- DailyMile or social running
Making an effort to record my running mileage on DailyMile. I have enjoyed using DailyMile but haven’t been able to find a routine that allows me to log my miles. I am also not a very good mileage keeper. And not a big fan of social running (or social training). DailyMile has a great UI that allows me to visualize my weekly mileage in big colourful charts. And when my weekly mileage is low, well … DailyMile gives me a visual smack! And I really like that. Nothing like data to get you moving.This morning’s wimpy 5 km run in the park was awesome because I spent a bit of time staring at a beaver, he must have been young as he just hang around staring back at me. We had a great time. I am looking forward to a long run this weekend and better mileage keeping.
Next races on the calendar:
August 21, 2010: Iroquoia Trail Test: 32 km of rugged hell. This is my most hated race and I don’t really know why I keep returning. Rugged terrain, gravel, double river crossing which means that I will be running with wet feet the entire race. I guess I must really like the pain and suffering. Whatever does not kill you…
- Haliburton Forest: 50 KM – September 11, 2010
- Vulture Bait: 25 KM – October 16, 2010
and I would like another 50 km fix in November, probably a California race.
- Less 365
I am loving Less 365 that Randy Reddig has started. Things are looking awesomely cheerful on the home front with my Less 365 initiatives: I got rid of all tupperware and plastic storage containers. Seems trivial, but it is a simple decision that changes everything in our kitchen. Leftovers need not apply in this household. We are buying less for our cooking. Cooking much smaller meals. Enjoying grazing and smaller sit down meals.
[Photo by Takahiko Nishimura]
- Less
Two decades ago approximately I decided that waking up in the morning and heading out the door was to be a few minutes adventure which to me meant short hair (wash and dash), a set of clothes that I can simply reach for and wear without ever having to think about colour coordination – I want to believe I invented the black uniform: black pants, black top, black jacket. All year long… but there were many people before me! What has made my mornings incredibly simple is that I took decision making completely out of the equation: I don’t need to think about what I will be wearing, nor pick what I will be wearing nor make sure that is coordinated with anything else that I may fancy wearing. My modern uniform has brought me immense happiness, peace and most importantly gets me out the door in minutes in the mornings. Love it!
But why stop at clothing? Since July 1st June 1st, 2010 I have been simplifying my home. What brought this on was the fact that I have dozens and dozens of (drinking) glasses, yet, I typically drink from my favourite glass most of the time. I have hundreds and hundreds of books, but chances that I will be re-reading anything by favourites instead of new books is well, let’s be honest, pretty slim. I don’t have enough time to read my new books, never mind re-read books that I have read twice already! So it is time to simplify things. I travel a lot (for work) and pack lightly and don’t miss anything when I am on the road because I typically make sure that the essentials that I can’t live without are with me and the rest really is not that important.
So I am going light. I have been getting rid of items daily since June 1st, 2010. And reducing the number of items I own and need to take care of. Today’s items are 3 books byt Haruki Murakami: Sputnik Sweetheart, Kafka on the Shore and Dance, Dance, Dance.
And I can see that I am not the only one doing this! Ah what a small world!
Hat tip to Slavas for the “all black everything reference” from Jay-Z. Indeed all black everything except my mood!
- Limberlost Challenge: the next trail race
My next race is the Limberlost Challenge. This is a new trail race that will have us hit Ontario’s North since it is held close to Huntsville. That’s far for a city girl! But apparently the race directors Neil Jefferson and Dave Gibson are promising an awesome race. I am sure there will be bugs! Look at where we will be headed:
Lakes, lakes and more lakes. That’s pretty much a guaranteed bug weekend! The Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve is 10,000 acres of lakes! I like the fact that it is a loop so for my 28 km run I will do the 14 km look twice. I like that because once I am done the first loop, I will know exactly what to expect and will just need to repeat it. This time around I am actually going to prepare my race bag and clothing and not leave preparation to the last minute like my previous race.
