Just a little West Coast rumination...

   This post has very little to do with running, so you might have to bear with me.
   I ache for the west coast.
   I have lived in Ontario for almost fifty years and love living here but, at the same time, British Columbia fiercely pulls on my heartstrings.
   I was born in Calgary and lived there only a couple of years before we moved to Youngstown, Ohio. Lived there a couple of years before then moving back to Edmonton.
   It was from Edmonton that we started travelling through the mountains every summer to visit my grandparents in Gibsons, B.C. They had built a cottage right on the ocean back in the thirties as a summer place and then eventually just moved there from Calgary. My dad spent his summers there, as well.
   The first part of the trip, travelling through the mountains, was always magical for us young kids. I'm sure we must have been pretty wide-eyed the whole way through. The drive was always a pretty twisty-turny kind of a thing which meant that you were constantly presented with amazing new vistas and experiences---glaciers and mountains and waterfalls and wild animals and rivers and the list just went on and on.
   Eventually, we always ended up in Vancouver, in Stanley Park and environs, simply continuing on with the amazing experience---totem poles, giant trees you could stand inside of, huge bridges guarded by lions.
   From there on to Horseshoe Bay and the ferry landing. We got to travel on a ship! Back in the late fifties/early sixties, the ferry system was much more quaint than it is now. Horseshoe Bay was not the multi-lane monstrosity it now is and the ferries themselves were not nearly as luxurious as they are today.

The beach in front of my Grandparents' place in Gibsons.

   Soon enough we were in Gibsons and this is where the magic really started. This was "pre-Beachcombers" Gibsons, long before it became the tourist magnet it is now. As I mentioned before, my grandparents lived right on a beach and this is where my brother Bob and I spent the vast majority of our time, when on vacation. I've been back a handful of times as a adult and it's been pretty cool watching first my boys and then my stepsons react to it the same way I did.
  

Capilano suspension bridge--Grouse Mountain

Eventually we moved to North Vancouver, originally a block off Lonsdale (attended Lonsdale Elementary) and then a little farther up Grouse Mountain, on a street just off Mont Royal. At the time we lived there in the early sixties, there were many undeveloped lots so, essentially, there was forest all around us. Mosquito Creek was just across the street from us and we spent hours in the forest bordering it.
   The reason why I even mention all this in a running blog is because lately I've become familiar with all these west coast bloggers who are now running almost right through my old neighbourhoods. I see runners cavorting down forest trails and runners standing on mountains beside oceans and runners making their way to the Sunshine Coast and the ache only intensifies.

The house I lived in on Glencanyon Drive, North Van.

   A few short years ago, Doralyn and I took our boys through the Rockies from Calgary and on to the coast. She remarked at one point that she could really see why people might go out west for a visit and just...stay there! I had to agree.
   Likely, if we could uproot all the people we love and drag them happily off to B.C., we would. Whether or not we end up there after the kids are grown and leading their own lives is hard to say. It's too bad that Canada is a country of such great distances...

The Agassiz Homestead, Agassiz, B.C.

   As a bit of a postscript, my great-great grandfather was Lewis Nunn Agassiz. His was the first family to settle in the Fraser Valley in the spot which is now Agassiz, B.C. I've often wondered if my love of the mountains was somehow or other a DNA-related thing. Could be. The weird part is that Lewis Agassiz actually started his journey from here in London!
   So, sorry about the lack of running-related material here. I actually debated about whether just to post it in my other blog, "Neanderings". I have, though, already talked there about my affinity for Western Canada (Calgary also elicits wonderful memories for me) but it is, in fact, all you western running bloggers who've stirred up many of these emotions. I can't tell you how much I envy all of you!

   
  

Kicks Pics!

   As requested (and just to wrap up my Running Room misadventure story), I wanted to post a pic of the new kicks. As you might remember, I'd been having uploading issues with Blogger and had been unable to post any pics, let alone pics of the new shoes. Well, it seems the issue was my Compatibility View settings---I'd adjusted them a few days ago and hadn't made the connection til last night. Went back in and changed them to what they were and voila, I can post pics again! Such a relief!
   The RR return policy was sixty days provided I hadn't scuffed them or used them outside. In light of this, I headed off right away to the Goodlife treadmill.
   Of course, I was pretty excited and hopped on the 'mill and started to run and all of the sudden realized I hadn't stretched! Not even a touch!



