Cold Snap

With 5 days until the marathon, I fear my worst nightmare is coming true. After all the training and preparation, the cold I caught last week is still holding tight. I have tried everything to shake this off. I have pumped myself full of Cold FX, vitamin C, echanicea, ginseng and ginger. I have consumed pots of green and peppermint tea; and restrained myself from running, despite my fear of ignoring the training schedule. There is nothing left to do, but hope and pray and will myself back to health. Feel free to hope and pray and chant and medidate and visualize the dissapearence of my poor cold.

Sierra posted this on Nov 28, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

The Noon Train

Sometimes it takes a trip down South to realize just how treacherous life South of 60 can be. My weekend in Toronto has served as a good reminder of why life in the North is so great - and why trips to the South are so vital.

My Toronto adventure started later than expected, thanks to a delayed flight from Vancouver. I didn't get in and settled until just past 2 am, but thankfully was not slated to meet Norma and Lee until 10 am so I still got a good sleep. The next morning I met up with the ladies for an excellent breakfast at a quirky (by Whitehorse standards) restaurant. Then, in true big city style we headed to "We Will Rock You", the Queen musical. Following our adventures and a fabulous Thai dinner, we parted ways and I headed over to Tony's (my Tony's friend) house where I was bunking for the night.

This was the scene of my first adventure - a late night run. I was fairly excited about this run because it is the very last run before the marathon and my very first run in Toronto. Despite some excellent instructions from Tony's room-mate, I managed to get completely lost from the moment I left the front stoop. Thankfully Toronto has these nifty things called Streetlights that keep your path well lit, even when you have no idea what your path actually is. I decided the easiest thing to do would be run towards the CN tower. It's tall and well lit - the perfect landmark. This worked out fairly well until I realized that no matter how close I thought I was, the CN tower was still further away. I was almost to my goal, when suddenly the street was blocked off and I was forced to turn around...I hadn't realized the tower was right beside Grey Cup. My run back was full of adventure as I managed to get lost on the circular path of Queen's Park.

My biggest adventure was reserved for the next morning. I am usually a big fan of packing light. Being a fan does not always translate into actually packing light. This trip I didn't even bother trying, as I knew that the flight to Vegas would mean an excess of baggage. The consequence of my packing choices was me dragging two suitcases down St. George St. to the Subway. Rolling said bags through leaves and snow was not fun, but nothing compared with what was to come. I arrived at the subway, plunked in my token and started through the gate. The gate was a floor to ceiling contraption that looked something like a revolving door for cattle. I got 2 steps in before realizing that me and my 2 bags were slightly larger then the section of gate. Panic soon set in - me and my 2 bags were wedged in no man's land - we weren't on the "payed passengers only" end, but we'd left the corral. For a moment I was sure that the doors would lock - as my token was the only thing that had unlocked them, and it had been at least 30 seconds since I'd'plunked it in. Using a clever strategy of pulling the big suitcase, sitting on it and pushing the gate forward, I eventually managed to reach the subway side. I kissed the ground (okay, that's a lie - that ground was not kissable) and thanked God that I didn't know anyone in that subway station. The rest of the ride was good, and by the time I arrived at my destination, I had devised a plan to escape the gate with limited (but still present) embarassment.

I managed a quick, but lovely, visit with Lauren before boarding the VIA train to Ottawa. Perhaps next entry will be dedicated to my conflicting feelings about 1st class - it's seems so wrong, but I love it so.

Sierra posted this on Nov 26, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

Sniff, Cough, Wheeze

I spent the weekend in Edmonton celebrating my Father's 55th birthday/retirement. The week-end was great and the party was fun, but I returned to Whitehorse with a nasty cold. With the marathon 10 days away (technically 9 days and 23 hours), I was hoping to be the epitome of health, not a wheezing, snivelling sicko. I am popping a cocktail of Cold FX, echanicea, Vitamin C and Ginseng. Will this help??? Only time will tell... Meanwhile, I'm trying to remind myself that no additional training is really going to make a difference at this point. Despite this, I am trying desperately to resist running and extending the lifespan of this cold.

