Runners' Christmas Wish List 2011

Today happens to be Black Friday in the U.S. and did you that Christmas is ONE MONTH AWAY! Yes, ONE. Can you believe it? No? Me neither, time flies by way to fast, right? Before you know it you'll be running around Christmas Eve like a madman, with money flying out of your hands!

So, here I am to help with my Runners’ Christmas Wish List 2012 edition!!! You can thank me later.. lovely husband, er... I mean Santa. Great gift ideas (with the exception of the shoes) that fit into my Christmas stocking. They're also light and won't weigh down your sleigh. Most of the gifts listed are also less than $100!

Dear Santa,
I've been a good girl this year. I've done a lot of running, incorporated yoga and spin into my activity. I'd like some new gear for the new marathon training season.

Road ID, I still don't have one. Wouldn't you want to know if I got lost and found?

New pair of running shoes - a girl can never have enough pairs of shoes. Nice bright ones, all the better for you to see me run!

Love these shorts lululemon run: speed short. Very comfortable and a flattering fit. (Size 6)

It's time I got a watch. So I can run faster AND get home faster to make you lunch!
I got a watch!!! I got a Garmin 405CX

Cashmere socks. I have discovered the luxury and warmth of using cashmere socks as my base layer sock for skiing. Get me these and you don't have to listen me whine about my cold feet. I love nice socks and I like warm feet.

I need more socks. Nike Dry-fit size small

Spa certificates! Massage therapy at the spa. Need I say more?

Gift Cards

You to come out to hold up signs and cheer for me at my races.

Because I love your support and we get to eat a big breakfast together after!

Love,
Winnie


ps. I hope you liked the cookies I baked for you and Santa, you're great!

Aggressive Time Savings Measures Act of 2010 & Ski Bum Soundtrack

I’ve got my Whistler Blackcomb EDGE card and I’m ready for winter!!!

Every other weekend, my husband, his bestfriend and I leave Vancouver early in the morning and drive up to Whistler for a day of skiing and snowboarding. The number one must-have for the drive up is a great play-list. So I'm going to be prepared! A drive-up-pre-ski playlist, a while-I-ski playlist as well as an apres-ski playlist. Time to make new playlists for the ski season!

A number two must-do for the drive is not stop to pee. Yup, you read that right, no pee breaks. No pee breaks!!! The “Aggressive Time Savings Measures Act of 2010” was enacted last year... by the guys of course. After a few weekends of stopping for a pee-stop and coffee in Squamish the guys had enough of getting up to Whistler later than they wanted. I was making them late. My small bladder was slowing things down. The Squamish stop on the way to Whistler was voted out of our journey.

So, I'm not allowed to have morning coffee anymore because I always have to stop in Squamish to use the bathroom. I like to buy snacks too since the guys don't seem to ever get hungry. If I want coffee I have to wake up extra early, drink it at home and make sure my bladder is empty before boarding the ski-bum-mobile. We must get as many hours and runs in as possible. This is the way it is for this girl if she wants to hang out with the boys. It's ok because I kick their asses on the mountain. I gotta give them something, right?

Anyway, here's some of the music I'll be adding to my playlists



Sleigh Bells - “Riot Rhythm”
MGMT - “Kids”
Foster the Kids - “Pumped Up Kicks”
Temper Trap - “Sweet Disposition” great for cruising
Yeah Yeah Yeahs = “Zero”
The Vaccines - “Wetsuit”
Arcade Fire - “Neighbourhood #1” walked around Paris listening to this
Florence + The Machine - “No Light, No Light”
Apostle of Hustle - “Chances are”
Metric - “Help I'm Alive”
Phoenix - “If I ever feel better”
Caribou - “Melody Day”
Stars - “Take me to the Riot”
Kate Nash - “Pumpkin Soup”
Metric - “Stadium Love”
Built to Spill - “Else”
M.I.A. - "“Paper Planes”
Brazilian Girls - “Good Time”

Hustle Hard

Things I see on my running journeys: Hustle Hard.
Spotted at Marinaside Crescent and Davie Street, Yaletown.

It's Sunday. Sunday long-run day. I haven't run in two weeks. Two whole weeks! I've been sick one week after another. Cold, flu, cough. Repeat. Heck, I'm not young and invincible anymore.