Asics Gel-Nimbus 15 LS! Here they are! (I can almost here my mum
now--"Get your shoes off the diningroom table
right this minute!")

   Now, I'm not sure what everyone else's pre-run routine is but after my bout with PF last year, stretching before and after a run has become a ritual. The idea that I was running with brand new shoes without even stretching beforehand got me all panicky and I shut the run down almost as soon as I had started.
   The next day (after the appropriate stretching), I hit the treadmill again. Ran three miles and no problems! At this point, I thought I could probably hit the streets so, the next day, I headed to Springbank Park and ran 5K. Once again, no probs. Of course, if you've ever suffered from PF, you know that no run is ever successful until the next morning and you're pain-free. It was with a little trepidation, that I rolled out of bed the following day after that 5K run outside. But, once again, no probs!
   In a running world where people seem to have anywhere up to five or six different pairs of shoes for different conditions or types of races, I now have two reliable pairs. I'm thinking this will probably do me, for the amount and kinds of running I do.
   There is, however, kind of a cool feeling around new kicks...
  
  



My Running Room Experience and My Super Power: Part Two

   Okay, gang, this is going to be a little anti-climactic here.
   A few days ago I did a post in which I described my recent visit to our local Running Room here in London, in search of new shoes. If you want to get caught up, you can read that post here.
   As you remember, I'd had rather an unfortunate visit to the RR wherein I'd come across shoes which were incorrectly displayed on their wall, found out what the mistake was when I got home, went back, had it corrected and ordered the shoes I wanted. I had hinted that maybe a bit of a break, price-wise, on my shoes might be appropriate but I was kind of pooh-poohed by the store staff that day. I was then then  left with a wait until the shoes I wanted arrived from Waterloo. That's where we were at the end of the last post.
   To update, the shoes came in much sooner than the store originally promised and the they contacted me promptly.
   When I went in, there was a whole new set of staff to deal with. This made it a little more difficult to plead my case, of course and, eventually, I just paid the extra ten bucks for the shoes and went my way.
   Interestingly, I had mixed reviews on the approach I should use with the RR--everything from "shit happens, don't worry about it" to "hey, they're a big business, you should write a letter to the owner".
   Part of the problem for me was that I ended up not feeling prepared enough, as a customer, when I went in. I knew the name of the shoe I wanted to try on when I went into the store but got too easily confused when I came across the mis-labelling. I probably should have had them check their own website before I walked out of the store with shoes that really weren't the ones I wanted.
   The other part of the problem was that the price difference was only ten bucks and ten bucks doesn't seem like an amount to really bitch about, especially when you've got a whack of gift cards at your disposal. On top of everything else, I've only ever had positive experiences at this RR. So I paid the extra and headed home, still pretty satisfied. Hey, new shoes!
   Now, if Blogger was allowing me to upload pics, I'd be able to actually show you the new kicks but, sadly, this is not the case. Blogger's been less than friendly lately with pics and I'm actually thinking about a switch....
   Are you listening, Blogger....??


   Any views on Blogger vs. Wordpress, peeps?

My Running Room Experience and My Superpower: Part One

   Last week was my birthday and I got a bunch of Running Room gift cards so I thought I would head downtown to our local RR and get me some new kicks.
   I had already been on their website and had an idea of what shoes I wanted to try on but I really had my heart set on trying a pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 15 LS. The last pair of Asics I had were pretty comfy, I think this is why I was gravitating to another pair. I also liked the colour scheme presented.
   When I got there, just shortly after 11:30 a.m., the store...was closed! There was just a sign on the door, one of those "Sorry, be right back" affairs. There was another gentleman already there waiting and the two of us ended up having quite a nice little chat (when you're both runners, there's that instantaneous connection!)


The shoe I was after...