My one running tip/marathon training tip of the day is...find a fun running path and you'll have a much better time. I had my longest training run to do in Edmonton over the weekend and decided to run through the river valley. My path took my through the outside of Fort Edmonton Park and then towards Hawrelak. At about 2 hours in, I reached the Edmonton Zoo and decided to cough up the $5 entrance fee. The lovely admissions girl refused my money when I told her I was just running around the perimeter. Needless to say, I had a great little run that took me past zebras and tigers. It was only 15 minutes, but it really helped break up a run that might otherwise be a little bit boring.

I have another 2 days in Whitehorse before heading to Ottawa for work...and then onwards to Las Vegas.

Sierra posted this on Nov 22, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

Stop Thief!

This week-end was my second last big training week-end before the marathon. I finished my 3 hour run, but not without some serious frustration and about 5 minutes of crying. It had been snowing for 2 days, so I tried to plan my run on trails that would be fairly well worn and not too icy. Unfortunately, I didn't do a very good job of planning my route, and ended up trudging through 3 inches of snow. It was brutal and I ended up running only 27 km. The only good thing about the run, is that it allowed me to eat an extra large portion of prime rib when I went out for my birthday dinner that night.

With the cold weather the running outfit seems to be getting more and more complex. No matter what I wear I am too cold for the first 10 minutes, too hot for the next 20 minutes and uncomfortably moist for the rest of the time. Even my much loved balaclava annoys me after an hour when the moisture from my breath causes it to freeze solid. The shoe situation is the most frustrating because the snow makes my shoes wet and gives me nasty blisters. The only good thing about the shoes is the YakTrax that have saved me from certain ice-induced injury

I have to admit that I'm looking forward to the end of training and running the actual marathon. I've now gotten my race outfit, thanks to the Tooth Fairy who obviously recognized the value of a wisdom tooth, and I've got all my food stuff. I've been using Cliff Bloks as my main source of running nutrition. They basically taste like slightly salty wine gums. The nice thing is that you can leave them to melt in your cheeks instead of wasting precious time chewing.

This morning my heart rate skyrocketed for an entirely different reason. After Sunday breakfast downtown, I got up from the table to pay and saw my unlocked bike drive away on the top of someone's car. As soon as I realized it was indeed my bike (the pink seat and pink cables gave it away), a couple of us jumped in cars to track down the alleged thief. Thankfully, the thief was actually a well-meaning citizen who thought the bike may have been stolen and was bringing it to the RCMP. Hector and Lisa intercepted him at the station and recovered Frederika before she was interred at the Station. While I may have had a minor heart attack, it is nice to have my faith renewed in strangers. It is also a good reminder to lock my bike up...before it really does get stolen!

Sierra posted this on Nov 11, 2007 from the outside | | permanent link

Another Year Older

It's official, I am another year older and 1 wisdom tooth less wise. My birthday was chaotic, to say the least, as it happened to coincide with a very busy work event. While the day was salvaged by a fabulous bonfire out at Schwatka lake and a wonderful dinner of hotdogs, potato chips, brownies and box wine; I am looking forward to having a real birthday celebration this weekend.

As a special birthday treat, I went to the dentist to get my annual cleaning/check-up. Somehow, I left with one less wisdom tooth. Doctor Jacob assured me that getting the cavity filled tooth out, is better than a filling. I was a little bit too under the spell of Ativan to pay attention, let alone protest. All I know is that my teeth miss their former colleague and are crying out in pain.

Winter has definitely arrived in Whitehorse and, thanks to the time change, it is dark before I even get home from work. This is presenting some logistical problems when it comes to my running schedule, but I will try to do my runs over lunch, which should help it all out. The new winter running is also requiring equipment changes. I've totally splurged on a icebreaker wool top, which costs you your first born son, but keeps you warm while you run. I also bought some YakTrax to keep me from slipping on the ice.

All these additions to the running inventory should be enough to get me through the next 4 weeks and to the finish line of the Las Vegas marathon.

Expect the next few entries to be marathon-centric, as I work out all the final details. What can I say, the garden's dead, so there really is not much else to report about.

Sierra posted this on Nov 08, 2007 from the livingroom | | permanent link