So results are posted on the Chiptimer website and I have to tell you, I'm not completely disappointed. I literally walked or walk-jogged more than half the course, talking the whole time and I still posted a 1:04:46 (6:29/km pace)!
My PB on a 10km is 47:23 and that was when I trained 6 days a week.

CHILLY WILLY!

I am so glad that I signed up to do this year's run. I wasn't ready for it, I definitely didn't have a goal time (I actually spent most of it walking and talking with Doug who was on a bike) but It was so worth it.

My son just started running and mostly I wanted to introduce him to the competitive side. As much as you try to tell someone how fun it is to actually apply your running workouts towards an event, they never really understand. I knew he, like me, needed to just do one to get fired up about running

So there we were at 9:30am, lined up to start the 10km race. Attila, Ryan and I started out running together but in the first 1km I knew I couldn't keep up with their pace. I dropped off and considered how I would get through the next 9km. Oh yeah, ipod >> play.

At about 2 km I ran into Doug and we ran/rode together. Since we were talking I barely noticed the next 6 km. I actually walked quite a bit because I'd get so winded trying to make a point. I haven't done this race in quite a few years so was really pleased to find out that the turn-around has been moved forward to the old aerodrome. Granted, you have to run the island twice but It was awesome to lose that long stretch to the end of Marie Curtis Park.

Doug dropped off when I had 2km to go. I'm not sure what my time was but I doubt it was under an hour.

Anyway, my son did a respectable time - 52 or 53 - and was glad he decided to do it. He had a vague idea of doing the run in 45' so was disappointed that way but now has a goal to shoot for. I hope he joins a running club or something - currently, none of his friends run or do anything athletic so finding a running partner might be tough.

So, although the times haven't been posted yet, I can give you some highlights;

Kaza won his age group and was 5 or 6 overall in the 10km

Tamlyn won the women's 10km

Chris Vincent won his age group for the 21km

Katie Vincent won her age group for the 10km

There was a mini-Andison there (who I think is a second year pee wee) won his age group for the 10km. Tamlyn told me he was with her almost the entire way but hit a wall with just 2km to go...everyone was completely blown away by how fast this kid was

Courtney Stott won her age group and a bunch of the Burloak girls did really well. So did Sarge.

The chili was amazing as always, especially cause there was extra dried chillies and butter on the tables. Personally I don't think chili is the same without a little kick and a buttered bun. Thanks to all the moms who stepped up to cook the meal! I think there were close to 300 runners this year. The rumoured Kenyan never materialized but there's nothing wrong with good marketing.

Ugh, I'm not cut out for this. The latest flirt is wearing me out. No, not like that. I mean, I'm not sure how I'm going to play this. I was supposed to go out with him tonight but came up with an excuse and went to practice instead. Really, I just need more data. The age difference is ridiculous - he's in his 30s - so I'm buying time so I can decide if it's worth pursuing (plus I need to tighten my abs, get into better shape). Who am I kidding ... it's worth pursuing... I just want to be in control of how it progresses and when it ends. Oh my god, how awful is that??

The guys that I've dated lately are my own age - and are easy at first; we have common points of reference, listen to the same music, we "get" each other. Unfortunately, they all have baggage in the shape of divorces and/or disappointment. I don't. I mean, I do but I think I'm past it. I definitely don't want to spend my evening out listening to someone who is bitter. If I wanted that, I'd go out with my married friends (no no, just kidding).

I guess that's the appeal of this one. Baggage? The most baggage Andrew has is a shaving kit. Or maybe just a toothbrush. Perfect. We're about even then. And did I mention his abs? I didn't? Probably for the best.

Okay, I'm going to go watch Alfie and do some situps. I've got a strategy to plan.

My first 10km run in, what - 4? 5? years is next Sunday. So last Friday, day 7 of my super-compressed personal training program, I blew out the heel on my right shoe. I knew my shoes needed to be replaced but was hoping to make it through the run without having to break in a new pair. However, my last two runs were absolute shite - I just felt horrible, weak - so I'm a little relieved that a small part of that might have been the shoes.

