Tonight was my solo (as in I went by myself) Patrick Watson show. I AM SO GLAD I WENT!!!
I'd heard from a couple of my fellow music lovers that Patrick Watson was a great live band. They were right.
This was seriously one of the best shows I've ever been to, and you guys know that I go to a lot of shows. The way that Patrick Watson mixes an amazing light show with the gorgeous orchestrations of his music is jaw-dropping. The show was an absolute treat for both my eyes and my ears.
At some points of the show, there stage was covered in little lights that looked like candles. I loved how this looked.
Not only did the band play full-on arrangements with violins, guitars, gorgeous piano, drums, vocals, and trumpet, they played a couple songs in front of a single mic.
My favourite was "Into Giants" which started at a single mic, then the band ran to their places as the song crescendoed into a full arrangement. The video below shows this song and how the band plays it live. If you like good music, watch the whole thing. Trust me. It's amazing and gorgeous.
After seeing the Joel Plaskett Emergency a couple weeks ago, and Patrick Watson tonight, I am convinced that Canada produces some of the best live bands out there. Actually, I was always convinced of that, the point was just re-iterated by those two shows.
And, I just found out before the show when I was on Patrick Watson's website that the band is playing the legendary Massey Hall in December! Tickets go on sale on June 1st, so I think I'm going to get mine ASAP. However, this time I'll get two so I can share this band with someone else. Yay!
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Adventures in Your Own Backyard
Weekends go fast, hey?
This was a nice mellow one for me. Friday night was spent running errands, on Saturday I had lunch with a friend and ran more errands, and today I woke up early to run a 5K race. I'm a little bit bummed that I didn't beat my time from the Scotiabank Waterfront 5K in October... I was about 30 seconds slower. However, considering the fact that I was sneezing and coughing like mad on Thursday night, I guess that's not too bad. I definitely wasn't at 100% for this race. Ah well, I plan to run a bunch more races in the fall and I'm sure I'll make a new PB then.
The race was fun though and in a park down the street from me, so I was home by 10 am to have a little nap. I was aware of a 10 am to 1 pm 30% off shoe sale at a local shoe store, so I was out the door in time to hit that up. I was thinking of getting a new pair of Birkenstocks, but I'm pretty sure I can get one more summer out of mine. I don't feel like breaking in a new pair. I ended up getting a pair of dressier wedges (can't not buy something at a shoe sale), and I like them.
Then I treated my tired feet to a pedicure. Good idea self.
I had consecutive Skype dates with Claire and Becca T in the late afternoon. Laughs were had.
It'll be another busy week. I've got Patrick Watson to look forward to on Tuesday night, and a bunch of school stuff to keep me on my toes. Three more weeks of teaching until exams (which are actually already written). However, I feel like I have infinite piles of marking to do in that time. Seriously, do you ever feel that you have a pile of work that never shrinks no matter how much time you spend on it?
I hope you all have nice weeks. I'm going to go finish reading The Weight of Water. Thanks for the book recommendation Jabba!
This was a nice mellow one for me. Friday night was spent running errands, on Saturday I had lunch with a friend and ran more errands, and today I woke up early to run a 5K race. I'm a little bit bummed that I didn't beat my time from the Scotiabank Waterfront 5K in October... I was about 30 seconds slower. However, considering the fact that I was sneezing and coughing like mad on Thursday night, I guess that's not too bad. I definitely wasn't at 100% for this race. Ah well, I plan to run a bunch more races in the fall and I'm sure I'll make a new PB then.
The race was fun though and in a park down the street from me, so I was home by 10 am to have a little nap. I was aware of a 10 am to 1 pm 30% off shoe sale at a local shoe store, so I was out the door in time to hit that up. I was thinking of getting a new pair of Birkenstocks, but I'm pretty sure I can get one more summer out of mine. I don't feel like breaking in a new pair. I ended up getting a pair of dressier wedges (can't not buy something at a shoe sale), and I like them.
Then I treated my tired feet to a pedicure. Good idea self.
I had consecutive Skype dates with Claire and Becca T in the late afternoon. Laughs were had.