- Man on wire: “It’s impossibe, that’s for sure. So let’s start working.”
Michael Bierut on Philippe Petit
[...] Petit was a teenager in Paris browsing magazines in a dentist’s office when he saw a rendering of the then-unbuilt World Trade Center. He was electrified. He was already an obsessed magician, juggler, and high wire artist. To an aspiring tightrope walker, the idea of two 110-story towers, side by side, suggested only one thing. Petit drew a line between the image of the two towers. All that remained now was the execution.Making the walk happen took years of planning. Petit sums up his own attitude with characteristic aplomb: “It’s impossible, that’s for sure. So let’s start working.” He moved to New York and began visiting the construction site, at one point obtaining access to the top of the towers by posing as a French journalist. He made drawings and took photographs. Returning home, he built a full sized model of the WTC roofs in the French countryside to practice the walk. Getting all the necessary equipment up to the tops of the towers was not a one-man job. He recruited a group of confederates, a colorful multinational troupe who offer conflicting present-day memories throughout the film, and who each played a different role in what they privately called the coup. The plan was not just bold but actually rather insane: their solution for the hardest part of the whole scheme, for instance, getting the wire from one tower to the other, a span of nearly 200 feet, was to use a bow and arrow. It worked. Amazingly, it all worked.
Love Philippe Petit! He would fit right in in a startup!
- How not to prepare for a trail race! Creemore Vertical Challenge
Oh howdy there. Long time no see! The Creemore Vertical Challenge trail race(25 km for me) is over and I completed the trail race. Hurray. This year there will be no DNFs (Did Not Finish) on any of my races (crosses fingers).
And now looking back at the race, I know exactly what not to do for the next one. I mean seriously who the eve of a race:
- organizes a dinner evening with friends where copious bottles of Proseco and wine are drank
- fails to prepare a race bag
- realizes at the last second that this is Ontario’s North and therefor there will be bugs, otherwise you will be eaten alive and therefor bug spray would be useful – and there is no bug spray in the house
- changes trail running shoes and socks (this is called optimizing for blisters!) the evening of the race. God forbid one should go running with their trusted running shoes and double layer socks. No, come on, let’s try something else and make sure we get blisters that will take a week to heal
- forgets to arrange babysitting for the dog, and therefor has to frantically call kind friends and beg for a kind soul to spend time with Zazie
- sets up the alarm for the day of the race with barely enough time to wake up, pack a race bag, hunt around the entire house for clean running gear (and socks), and gets in the car with other runners for the 2 hours drive to the race location without as much as toast in the belly
- forgets power bars or food of any kind. Food is over rated when you run long distance. Really. Yeah, really, for suuuuure.
oh but I survived.
What you need to know about the Creemore Vertical in case you want to try this race (which I totally recommend!): it was hot, it was bloody hot. There was no shade. And the hills? Yeah I should have guessed with a name like “Creemore Vertical” it wasn’t going to be a picnic. And I don’t know about you but running in hot weather, with the sun beating the crap out of you in addition to your lack of preparation is what I call a great weekend! Enjoy the Creemore Vertical shots I took as I was trying to stay alive. Looking for next year’s run – this time with more training and preparation.
The only shade!
The trails
- The end of men? #theatlantic
[...] women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. The Atlantic Magazine July/August 2010
- Jeet Kune Do and Running
Bruce Lee: “Jeet Kune Do is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one’s back.”
I am looking forward to my 50 km race this weekend. Running is going to be awesome. Wishing for the heat to subside a bit, ’cause running in 30C is really not ideal!
- IxDA Toronto Presentation
So I Married a Designer… Relationship Advice for Designers and Non-Designers Alike. This IxDA presentation could end up being pretty hilarious. Ah I am totally familiar with the push and pull between designers and developers (in a tech startup). So I am curious to hear what Casey McKinnon has learned! I have war stories to share!
Event date: April 20, 2010 – 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Registration and additional details here. And IxDA has a its own Toronto website now. Get involved!
Work: CEO of