So Saturday morning, I was fighting Santa claus parade traffic in Oakville so I could pick up some new 769s at the Running Company.

I tested them out today - day 8. First half of the run felt bad - I'm talking shin splints, leg's fatigued - but about halfway through I could feel gravity loosening it's grip a little. I actually ran further than I normally would without even noticing.

Look, there's no question the CW is going to kick my ass but I might as well be out doing that for an hour on Sunday morning as anything else. Traditionally, I've never done well at this particular event anyway. Well, except for the first year when a group of us just decided (actually, when Schro & Doug decided) to run from the canoe club to the ferry docks in Toronto. We didn't even know how far it was. I ran with Tomi & Attila along the trails while Tamas Sr took to the road. The boys yelled at him to get off the highway but he waved us off, as angry drivers honked and swerved around him, saying he was taking a direct route and we should follow him.

Doug met us about every 6km with water and food - cut up bananas, granola bars. Since we hadn't done more than glance at the trail map before we left, there were a couple of times where we weren't sure of our route. Fortunately for us Derek was ahead. He'd had to backtrack once or twice to figure out the trail so by the time we got to a blind turn, we could see him in the distance and pick our course accordingly. I stuck with the boys until about Queens Quay where I tried to pick it up a bit. I wasn't wearing a watch but knew I was close to the 2 hour mark. Derek had arrived well under 2 hours and called Ian's and then my time as we hit the docks. I'd done it in 2:04. I was disappointed at the time but, in hindsight, am pleased with the result (definitely could have knocked off those 4 minutes though! Just hadn't learned the value of a watch and pacing).

You know, I would never have gotten a gym membership in September if I'd known we'd have this kind of weather so far into November.
I just went for a quick 6km paddle wearing double Lifa & my running tights. So unbelievable!

Also, I stopped by Battaglia's in Lorne Park on my way home and was so surprised to see Tim Tams in the biscuit aisle! As far as I know, we've never been able to get them here before. We sure loaded up on them when we were in Australia. They had different flavours but I picked up the original to take to the club tomorrow. Tamlyn and I were just talking about them last week.



...and below, Natalie Imbruglio shows Graham Norton how to do the Tim Tam Slam...

Jackie's baby shower at Lift Salon

I didn't recognize any of the names on the Evite I received for this surprise baby shower but baby showers are different from other types of get-togethers. Women get used to being at these events where you don't know people. I was a definite yes either way. As time went on though, more familiar friends were added to the invitation and the day of, I carpooled with Amy and Tammy. Tammy, at 8 & 1/2 months pregnant was driving and we were completely prepared for a change of plans in the event she went into labour.

It was the same day as the Santa Claus parade and we caught the worst of it, getting stuck on the Jarvis ramp for about 30 minutes and slowly making our way up Jarvis to Adelaide. At one point Tammy stopped and, looking over her shoulder, kept repeating "Look, potato, I see the potato." After a quick glance at heavy traffic behind us, Amy and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Was she going into some kind of hallucinatory labour? Would we have to deliver a baby in parade traffic? But no, she's just been a mom too long - enthusiastically responsible for her childrens entertainment. Driving again she was able to articulate that she'd glanced in the rear-view mirror to see the parade passing by on the cross-street, just in time for the giant Mr. Potato Head.

Of course there was no parking near the salon. Tammy pulled up on the street behind Lift and literally kicked Amy and me out of the car. We were all "what? no. we're not going to make the pregnant woman walk 5 blocks by herself." But she was adamant. And she's right. Why do we let people treat us like invalids when we're just pregnant? Oh right, so they'll do things for us that we don't want to do. Never mind.

Lift is a great Salon on Adelaide that Jackie's been going to for a long time. Today, they'd moved all the stations so that it was this great big white space. The hostesses for the party were the owner and staff of the salon. When we arrived - late - there were only a couple of people there. A couple I vaguely recognized, possibly from HOF parties. I guess everyone was caught in the same traffic.