It'll be another busy week. I've got Patrick Watson to look forward to on Tuesday night, and a bunch of school stuff to keep me on my toes. Three more weeks of teaching until exams (which are actually already written). However, I feel like I have infinite piles of marking to do in that time. Seriously, do you ever feel that you have a pile of work that never shrinks no matter how much time you spend on it?
I hope you all have nice weeks. I'm going to go finish reading The Weight of Water. Thanks for the book recommendation Jabba!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
On reading... (with book reviews!)
I have been doing A LOT of reading lately. In fact, I'm on pace to read 52 books this year. I tried doing that a few years ago, and was not successful. Maybe it'll happen this year.
In the past few months, I've found that reading is the only thing that provides me with true escape from reality. My mind tends to wander when I'm watching movies or TV. However, put a good book in front of me, and I'm completely absorbed. Thoughts of real life float away. I believe this is because reading uses more of my brain than watching something does.
I am hoping that I can read 52 books this year, however, if I do take the creative writing course that I intend to in the fall, my reading might derailed by writing. This is a good thing, but I'd really like to do both. In Stephen King's excellent memoir on writing, called On Writing, he insists that good writers must also be good readers. In fact, he spends half his day reading, and half his day writing. I could be down with that, if I didn't have a pesky day job (with lots of homework) in the way.
Of course, I still want to keep up with my running, concert-going, etc. when I start to write as well. Oh, and I'm supposed to knit a sweater for my work spouse's soon-to-be-born new son. There's never enough time to do everything I want to do. I was reflecting on this on the bus this morning, and actually felt myself looking forward to retirement. (According to the piece of paper they send me in the mail, that'll be Decemeber 31st, 2034.)
Anyway, the point of this is that I am really thankful that I've been reading so much this year. I'd like to review some of the books I've recently read.
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
I'd heard many good things about this book, but was initially concerned that it would be too heavy of a read for me at this time of year when I'm stressed out trying to tie up all loose ends at school. However, I decided to treat myself to this book on my Kobo.
It took me awhile to get into the book, but once I did I was really hooked. I think I finished the last 300 pages on a particularly lazy Sunday. The story revolves around four women in the Jewish settlement of Masada in 70 C.E. The Romans had driven the Jews out of Jerusalem, and about 900 Jews settled in this fortress originally built by Herrod.
Hoffman does an excellent job at evoking the journey to Masada and the living conditions there. Her version of events corresponds to that of ancient historians, even though many modern historians doubt that the end of Masada occurred as previously believed. It's actually quite the story, and I'd highly recommend this book. It makes me really want to travel to Israel to see the remains of Masada.
Let's Pretend this Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson
Lawson blogs under the moniker The Bloggess, and although I've yet to check out her blog, her memoir is laugh-out-loud funny. My favourite chapters are the ones that centre around her childhood, with a taxidermist father who has a penchant for bringing live animals, such as a herd of wild turkeys or bobcat cubs, into the home. In addition, the chapter about her experiences working in HR is absolutely priceless. Her frank and open discussions of what it's like to live with an anxiety disorder are brave and informative.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, provided their sense of humour is a little bit twisted (as I would assume any friend or well-wisher of mine to have). In addition, this book provided with one of my favourite quotes about friendship ever:
"A friend is someone who knows where all your bodies are buried. Because they're the ones who helped you put them there."
The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is one of my favourite writers, and her latest is a pleasant little novel. Her writing and characters are always very lovely. This was a nice short read, but if you are new to Anne Tyler, I would recommend an earlier work such as The Accidental Tourist or Earthly Possessions.
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Genova has a PhD is neuroscience and is the author of a previous novel (Still Alice) about a women with early-onset Alzheimer's. This book centres around a woman who develops a Left Neglect after a car accident. This is a brain injury, usually caused by an accident or a stoke, that causes the patient to be completely unaware of the left side of their body and their environment.
I found the beginning of this book to be a little bit slow, with some unnecessary dream sequences. Overall I liked this book because I learned about such an interesting condition, and came to care about the characters. Genova interviewed many people with Left Neglect as research for her novel, and as a result, I feel her descriptions of what it's like to have this disorder are authentic.
