought.
Anyways, I went into the pool, wearing my new goggles (love them!) and old swim cap and my blue swimsuit, and did about 300 meters. Frankly, that's a lot more than I expected to be able to do. It helped that an older guy came into the pool and started those long, lazy strokes that make me feel like I've never been in water; finally I had something to compete against!
I also quickly found that backstroke is my best friend because then, I can breathe! I did a lot of backstroke yesterday. I also decided to try making it across two lengths with the power of my legs alone! And did it!
Today, my upper arms, right below the shoulder, are very sore. My back is quite stiff too, though I figure it could certainly feel worse.
As an all-body work-out and a new and novel one, swimming is definitely up there. I just need more practice!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Reconnecting with Friends
One aspect of running that I frequently forget about is the social aspect. It's not that I mean to, or that I'm upset - I just stop visiting places. It's happened with the Running Room (though moving away helped) and with Running Mania, a Canadian running website. I just... stop going.
But part of my re-entry into the great outdoors is acknowledging that man is a pack animal, and sometimes, it doesn't suck to run with people. In fact, it frequently doesn't.
So I logged back onto Running Mania and re-introduced myself. Everyone was happy to see me again, and I'm heading to my first RM event at the end of April! Everyone is full of advice, stories, and jokes, and it's so much fun to find a place on the internet where everyone gets along so well!
In other news, today's run was a lot more pleasant than Tuesday's. Tuesday's 30m run was gross and full of wind and damp and grey skies. It was a huge letdown after a beautiful day.
Today's weather was a lot sunnier in the evening, a lot warmer, but there was still a bit of a cold wind. However, it could have been a lot worse. I decided to run my usual route backwards, for some adventure, and I'm finding that I'm tracking about 4.5k in those 30 minutes. Given some time, patience and effort, I have no doubt I could bring it to 5k in 30 minutes, or even 25 minutes. Wouldn't that be something?
In upcoming races, my friend and I are talking about the Canadian Derby half-marathon race in Edmonton. I asked the RM folk about it, and got a lot of glowing reports! It's fast, as the website boasts, flat, and apparently very well run.
There's also a Run for the Troops on June 3 that has a 5k, 10k, and 21k. I think I'd like to do the 10k.
Speaking of 10k, I looked at the latest e-mail from the near-by Running Room, and it says the half marathon group is doing 10k this week. Just in time! Wouldn't it be funny if I started running with them and wound up in shape to do whatever half-marathon is in May? Hilarious! And tempting.
In other news, I have seen that I am exceeding my cardio calorie needs. Even if I don't run 45 minutes a day, or recumbent-bike on the days I'm not running, I'm still expending more calories than it requires. Me, I'm gonna put that down as one of those things that can't be helped.
In other other news, I've got busy legs like mad and I think I'm gonna go stretch them out!
But part of my re-entry into the great outdoors is acknowledging that man is a pack animal, and sometimes, it doesn't suck to run with people. In fact, it frequently doesn't.
So I logged back onto Running Mania and re-introduced myself. Everyone was happy to see me again, and I'm heading to my first RM event at the end of April! Everyone is full of advice, stories, and jokes, and it's so much fun to find a place on the internet where everyone gets along so well!
In other news, today's run was a lot more pleasant than Tuesday's. Tuesday's 30m run was gross and full of wind and damp and grey skies. It was a huge letdown after a beautiful day.
Today's weather was a lot sunnier in the evening, a lot warmer, but there was still a bit of a cold wind. However, it could have been a lot worse. I decided to run my usual route backwards, for some adventure, and I'm finding that I'm tracking about 4.5k in those 30 minutes. Given some time, patience and effort, I have no doubt I could bring it to 5k in 30 minutes, or even 25 minutes. Wouldn't that be something?
In upcoming races, my friend and I are talking about the Canadian Derby half-marathon race in Edmonton. I asked the RM folk about it, and got a lot of glowing reports! It's fast, as the website boasts, flat, and apparently very well run.
There's also a Run for the Troops on June 3 that has a 5k, 10k, and 21k. I think I'd like to do the 10k.
Speaking of 10k, I looked at the latest e-mail from the near-by Running Room, and it says the half marathon group is doing 10k this week. Just in time! Wouldn't it be funny if I started running with them and wound up in shape to do whatever half-marathon is in May? Hilarious! And tempting.
In other news, I have seen that I am exceeding my cardio calorie needs. Even if I don't run 45 minutes a day, or recumbent-bike on the days I'm not running, I'm still expending more calories than it requires. Me, I'm gonna put that down as one of those things that can't be helped.
In other other news, I've got busy legs like mad and I think I'm gonna go stretch them out!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Clinic starts tomorrow!
I'll admit that I haven't been running as steadily as I'd hoped before the start of the clinic. In fact, 'intermittent' is probably a better word than 'steadily'.
The clinic is starting, regardless of my fitness level. Fortunately, we start slow and steady; three runs of 3k this week, and 7k on Sunday. I've been doing 3-4k, so that's not a big concern.
My goal race is the Ottawa Race Weekend half-marathon, for a time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. I don't mind if it's less, I just want it to be better than my last race, which was 2 hours and 38 minutes.
I ran with my sister for a while on Saturday. We were in Ste-Hyacinthe for her boxing National Championships, and there was one huge difference between me and anyone else who ran: I was in a shirt and a pair of shorts, and the boxers were in long sweats and covered to the nines. Most of them were trying to sweat their way to making weight, which is a huge part of boxing.
Normally, I'd think this is absolutely crazy! And then I saw my sister and her friends in the hot tub and was amazed. They looked fit and amazing. I thought, if they can do that, why can't I?
So I'm going to take it up another level, and find an online personal trainer to use three days a week. The question is, which one?!?
The clinic is starting, regardless of my fitness level. Fortunately, we start slow and steady; three runs of 3k this week, and 7k on Sunday. I've been doing 3-4k, so that's not a big concern.
My goal race is the Ottawa Race Weekend half-marathon, for a time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. I don't mind if it's less, I just want it to be better than my last race, which was 2 hours and 38 minutes.
I ran with my sister for a while on Saturday. We were in Ste-Hyacinthe for her boxing National Championships, and there was one huge difference between me and anyone else who ran: I was in a shirt and a pair of shorts, and the boxers were in long sweats and covered to the nines. Most of them were trying to sweat their way to making weight, which is a huge part of boxing.
Normally, I'd think this is absolutely crazy! And then I saw my sister and her friends in the hot tub and was amazed. They looked fit and amazing. I thought, if they can do that, why can't I?
So I'm going to take it up another level, and find an online personal trainer to use three days a week. The question is, which one?!?
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