Amy S. was there looking amazing as always. Casual but so, I don't know, put together. She and Brian are living the fabulous life of young-marrieds. I asked what she's been up to and, expecting a list of extravagant parties and events (don't ask my why I think that's everyone elses lifestyle) was floored when she eagerly told me about her most recent purchase - hockey equipment. She is so excited to have joined Brian's hockey team! Yup, Amy played hockey a lot growing up and is so excited to be playing again. It reminded me that I played in high school and we chatted about the cost of hockey equipment, the difficulty of switching your position on a pick-up team (although I was a goaltender and would have given my left shin pad to play any other position) and the merits of various rinks around the city until we heard the shushing and whispering that Jackie was coming....

Wow for two things - Jackie who always looks so amazing and she was completely surprised! Surprise showers are rarely kept secret. Somehow the mom usually figures it out.

News from the Secko family - baby number 3 has arrived.

Robert Bruce Roland Secko was born at 3:30 am on November 18

5 lbs 11 oz.

I don't have a photo of the baby yet but here's how he looked last Sunday at Jackie's baby shower...

OMG, Porn star? Serial killer? Hockey player during playoffs? However you look at it, I bet Lisa can't wait for the end of the current campaign to raise funds for prostate cancer research. You can support Doug and the Port Credit Secondary School team by clicking this link and the the DONATE button, top right. Seriously, it was worth $10 just to get this pic for future photoshops!

OK no joke, this photo is freaking me out! I had to reopen this post so I could make the picture smaller but it doesn't help. It's like the eyes follow you....

Hey hey, Simon Whitfield will be at spin class on Friday November 27th! I'll probably buy the book there and get him to sign it.




oh my gosh...how cute is he?

I went to see the movie Pirate Radio tonight. I really looked forward to this one because I remember hearing about these ships when I was a kid. There always seemed to be these quasi-legends associated with broadcasting back in the day but I definitely remember the older teenagers on our street talking about how our rock radio djs were broadcasting from ships on the lake.

As I got older and found out stuff like, oh you know, the legendary Riverboat wasn't actually an old steamboat anchored at the mouth of the Don River but a Yorkville coffee house, I assumed that the Pirate Radio ships never actually existed. This movie provides some kind of satisfaction or even retribution. So what if they weren't broadcasting in Toronto? It's like finding out that unicorns are real.

The movie is a patchwork of stories from several of the boats broadcasting 'fab 40' (or top 40 in america) from the North Sea during the '60s. One of the better known was Wonderful Radio London (above), commonly known as Radio London or the Big L. Between December 1964 and August 1967, djs beamed their shows live from the hold of a World War II minesweeper anchored 5 Km from Essex.

The general name for this type of broadcasting was Radio Caroline. At left is the M.V. Mi Amigo, home of Radio Caroline south, which also broadcast from '64-'67.

You can read more about Pirate Radio and the Marine Offenses Act here but seriously, go see the movie. It's a feel-good flick with a fantastic sound track and great actors. Aside from the obvious cast members, I love that it features Chris O'Dowd and Katherine Parkinson from "IT Crowd"and Rhys Darby from "Flight of the Conchords".

oh and this cracked me up - the character of Gavin totally reminded me of Stringer.

I've been so happy since I started training again. Content, more balanced, motivated.

For the past couple of years I've been at a loose end because I wasn't racing or part of a training group. Then an opportunity to buy an outrigger came up and I had access to all the things I love about paddling - the elemental, physical, mental - but I was missing something important. Even though I was around the club, I didn't feel a part of it. I almost quit paddling altogether!

Then an opportunity to join my old training group came up. Because I'd kept paddling, I didn't need to think twice about it. And now everything feels ... normal.