That's How I Roll by Andrew Vacchss (currently reading)
I follow Jennifer Weiner, a popular author whose books I like, on Twitter mainly because she hilariously live tweets the Bachelor/Bachelorette and it brings me joy. She recently wrote an article about her summer reading list for EW, and that's how I came across this book. It's a crime/mystery novel, which isn't my typical fare, but a nice (well, it's actually a little graphic, so nice mightn't be the right word) departure from my usual literary fiction.
This book is a fictional memoir of a wheelchair-bound hitman where he describes his life, his crimes, how he got caught from death row. I found the beginning forty pages to be rather rambling, but now the story's started to roll (no pun intended).
I look forward to making more progress with this one tonight.
So, that's what I've been reading. I hope that some of these titles make it to your own to-read lists. In addition, feel free to toss book recommendations my way. I've got quite a few on my to-read list, and some that I'd like to re-read, however I'm always looking for recommendations, especially while I'm on this current reading spree.
In the past few months, I've found that reading is the only thing that provides me with true escape from reality. My mind tends to wander when I'm watching movies or TV. However, put a good book in front of me, and I'm completely absorbed. Thoughts of real life float away. I believe this is because reading uses more of my brain than watching something does.
I am hoping that I can read 52 books this year, however, if I do take the creative writing course that I intend to in the fall, my reading might derailed by writing. This is a good thing, but I'd really like to do both. In Stephen King's excellent memoir on writing, called On Writing, he insists that good writers must also be good readers. In fact, he spends half his day reading, and half his day writing. I could be down with that, if I didn't have a pesky day job (with lots of homework) in the way.
Of course, I still want to keep up with my running, concert-going, etc. when I start to write as well. Oh, and I'm supposed to knit a sweater for my work spouse's soon-to-be-born new son. There's never enough time to do everything I want to do. I was reflecting on this on the bus this morning, and actually felt myself looking forward to retirement. (According to the piece of paper they send me in the mail, that'll be Decemeber 31st, 2034.)
Anyway, the point of this is that I am really thankful that I've been reading so much this year. I'd like to review some of the books I've recently read.
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
I'd heard many good things about this book, but was initially concerned that it would be too heavy of a read for me at this time of year when I'm stressed out trying to tie up all loose ends at school. However, I decided to treat myself to this book on my Kobo.
It took me awhile to get into the book, but once I did I was really hooked. I think I finished the last 300 pages on a particularly lazy Sunday. The story revolves around four women in the Jewish settlement of Masada in 70 C.E. The Romans had driven the Jews out of Jerusalem, and about 900 Jews settled in this fortress originally built by Herrod.
Hoffman does an excellent job at evoking the journey to Masada and the living conditions there. Her version of events corresponds to that of ancient historians, even though many modern historians doubt that the end of Masada occurred as previously believed. It's actually quite the story, and I'd highly recommend this book. It makes me really want to travel to Israel to see the remains of Masada.
Let's Pretend this Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson
Lawson blogs under the moniker The Bloggess, and although I've yet to check out her blog, her memoir is laugh-out-loud funny. My favourite chapters are the ones that centre around her childhood, with a taxidermist father who has a penchant for bringing live animals, such as a herd of wild turkeys or bobcat cubs, into the home. In addition, the chapter about her experiences working in HR is absolutely priceless. Her frank and open discussions of what it's like to live with an anxiety disorder are brave and informative.
I highly recommend this book to anyone, provided their sense of humour is a little bit twisted (as I would assume any friend or well-wisher of mine to have). In addition, this book provided with one of my favourite quotes about friendship ever:
"A friend is someone who knows where all your bodies are buried. Because they're the ones who helped you put them there."
The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is one of my favourite writers, and her latest is a pleasant little novel. Her writing and characters are always very lovely. This was a nice short read, but if you are new to Anne Tyler, I would recommend an earlier work such as The Accidental Tourist or Earthly Possessions.