Woke up coughing. Probably asthma triggered by the cold & flu. Got up and got ready. Just gotta get out and run. Layered up, stuffed tissues and an inhaler into my pocket and headed out. No set distance in mind. Run.

Man, it felt good to run today. I thought I'd had to use my puffer, my legs would feel like lead and I'd have a miserable run in general. I felt light and I wanted to skip, leap and pirouette - while I ran! I did that in my imagination to save myself from tripping, falling on my face and then having to deal with the embarrassment and possibly a crowd surrounding the crazy-lady-runner star-fished face down on the seawall. BUT a lady did a dancey spin as I passed her! I got my pirouette after all - vicariously. Confession, I did do a bit of skipping. (I am young and invincible after all!!!)

It was a beautiful day for a run, snow on the mountains, clear water, crisp cold air - just perfect.

So what do I do now that I'm back running? Do I start over at week one with my training schedule? Do I skip up to week three? All I know is I'm going to have to hustle and hustle hard.

Pre-run: Gluten-free toast with warm almond butter and black currant jam. Water.
During run: A sip of water from water fountain
Post-run: A nice, hot cup of JJ Bean soy latte. Mmm mmm! Water,1000mg vitamin C & 1000 I.U. vitamin D (just in case, don't want to catch another cold) Spicy pumpkin-coconut soup & a bit of leftover rice.
Notes: A little tightness in right IT between 5 and 6 mile mark. Runny nose.

What's in my gym bag?

I use this Goober Baby tote bag to hold my loose gym bag items like deodorant, face cream, etc.

   

Water bottle that I can use for post-workout shakes

Hair towel. There's towel service at the gym but the small towel provided by the gym is too small to wrap my hair up with and the big towel is wrapped around my body. I'm not the walk-around-the-changeroom-naked kind of girl.

Flip flops for the shower.

Headphones - if I'm working out on a machine I'll plug in and listen to the news

Socks

Running shoes!

Toque or visor.  If I'm going for a run outdoors.

Snacks. I recently recieved a Vega gift basket and tried these bars. I like them especially because they are gluten-free!

Electrolytes. I carry Nuun for the hot days or extra sweaty workouts. I find that the flavour is not too sweet and easy on my tummy.

And finally my favourite shorts, sports bra and racerback tank top. I really like the Lululemon cool racerback tank tops because they're so versatile. I can wear it for yoga, spin, or running and I can use it for layering or wear it under my sweater or suit jacket for work.

Often I carry 2 sets of workout wear because I'll do a lunch run and after work. Thank goodness my gym provides shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and moisturizer. My bag would be so heavy!

What's in your gym bag?

Some inspiration

Winter. The dark mornings and dark, rainy nights... it's cold, it's rainy, windy... it sucks. Some days I really need inspiration. This video does it.

I'm going to go out and run...


and be extraordinary.

Rainy day spicy pumpkin coconut soup

This long weekend was pretty cold and wet out, I was sick and had lots of spare time so I puttered around the kitchen, opened and closed the fridge door a few times, hoping to see something I didn't before each time. I did the same thing to the cupboards. I found a tin of organic pumpkin and coconut milk. SOUP. Soup is what I'll make with my spare time. A spicy, pumpking coconut soup.

14oz can organic pumpkin
13oz can coconut milk

1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves, garlic minced
some fennel
some cinammon
some coriander
some cumin
some galengal
lots of ginger
some chilli pepper flakes
1 cube veggie bouillon
2 tsp sugar
2 cups of black tea - I happen to be drinking tea so I used my tea... you can use water
oil

Sorry about the measurements for the dry ingredients. I don't really measure when I cook.

In the pot you want to cook the soup in, drizzle pot with oil, heat. Throw in the onions and cook for a few minutes and then the garlic.

Cook for about 5 minutes and then toss in the dry (minus the sugar and veggie bouillon cube) of the ingredients. Add more oil if it becomes too dry. I like to heat all the dry ingredients with the oil to bring out the fragrance. Cook on low for another 5 minutes, making sure not to burn the spices.
Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Let simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Altogether this took about 20 minutes to make! Yummy!