This morning Chrissy and I were in the paddle pool and she commented on how amazing it is that our muscles 'remember'. We both took the same amount of time off after racing in Australia - about 2 years - and have had the same experience: when we've joined a gym or taken up a different sport, it's a workout and it's fun but it never quite feels natural. The return to our old weight room and paddle pool workouts is seamless - it feels like we never left.

I was really glad she brought this up because I've been having a strange experience. I'll be doing the workout, whatever it might be, and will catch sight of myself in the mirror and am shocked by my appearance. Seriously, I catch a look and think " who is that...wait, what? When did I get so old? gain so much weight? Get that awesome lululemon shirt...? I should point out that when I look in the mirror anywhere else, I see what I expect to see - 50 year old me. It's all about the context - wherever it is I go when I'm in that environment.

I'm not kidding myself that I'll be racing sprint canoe anytime soon but I sure feel like I could - and that's half the battle.

Remember all the noise about Y2K? Well if you've been living in a bunker for the past ten years because you thought the world was going to end, here's what you missed...

Wow. I am so together. Saturday I woke up on time, collected all my camera equipment and clothes for training, (I even remembered to pack Karen's souvenir from Amsterdam - an ashtray that says "Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Amsterdam" ) and went to the club. Time for fall training photos!
Beautiful day! Sunny and warm. Every fall we have one of these - that rare day that combines perfect weather with stunning fall leaves, while the water's still deep enough (barely) and the workout is long. The kids are too tired to pay attention to the camera so I get some good shots.
Karen L. is bringing some kids to the club on Saturdays so she ran to Starbucks to get coffee for us. One of the coaches said he heard a person was killed at Starbucks last night - nothing in google so can't confirm it. Don't know if there was anything in the paper. I pitch my miss. news into recycling almost as soon as I get it -there's about 3 pages of actual information, the rest is junk mail flyers.
Stayed out in the motorboat for an hour and then couldn't take it anymore - I wanted to get on the water!

The lake was PERFECT! So fun! I stayed out for an hour but had made the fundamental error of not eating breakfast before leaving the house. As much as I wanted to stay out and play in the waves, I bonked hard around 9 km. I even considered eating the grotty granola bar I keep in my dry bag on the deck but I came to my senses.

I went home for an hour to eat lunch and then headed back to the club to meet Chanda. We're starting winter training on Saturdays - paddle pool and weights.

Since it was such a beautiful day, one of the coaches had offered his outrigger for use but I forogt to call Chanda when I got off the water. Too bad. She hadn't brought warm clothes but, as it turns out, said she wouldn't have gone on the lake anyway. The waves and water temp. were a concern for her. Anyway, it was good to get in the p-pool and do a workout in front of the mirror.

Ian came in when we were about half an hour into it, he was setting up for Blake's program. It's awesome that he's running it because he kept the dbers out until we were completely done our workout. You never know with other coaches - groups often swarm into the pool talking, setting up seats, saying hello and asking you questions or whatever and your last 15-20 minutes are kind of shot.

We went up to the lounge to set up our circuit but when we went downstairs to get some equipment, Chrissy said they were missing some people and could use us to round out a group. Marisha was there and another woman I know so we did the circuit, finished early so went upstairs to do 8 minute abs.

what an end to the week that was...

Army psychiatrist loses it and kills 13, injures 30 more at Fort Hood military base in Texas. And the entire U.S. population goes "A-HAH!" when they hear he's a muslim who had just found out he was being shipped to Iraq, then confided to a store clerk that he was horrified at the thought of having to shoot fellow muslims. I'm not including his name because I don't want the google trolls landing here. IN-sane.


Toronto wins the bid for the Pan Am Games 2015! wicked. I wonder where canoe-kayak events will run.

You know what I hate? I hate when your doctor's office leaves a voicemail message, stressing about 10 times that it's not urgent, but if you could call the office about some test results (for cancer cells), nothing to be alarmed about mind you, they'd like to talk to you. And then they say, we won't be in the office until Friday, but if you could call us then, we'd really like to talk to you. But it's not urgent.