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Genova has a PhD is neuroscience and is the author of a previous novel (Still Alice) about a women with early-onset Alzheimer's. This book centres around a woman who develops a Left Neglect after a car accident. This is a brain injury, usually caused by an accident or a stoke, that causes the patient to be completely unaware of the left side of their body and their environment.
I found the beginning of this book to be a little bit slow, with some unnecessary dream sequences. Overall I liked this book because I learned about such an interesting condition, and came to care about the characters. Genova interviewed many people with Left Neglect as research for her novel, and as a result, I feel her descriptions of what it's like to have this disorder are authentic.
That's How I Roll by Andrew Vacchss (currently reading)
I follow Jennifer Weiner, a popular author whose books I like, on Twitter mainly because she hilariously live tweets the Bachelor/Bachelorette and it brings me joy. She recently wrote an article about her summer reading list for EW, and that's how I came across this book. It's a crime/mystery novel, which isn't my typical fare, but a nice (well, it's actually a little graphic, so nice mightn't be the right word) departure from my usual literary fiction.
This book is a fictional memoir of a wheelchair-bound hitman where he describes his life, his crimes, how he got caught from death row. I found the beginning forty pages to be rather rambling, but now the story's started to roll (no pun intended).
I look forward to making more progress with this one tonight.
So, that's what I've been reading. I hope that some of these titles make it to your own to-read lists. In addition, feel free to toss book recommendations my way. I've got quite a few on my to-read list, and some that I'd like to re-read, however I'm always looking for recommendations, especially while I'm on this current reading spree.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Rollin', rollin', rollin'. Gathering no moss.
The past few days have been a whirlwind of fun and busyness, and I caught a little bit of a cold along the way, but my body's do a great job of fighting it off. Let's do a re-cap.
Thursday
Thursday ended up being a bit of a crazy day at work, but then thankfully it had a nice remedy at the end of the day. My work spouse moderates the math club, so as an end-of-year celebration she and I, and two other friends, took them on a tour of U of T, and bowling. It was a beautiful day to be walking around campus, and I think they enjoyed our anecdotes and seeing teachers being weird in a library. We took them to the science library, and laughed at book titles such as "Mathematics, its mystery and magic".
Bowling was super fun too. The kids had a blast. I bowled too and I got one strike and a couple spares. Probably one of my best games ever.
After the kids were dismissed, the four of us went out for dinner to unwind after the insanity of the day. I got home late enough for Rilo to give me the side-eye. (Which isn't all that late, but the cat believes getting home past 7 pm is wrong.)
Friday
I had a great day at work on Friday. I grossed out two consecutive classes. I did a presentation on organisms living together for my grade 9s. Of course, that meant that I could bring in some disgusting pictures of parasitism (tapeworms and the like), including my personal favourite Loa loa, aka the eyeworm. Their reactions were priceless: "Miss, why are you doing this to us??" etc.
I responded: "because look how this wakes you up! And your reaction is so funny... C'mon, did anyone enjoy this?"
A few of the quieter boys responded with "I liked it, Miss." And I know the loud complainers did too.
Then, I showed through my grade 10s an excellent video on the digestive system. It's pretty awesome in my opinion. They used microscopic cameras to show food's journey through the digestive system.. Where else do you get to see the pyloric sphincter?
After school on Fridays, I take kids from the Eco Club and other volunteers to do some community gardening in a nearby park. We often have a large group come to volunteer and I always enjoy it. What good kids, I tell you.
In the evening, I went to see Joel Plaskett and his Emergency band play at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. It was such a great show. Frank Turner, a favourite of Claire's and Siobhan's, opened and was really great. He had everyone on their feet standing and singing at the end of his set, which is quite a feat for an opening act, although there were many Turner diehards in the audience.
Joel Plaskett put on such a great show, as always. He is one of the best live musicians going these days. He played a great variety of new songs, old songs, rock songs, and acoustic songs. My favourite moment was when he played the song "Lightning Bolt" with strobe lights flashing. There were so many moments when everyone was just dancing and singing My throat was hurting because of the cold I have, but I couldn't help but keep singing along. I decided to make "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'" my anthem for the summer too. Anyway, it was a great show, and the music was so good that I felt nothing but happiness; no bittersweetness kicked in at all. Well done Joel, you are awesome.
