All Downhill From Here

Usually when folks ask “what’s new”? I respond with the same ol’ stuff. You know; family, work, running, life chugging right along. Over the last couple of months, though, some things have stood out and made me say “Cool Beans!”.

Over Christmas I was doing some internet searches for races and running groups near my hometown of Camrose. I thought it would be fun to have a little company on my runs when I visit my parents, so what the heck, let’s see what we can find on the internet. I came across the website of a runner about my age, who runs about my speed. She turned out to be a long lost friend from way back in high school. Cool, I didn’t know she’d been running! I’m excited about re-connecting with her and renewing our friendship. Her husband Robert has a nice, simple on-line running log that I’m trying out, as well.

Director Gabino Travassos has had his camera at our local XC races lately. He’s casting for roles in a documentary he’s making about the Calgary running community. At the Silver Springs race he gathered up names of anyone interested in participating, and Saturday he did some screen tests with interested runners. I answered some questions on-camera just for the fun of it. I’m looking forward to seeing the film, whether I end up in it or not.

In the meantime, I’ll be chugging right along with the usual. Last night my run had a delayed start again due to my kid’s haircut (what kind of excuse is that!). I was on a schedule, but did manage to squeeze a run up Apartment Hill into my 30 minute route. It was -1C with 2 cm of mashed-potato snow and melting slush underfoot. 4.2 km last night plus Saturday’s 8 brings me to a Frostbite Falls total of 46.3 km out of 105 so far.  Monday runs are going to have to get longer if I want to get to FBF by the end of the month!

I’m working on some of my plans for 2007 and here’s what I’ve come up with so far, in both running and not-running areas of my life. I was tempted not to write these out or publish them, but realize that I have a better chance of holding myself to them if I “say them out loud”. The list is detailed and kind of long, so skip what you want.

Calgary Penguins, please note #3 in Running/Fitness. I won’t be at Gord’s tonight.

Running/Fitness:

1)Trails trails trails! Conquer monster hills repeatedly throughout the year. More running and trail hiking with my kids. No totally flat training runs allowed. End results desired: thoroughly enjoy every km of the Moose Mountain 29k in September and be able to tackle the 07/08 Grand Prix season in my best trail-running shape ever.

2) Consistently run 3 times a week, with a minimum of 13 miles or 21 km per week. More mileage will be expected most weeks but this is the minimum. Not an onerous goal for me, but one I’ve had trouble with the last 4 months. #3, next, lays out a new plan for achieving this.

3) Bravely go where this Penguin has never gone before – a local Running Room weekly Wednesday run. I’m going to miss my Gord’s Store buddies, but I think exchanging Gord’s Tuesdays for RR Wednesdays will fit into my family’s current schedule better. I was having a hard time squeezing in Tues/Thurs/Sunday runs this last while and am hoping that Mon/Wed/Sat (and still possibly Sundays too) works better. Plus I’ll be driving less and thus saving more money (see personal goals #2 & 3 below) if I run to and from my local store.

4) Return to logging my runs on Dawn’s simpler Excel sheet. Last year I tried her pivot table one and quit logging because it didn’t work for me and I was too lazy to transfer the data back to her simpler one. Back on the logging wagon now – thanks for the 07 version, Dawn!

5) Incorporate sit-ups, push-ups and simple core exercises into my weekly fitness routines. Maybe if I get my family to compete with me on a gradually increasing minimum per day/week it will be more fun. I will use a modified form Dawn’s log to schedule and log these exercises for them and me.

6) Snowshoe in the mountains at least once in January. Did I mention hiking earlier?

Social – Running Related:

1) Successfully help Dawn direct the Nose Creek XC race on January 13th. I will bring a pot of soup, bring some supplies for the coffee & bun table, bake cookies as AG awards, help set up and clean up the hall. Heck, I might even get to race if she has enough course marshals.

Family/Social/Personal – Not Running Related:

1) Enjoy every waking moment of our family trip to Orlando in February, while staying within a tight budget.

2) Drive less (not easy with a teen and tween for whom I’m the taxi).

3) Waste less money and stuff. Work efficiently to make more money and better manage what we’ve got, without sacrificing family priorities.

4) Play a board game with family at least once every 2 weeks, if not more often. Our family game night kind of faded out in ’06. Time to renew the fun bonding ritual – we miss it.

ORN: Last night I started my annual January journey to Frostbite Falls by running and walking 5 km. I made myself run up both the small and big hills, only walking for a bit at the top. There was only a little bit of ice, and the chinook wind blew 7C/45F air around me. If anyone would like to meet me there, I’m bringing Kahlua for the coffee and potato lefse rolled up with butter, cinnamon and sugar 🙂