It just started to hail - so depressing. I have a day off today so went to visit my dad. It was his 84th birthday yesterday. Laurel and Ryan were there yesterday so I went up this morning. Afterwards I went down to Yorkville for a wander. It didn't perk me up the way I thought it would so I came home.

Everyone in Toronto is freaking out about the H1N1 flu shots. There's so much media hype, they're doing an awesome job of whipping up flu-frenzy. There's rationing and a pecking order for innoculation. For awhile they talked about how jealous the US were of our stockpile (hoping to fire up some twisted sense of national pride maybe?) then reports of people being turned away from clinics giving a cachet to anyone who did get it. I'm glad Ryan's grown and I don't have to make a decision on innoculation of a toddler. I wouldn't do it - partly having been in high school during the last so-called swine flu epidemic but also because of a long history of medical blunders - thalidomide comes to mind.

An article in one of the US papers today indicates, "Swine flu vaccine safety will be monitored for side effects and deaths by a U.S. panel using data from federal health plans for the military, the poor and the elderly, and from clinical trials, health officials said Monday." Well, that's reassuring.

Other items in the news; as of October 26th 2009, no more talking on cell phones while driving for Ontarians unless it's hands-free and using speed-dial. Of course, there are still a lot of people doing it, but that won't ever change. California imposed a cell phone ban as of Jan1 2009 and TMZ has caught the governator's wife, Maria Shriver, driving around in her Arnold-sized SUV, talking on a hand-held phone numerous times. More recently she was filmed putting on make-up. Now that's a law they need to impose!

Thursday night I had a great workout - it was only an hour and conditions were mostly flat but I put in some solid km and came off the water feeling good. After I changed, I stopped by the lounge.There were a bunch of kids playing foosball and watching tv, and, since kids in the 15-17 range all kind of look the same, it took me a second to realize I didn't know any of them. But then, there was one face I recognized and he was unfolding himself from the couch to give me a hug. It was Ian Ross, the US athlete I billeted during this same weekend last year. He was tall then but geez, he's grown - now, he's at least 6'5" (in case you haven't figured it out, he's the paddler on the left).

Mac H. is the development coach and brings the kids up here for a training camp at least once a year. The kids are billeted with athlete's families but we have so few junior athletes right now, some are in houses with no kids. It may not be as sociable for them but perfect for a training camp.
Since I look at results and watch youtube vids of the bigger events (typical armchair athlete - love the sport in which I can't compete), I knew that Ian went to Junior Worlds in Moscow this year and did really well. Not a huge surprise since he's a natural athlete - plus his dad is a former U.S. national team C1 paddler and mom did whitewater C1 and flatwater C1 and K1.

After chatting with Ian for a bit, I left the club and ran into Mac out front talking to Derek (our new head coach, by the way) and some guy buried under a hoodie. I stopped to say hi to Mac and congratulate him on his juniors' results when I suddenly realized the gangbanger was Nathan! Lots of stuff going on in his and Lea's lives. He's still coaching the US national team and was leaving soon for Chula Vista. I suspect he misses the family a ton when he's away. The boys are at an age that makes travelling tough. It was great to see him and I hope he'll be around the club more in the future.

Friday night and it's the Awards Banquet. I've paddled the past couple of nights so didn't mind missing a workout. Instead, I went home and made sure my camera batteries were charged (somehow, I always forget to replace the AAs in my flash which means I carry an unusable piece of equipment around for nothing. Tonight was no different.). The past few years we've had the banquet upstairs at the Crooked Cue. It works out perfectly - holds lots of people, has good food and a stage-dance floor where Erics band, H.O.D., is able to set up and entertain the adults after the kids go home.

When I got there, I didn't see any of my 'group' so, with the option of sitting with the masters or the kids, I pulled up a chair with the midget girls along with Tamlyn & Danielle. (one of the coaches said something during his speech that made me laugh. He called the masters "bantams with credit cards" - too true. He coached them for a number of years and said it with humour). Much later, I saw Jess & Del with Karen & Kevin. They must have come in after the tables had filled up since they were seated in the bar area.