Saturday
My friend Vern (Go9) came to visit me and one of her sisters for part of the long weekend. She also brought another one of her sisters in tow. They went out to Centre Island for the afternoon, but I opted out since I was still feeling a bit crappy thanks to my cold. I napped, and did a bit of shopping too.
I met up with them for a nice dinner, and Vern and I headed to my place and had a nice evening of catching up.
Sunday (today)
I woke up early, and even though I still didn't feel 100%, I went for a run since I haven't run since my 10K, and I have a 5K in a week. It wasn't my best run, but I felt better afterward so job well done.
We headed off to the Jays game. It was a perfect thing to do on the Sunday afternoon of a long weekend. It was free Bobblehead day too! Vern didn't want hers, so it'll be a gift to my dad. It was great sitting out in the sun, drinking (overpriced) beer and eating hot dogs. It was an exciting game too, but the Jays lost to the Mets 6-5 in the end.
The attendance for the game was pretty high too - over 41,000! It made for a congested trip back to the subway. We stopped off for gelato on the way home, and then Vern had to head off. It was a nice visit though. :)
Tomorrow
The weather's gonna be super nice again, but I have to buckle down and catch up on marking. Giant sigh. Oh well, life can't be all music, gelato, beer, baseball, and fun, can it? Oh yes, it can, but not 'til July... and to get to that point I have to mark all these quizzes, projects, and labs. So summer will be my motivation for tomorrow's day of work.
Hope everyone else is having a great long weekend (if they get one), and happy Monday to the rest of you!
Thursday
Thursday ended up being a bit of a crazy day at work, but then thankfully it had a nice remedy at the end of the day. My work spouse moderates the math club, so as an end-of-year celebration she and I, and two other friends, took them on a tour of U of T, and bowling. It was a beautiful day to be walking around campus, and I think they enjoyed our anecdotes and seeing teachers being weird in a library. We took them to the science library, and laughed at book titles such as "Mathematics, its mystery and magic".
Bowling was super fun too. The kids had a blast. I bowled too and I got one strike and a couple spares. Probably one of my best games ever.
After the kids were dismissed, the four of us went out for dinner to unwind after the insanity of the day. I got home late enough for Rilo to give me the side-eye. (Which isn't all that late, but the cat believes getting home past 7 pm is wrong.)
Friday
I had a great day at work on Friday. I grossed out two consecutive classes. I did a presentation on organisms living together for my grade 9s. Of course, that meant that I could bring in some disgusting pictures of parasitism (tapeworms and the like), including my personal favourite Loa loa, aka the eyeworm. Their reactions were priceless: "Miss, why are you doing this to us??" etc.
I responded: "because look how this wakes you up! And your reaction is so funny... C'mon, did anyone enjoy this?"
A few of the quieter boys responded with "I liked it, Miss." And I know the loud complainers did too.
Then, I showed through my grade 10s an excellent video on the digestive system. It's pretty awesome in my opinion. They used microscopic cameras to show food's journey through the digestive system.. Where else do you get to see the pyloric sphincter?
After school on Fridays, I take kids from the Eco Club and other volunteers to do some community gardening in a nearby park. We often have a large group come to volunteer and I always enjoy it. What good kids, I tell you.
In the evening, I went to see Joel Plaskett and his Emergency band play at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. It was such a great show. Frank Turner, a favourite of Claire's and Siobhan's, opened and was really great. He had everyone on their feet standing and singing at the end of his set, which is quite a feat for an opening act, although there were many Turner diehards in the audience.
Joel Plaskett put on such a great show, as always. He is one of the best live musicians going these days. He played a great variety of new songs, old songs, rock songs, and acoustic songs. My favourite moment was when he played the song "Lightning Bolt" with strobe lights flashing. There were so many moments when everyone was just dancing and singing My throat was hurting because of the cold I have, but I couldn't help but keep singing along. I decided to make "Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'" my anthem for the summer too. Anyway, it was a great show, and the music was so good that I felt nothing but happiness; no bittersweetness kicked in at all. Well done Joel, you are awesome.