Abstract Sunday LIVE-sketches NYC Marathon

I don't have much to post about but I did find this! Awesome.
Christoph Niemann (Abstract Sunday, New York Times Magazine) ran, lived-sketched AND tweeted his NYC Marathon journey. The post made me laugh and smile and forget I was wallowing in self-pity... (I'm still sick).

 Enjoy!

First Half Half Marathon 2012!!

Thanks to my crazy cat, I woke up at 5 a.m., registered and got into the 23rd "First Half" Half Marathon!!!
but...
Bah! or more like, waaaaah! Again! I'm sick! Again! I JUST got better from a cold... ugh. So I'm going back to bed.

I'm hope to have more positive and fun postings on my marathon training progress.

Music Monday

I run most times without music. Too often when a really good song comes on my iPod, I gotta stop running and dance. Sometimes you'll catch shake my shoulders a bit while run or slow down to shuffle my feet a bit. Here are a few songs that do that to me.



I had to put this in here - the guys are too cute!


OR even better... when this song comes on. I just want to jump around and play air guitar! ... so what running style are you?

Sunday Long Run - Week 1

Sunday long run - 10 miles

I forgot to set my alarm clock. Texts from friends woke me up. One was a photo of cat graphiti my friend found somewhere and another was about Hawaii... nice... just in time to get up for my Sunday long-run... in the brrrr-cold.

Anyway, I woke up feeling foggy. Maybe I'm getting sick again. I usually get sick after being around big crowds. I was at the Vancouver Yoga Show yesterday, it was fun and it was busy!

Rolled out of bed, put some gluten-free bread in the toaster and got ready. Radio newscast says it's 1 degree celsius out. I chose my favourite running tights - the black ones with a strip of hot pink from the back zipper, an old race tech t-shirt, a long-sleeve shirt on top, and my toque. Almond butter and jam on my toast, drink some water and putter around some more. A bit of procastinating...I don't feel like running, it's cold, I'm cold... Maybe I'm over-dressed, or maybe I should take this yellow run jacket. Oh yah, maybe I want my heavier run jacket, the green Luluelemon one my husband gave to me the year we spent Christmas on Maui. He had placed a Tiffany's necklace in the pocket. I wondered why he was telling me to do so much with the jacket... Put it on! Zip it up! Does it fit well? Go look in the mirror. Walk around in it. How are the sleeves? Feel the jacket! Do you like it? Put your hands in the pockets... the first time he said that I just unzipped the pockets and didn't really put my hands in the pockets. "Put your hands IN the pockets" and Ooooooh! There was the necklace in the Tiffany blue satchel... :-)

I kicked myself out the door before I changed my mind and crawled back into bed. I met my neighbour in the elevator and he asked, "Oh you going out to run again?!" (He saw me go for a run yesterday too.) I replied, "Yah, I really don't feel like it but I gotta get a long run in" "Well, sometimes you have the best workouts when you don't want to... and you come back and feel amazing!" We talked some more, he pondered going back to yoga and maybe giving YYoga a try since it's so close by.

Route: Pretty flat route. I ran out to Granville Island and back over to Yaletown and out to English Bay and back to Yaletown.

It's been a long time since I've done a long run. Today's long run felt like it was never-ending. the miles took forever to pass.

Thoughts today while I ran: My nose is dripping. My big toe is starting to feel bruised. Huh, this is new... I hope I don't get a black toe. I just grew last ski-season't black toenail out! Why is this taking soooo loooong. My nose is dripping. Ugh... gotta change this music, why do I have such slow music right now? I'm getting passed... Oh when did I start walking? Run! Go! Hi little doggy, hey! these are my ankles, not yours! My nose is dripping. My tissue is falling apart. I wonder how much tissue dust I breath... no one's around, do a snot rocket quick! Ok, that was embarassing, thank goodness no one is around...

Finished with a soy latte treat at JJ Bean and picked up some groceries at Choices.

Pre-run meal: 2 pieces Udi gluten-free toast, almond butter & black current jam, water
During run: 6 oz water - didn't finish
Post-run meal: water, 12 oz soy latte, Glutenfreeda Vegetarian & Dairy Free Burrito, 2 glasses of orange juice and San Pellegrino