I took photos of each of the award-winners ( when they get to Uncle Lou's trophy it still makes me cry a little bit) and spent some time socializing afterwards. I would have liked to hang out longer but it was one of those nights - either I stay, committing to endless drinks topped off by a dozen tequila shots (plus a raging hangover & regrets the morning after) or go home now. I'm boring these days so walked back to my car where I'd left it at the club. I hear it was quite the after-party and I kind of wish I'd stuck around.

I woke up a little later than planned on Saturday morning, did a quick paddle and then headed down to Mitzi's to meet Jenn. She's in town for Tat's wedding and I was so pleased when she said she'd be free for brunch. I was late - screwed up and drove right past Mitzi's - but there was Jenn, patiently sitting in the window when I finally got there. Her life in Deline (pronounced Deh-li-nay) sounds a lot like the old tv show, Northern Exposure and I commented she should be writing a book. Every small community has it's eccentric characters and creatures but the far north just seems to attract more of the fringe than other places.

After an amazing feast of an oatmeal-buttermilk pancake with baked apple topping and a side of curried, home fried potatoes, I rolled back to Port Credit. As I drove down Mississauga Road, I realized the AGM was just about to start and decided to drop in. I'm glad I did just because I'm really out of touch with what's been going on at the club. I mean, I'm there but I don't really hang around or know what's going on. What an eye-opener. It's good that Derek's the new head coach. Dray did an amazing job and the club is really building so we need someone who can carry on with that.

At the AGM it becomes even more obvious how important it is to have people who are confident in their position and can't be bulldozed by opinionated master or parents (who are the only people to attend the AGM). We've got a solid board and several parents who actually understand what's important or necessary for the club at this point. In case you were wondering, the club is in great hands and will continue to move forward.

There was only one contested position for the board - athletes rep had both K.C. and Dustin up for election. K.C. won by one vote. One parent believes that boys/girls aren't comfortable talking to a rep of the opposite sex and kept pushing for co-athletes reps so they ended up voting on it. Since there's no downside, most were in favour and the motion was passed. I'm not able to vote but it's interesting just being an observer.

After the AGM I was at a loose end. I needed some Hallowe'en candy and hit up Shopper's and stopped by Blockbuster which was totally tricked out for the holiday. The art-school guy from Bruno's is working there now so we chatted for a bit.

Is it bad that some days the only reason (aside from the obvious) that I wish I had a regular manfriend is for going out somewhere when I'm bored? It was that kind of night. When I got home, I realized what a cliché I've become of an older, single woman, living alone. My dinner was popcorn and red wine.

I gave out candy to exactly 5 children. For the amount I spent on mini-packs of various candies, I could have given out cheeseburgers or giant-sized chocolate bars to each kid. Around 9 pm I decided I could turn off the upstairs lights and go watch the vids I'd rented. I got through Coraline, a really entertaining Tim Burton animation, before I went to bed.

I woke up late again and was ranging around the house, making coffee, cooking breakfast, beating myself up for not getting outside and DOING something when I realized that my clocks were different from my iPhone and computer. Hah! Daylights Savings time. I get an extra hour of EVERYTHING!

I finally went for a walk around the 'hood and here are some observations;

My neighbour on the north side has put their house up for sale. I wish one of my friends would buy it. I'm used to the current neighbour who is very quiet and wonderful. Not like Boris and Natasha on the south side who spend all their time trying to move their property line over - inch by inch.

Construction of the townhouses on Kentucky Hill seems to have stalled but it may be because of the city digging up Lakeshore (again) between Southdown and Lorne Pk Rd.

Laura's old house has DISAPPEARED - there's an empty building lot where it used to be.

The beer store in the Battaglia's plaza on Lorne Pk Rd has been closed - since October 1st. I don't buy beer often so didn't know about it until now.