Saturday
My friend Vern (Go9) came to visit me and one of her sisters for part of the long weekend. She also brought another one of her sisters in tow. They went out to Centre Island for the afternoon, but I opted out since I was still feeling a bit crappy thanks to my cold. I napped, and did a bit of shopping too.
I met up with them for a nice dinner, and Vern and I headed to my place and had a nice evening of catching up.
Sunday (today)
I woke up early, and even though I still didn't feel 100%, I went for a run since I haven't run since my 10K, and I have a 5K in a week. It wasn't my best run, but I felt better afterward so job well done.
We headed off to the Jays game. It was a perfect thing to do on the Sunday afternoon of a long weekend. It was free Bobblehead day too! Vern didn't want hers, so it'll be a gift to my dad. It was great sitting out in the sun, drinking (overpriced) beer and eating hot dogs. It was an exciting game too, but the Jays lost to the Mets 6-5 in the end.
The attendance for the game was pretty high too - over 41,000! It made for a congested trip back to the subway. We stopped off for gelato on the way home, and then Vern had to head off. It was a nice visit though. :)
Tomorrow
The weather's gonna be super nice again, but I have to buckle down and catch up on marking. Giant sigh. Oh well, life can't be all music, gelato, beer, baseball, and fun, can it? Oh yes, it can, but not 'til July... and to get to that point I have to mark all these quizzes, projects, and labs. So summer will be my motivation for tomorrow's day of work.
Hope everyone else is having a great long weekend (if they get one), and happy Monday to the rest of you!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
And it's no fun when I'm always at home.
The title of this post is taken from the song "Better Girl" by Best Coast. Music has a way of working itself very easily and randomly into my life. My pal Wes from Vancouver is visiting me at the end of July, and I've been keeping an eye out for cool shows while he's here. I saw that Best Coast just announced a show, and I've heard good things about them, even though I'm not overly familiar with them, so I decided it'd probably be a good bet for a show.
Since I had tickets for the show, I got the band's new album yesterday. I really like it, and definitely think it will be a part of my summer soundtrack. I listened to it for the first time this morning on my commute, and it's super upbeat and catchy, and has lyrics that I can really relate to.
Anyway, the title of this post is true, but luckily it's not applying to me these days, and will not be applying to me this summer.
This evening, I went to see the documentary "Bully" with my pal Fea. It was good; but I think we both thought it would be better. It's a definite conversation-started on a heart-breaking issue that's especially important to educators. It was a valuable film for two teachers to see.
After the movie, we met up with another friend for a fun dinner. Tomorrow night, I'm helping my friend take out our school's math club to celebrate the year's activities. It should be fun. I think we're bowling!
The rest of my weekend is busy too.
And this summer is going to be insanely busy for me, which brings me back to the title of this post. There will be a lot of fun because I'll rarely be home.
Since I had tickets for the show, I got the band's new album yesterday. I really like it, and definitely think it will be a part of my summer soundtrack. I listened to it for the first time this morning on my commute, and it's super upbeat and catchy, and has lyrics that I can really relate to.
Anyway, the title of this post is true, but luckily it's not applying to me these days, and will not be applying to me this summer.
This evening, I went to see the documentary "Bully" with my pal Fea. It was good; but I think we both thought it would be better. It's a definite conversation-started on a heart-breaking issue that's especially important to educators. It was a valuable film for two teachers to see.
After the movie, we met up with another friend for a fun dinner. Tomorrow night, I'm helping my friend take out our school's math club to celebrate the year's activities. It should be fun. I think we're bowling!
The rest of my weekend is busy too.
And this summer is going to be insanely busy for me, which brings me back to the title of this post. There will be a lot of fun because I'll rarely be home.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
I feel my pulse working overtime.
Wow, today was a really great day.
I woke up at 6:30 am to get ready for my race. My pal Jolene (Go9) came down yesterday evening. We had a pleasant evening where we hit up a local patio for beer and snacks, caught up and went to bed at 10:30 pm. Extremely early for me, but necessary with the 6:30 wake-up.
Around 22,000 people took part in the Sporting Life 10K. 100% of the entry fees to Camp Oochigeas, which is a camp for kids with cancer. It's pretty cool that every penny goes to a worthwhile cause. That alone is a great reason to do this race.
However, running a 10K was a goal that I settled on after running four 5K races last year. I am SUPER NONATHLETIC. The fact that I ever even ran one 5K was a big deal for me. Upping that to 10K is an even bigger deal for me. Jolene is one of my oldest friends, and today we discussed how high-school-me, or even university-me, would have never ever believed I'd be running 10K races in my thirties. I am very proud of myself for this.
The route of the race is also pretty amazing. For the majority of the race, you are running straight down Yonge St. (Toronto's "main" street, if you will) which is mostly DOWNHILL. I loved it. I never realized how downhill Yonge is... I don't think you get a complete picture of it on an average day when it's full of cars and pedestrians. However, it was amazing seeing a sea of yellow (the race Tshirts were yellow) as I ran downhill. I kind of wish I'd taken a picture, but that would have slowed me down.
There were lots of spectators cheering us on as we ran. One of the best signs was after the largest hill on the course (it wasn't that large), it said "THE HILL IS OVER!". There was a group of people with hilarious signs at Yonge-Dundas. One said "keep going random stranger!" and another said "why do all the pretty girls run from me?" There were more, but reading them would have slowed me down.
I think I felt better during this race than I've felt during any of my other races, which mainly attests to the fact that I'm pretty fit from all my running. As I kept running, I kept thinking about how really awesome it was that I was doing this race. It's definitely one of my favourite things ever.
Once the finish line was in sight, I gave 'er. I crossed at about 1:11, but later I found out my chip time was 1:09:21, which I'm quite pleased with. My goal was to finish in under 1:10. Goal achieved.
Jolene got separated from me at the beginning of the race, because she went to the washroom before the start. She ended up crossing the finish line a couple minutes after me, but her chip time was 20 seconds greater than mine. I can't believe how close we were!
After the race, we had arranged to meet at the first aid tent, 'cuz we figured it would be very visible, but it wasn't! It was a little bit stressful, 'cuz Jo didn't want to run with her phone, hence didn't bring it, but I eventually found her in line for free yogurt.
After heading back here to clean up and change, we went out for all-you-can-eat sushi, and gelato on a patio in the sun, which made for a great ending to a really nice day. After Jolene headed home, I had a nice little nap, and Skyped with Becca T. I hadn't talked to her in awhile, and it was great to catch up.
So yah, today's been a really great day. Great race, great food, and great friends. I'm already planning my fall races. And I've also decided that the Sporting Life 10K will be a regular part of my spring. I loved this race. I'll leave you with one of my favourite running songs. I'm going to head off to have a hot bath to soothe my muscles, some wine, and read a little bit. It'll be another early night, because I am pretty tired. 10K takes it out of me, but I love it. It's a good kind of tired.
I woke up at 6:30 am to get ready for my race. My pal Jolene (Go9) came down yesterday evening. We had a pleasant evening where we hit up a local patio for beer and snacks, caught up and went to bed at 10:30 pm. Extremely early for me, but necessary with the 6:30 wake-up.
Around 22,000 people took part in the Sporting Life 10K. 100% of the entry fees to Camp Oochigeas, which is a camp for kids with cancer. It's pretty cool that every penny goes to a worthwhile cause. That alone is a great reason to do this race.
However, running a 10K was a goal that I settled on after running four 5K races last year. I am SUPER NONATHLETIC. The fact that I ever even ran one 5K was a big deal for me. Upping that to 10K is an even bigger deal for me. Jolene is one of my oldest friends, and today we discussed how high-school-me, or even university-me, would have never ever believed I'd be running 10K races in my thirties. I am very proud of myself for this.
The route of the race is also pretty amazing. For the majority of the race, you are running straight down Yonge St. (Toronto's "main" street, if you will) which is mostly DOWNHILL. I loved it. I never realized how downhill Yonge is... I don't think you get a complete picture of it on an average day when it's full of cars and pedestrians. However, it was amazing seeing a sea of yellow (the race Tshirts were yellow) as I ran downhill. I kind of wish I'd taken a picture, but that would have slowed me down.
There were lots of spectators cheering us on as we ran. One of the best signs was after the largest hill on the course (it wasn't that large), it said "THE HILL IS OVER!". There was a group of people with hilarious signs at Yonge-Dundas. One said "keep going random stranger!" and another said "why do all the pretty girls run from me?" There were more, but reading them would have slowed me down.
I think I felt better during this race than I've felt during any of my other races, which mainly attests to the fact that I'm pretty fit from all my running. As I kept running, I kept thinking about how really awesome it was that I was doing this race. It's definitely one of my favourite things ever.
Once the finish line was in sight, I gave 'er. I crossed at about 1:11, but later I found out my chip time was 1:09:21, which I'm quite pleased with. My goal was to finish in under 1:10. Goal achieved.
Jolene got separated from me at the beginning of the race, because she went to the washroom before the start. She ended up crossing the finish line a couple minutes after me, but her chip time was 20 seconds greater than mine. I can't believe how close we were!
After the race, we had arranged to meet at the first aid tent, 'cuz we figured it would be very visible, but it wasn't! It was a little bit stressful, 'cuz Jo didn't want to run with her phone, hence didn't bring it, but I eventually found her in line for free yogurt.
After heading back here to clean up and change, we went out for all-you-can-eat sushi, and gelato on a patio in the sun, which made for a great ending to a really nice day. After Jolene headed home, I had a nice little nap, and Skyped with Becca T. I hadn't talked to her in awhile, and it was great to catch up.
So yah, today's been a really great day. Great race, great food, and great friends. I'm already planning my fall races. And I've also decided that the Sporting Life 10K will be a regular part of my spring. I loved this race. I'll leave you with one of my favourite running songs. I'm going to head off to have a hot bath to soothe my muscles, some wine, and read a little bit. It'll be another early night, because I am pretty tired. 10K takes it out of me, but I love it. It's a good kind of tired.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Who's gonna run this town tonight?
In 24 hours, I'll be running down Yonge St. for the Sporting Life 10K. I got the idea to do this race last fall, and I signed up in December, and I can't believe that it's almost here. I will be honest... I felt readier for this race three months ago as opposed to now. I've still be training, but my headspace isn't as clear as it used to be, so it's been tough to get in really good runs.
However, no matter what, it will still be lots of fun, and it will be an accomplishment. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, and I'm excited to be doing this with my friend Jolene, and hopefully I make my goal time, but if I don't, at least I still did it.
Last night I went for a good run in the cemetery, but just 5K. I'm lucky to have a good running route where I can run there, run around my favourite parts for a bit, and then run home. As I was running, I had to stop and sit for a bit. Not because I was physically tired, but just because it was a beautiful evening, and I just wanted to sit still in a quiet place. I decided to do just that, and I'm glad I did. I felt a bit of peace.
Anyway, I'll let you guys know how it goes. Wish me luck!
p.s. I came across this song on the radio last weekend when I was in Stratford. That's the only time I listen to the radio. Anyway, I love this song and got the album and it's great.
However, no matter what, it will still be lots of fun, and it will be an accomplishment. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day, and I'm excited to be doing this with my friend Jolene, and hopefully I make my goal time, but if I don't, at least I still did it.
Last night I went for a good run in the cemetery, but just 5K. I'm lucky to have a good running route where I can run there, run around my favourite parts for a bit, and then run home. As I was running, I had to stop and sit for a bit. Not because I was physically tired, but just because it was a beautiful evening, and I just wanted to sit still in a quiet place. I decided to do just that, and I'm glad I did. I felt a bit of peace.
Anyway, I'll let you guys know how it goes. Wish me luck!
p.s. I came across this song on the radio last weekend when I was in Stratford. That's the only time I listen to the radio. Anyway, I love this song and got the album and it's great.
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