  


   We were out there in the cold for about ten minutes when someone finally came and opened the door for us, from inside the store.
   I immediately headed over to the wall of shoes and found the Gel-Nimbus 15 LS shoes. Here is where things started to break down for me. They sort of looked like the shoes I remembered from the website but not quite. They were, however, clearly marked on the wall as the Gel-nimbus 15 LS. I also knew I wanted to try on the Gel-Nimbus 15's (minus the LS, which is only a reflective colouring difference). These were clearly marked on the wall as well so I tried them on. I also tried on some Brooks, Mizuno, Saucony and New Balance, as was my plan. Still, I gravitated back to the Gel-Nimbus 15 LS. And still I was bothered by the fact that they just didn't look quite like what I remembered from the website. I asked the young man who was helping me if they came in any other colour or pattern and he assured me that, no, they didn't.
   So I ended up buying them anyway, after I got the word on what the return policy was.
   I drove them home and immediately got back on the website. This is when I found out what had happened. My trip back to the store then confirmed it for me.
   The staff from the store had erroneously stocked the Gel-Nimbus 15 shoe on the wall where the Gel-Nimbus 15 LS was supposed to be. A completely different Asics shoe was in the spot where the Gel-Nimbus 15 was supposed to be. The Gel-Nimbus 15 LS wasn't even on display! The young man very sheepishly corrected things and went into the back room and came out with a Gel-Nimbus 15 LS, the shoe I had originally been looking for but that hadn't even been on display!
   This was not a confidence booster but at least I finally had my eyes on the shoe I really wanted. Next catch? Nothing in my size! (I would tell you what my size is but you know what they say about a man with small feet...) The young lady

...and its impostor!

working there said she would call around and see if any other RR's in the area had a pair. Fortunately, there were a bunch of them in Waterloo and they are currently being shipped to London.
   The girl then mentioned that when they came in all I would then have to do is pay the difference in cost between the regular Gel-Nimbus 15s and the LS model, about ten bucks.
   I looked at her and said "Really? You would charge me the extra ten dollars after your mistake here in the store really screwed me up and made me have to come all the way back??"
   She did look kind of sheepish and mumbled something about how it would screw up the inventory if they didn't charge the extra.
   Now, here is the real reason for me writing this blog post.
   What I really wanted to say to this young woman was "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM, YOUNG LADY? I AM A CANUCK RUNNING BLOGGER AND WHEN I GET HOME I'M GOING TO WRITE A BLOG POST ABOUT ALL THIS AND RUNNERS FROM ACROSS CANADA AND THE U.S. ARE GOING TO READ IT AND SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE HOBNOB WITH GUYS LIKE JOHN STANTON AND BART YASSO AND THEN YOU'LL BE SORRY!!"
   But I didn't say that because, well, that just ain't Brian Baker, folks. But it does occur to me that running bloggers aren't just your ordinary customer, are they? It's more than likely that they already know what they're doing when they walk into a running store, could probably be working there themselves as a matter of fact, and could probably even label the shoes correctly. But, more than that, we have an audience!
   Word of mouth is valued by retailers and who has more word of mouth potential than a runner who also blogs about it? We certainly talk about our shopping experiences among our friends and acquaintances but then we also sit down and share that with North America! We blog and we tweet and we share and re-tweet and re-share and some of it ends up on Pinterest and some of it ends up on Instagram and tons of it ends up on Facebook. And I know I just said North America but we get pageviews from all over the world, don't we?
   I would almost liken us to a food critic walking into a restaurant. Whether the experience is bad or the experience is good, the world will find out. You don't get that with the average customer.
   So I really toyed with the idea of at least casually mentioning that my experience there could likely end up in print sometime soon, just to see if they might re-consider charging me the extra ten dollars when the shoes come in. In reality, given that I live about 12 kilometers away from the store and that I've already made two round trips and am looking at another one when the shoes come in, I'm looking at travelling 72 kilometers for a pair of shoes I should really have only made one trip for.
   Of course, I could also do a better job of making sure of what I'm after when I shop and that I simply don't leave with something I'm having reservations about. I've also never had anything like this happen any other time I've shopped at that RR, so I'm also (in spite of my heavy-handed posturing above) not keen on making waves, I have no great desire to be persona non grata the next time I go in there. It's not even really about the piddly ten bucks either.
   No, more than anything, I find myself trying to come to grips with this whole writing thing, like somehow or other it feels like a superpower or something or at least, given that we have this audience, a facet of ourselves which sets us somewhat aside (certainly not above) from other people we might run into.
   Where I work, occasionally something needs to be written and written well. Generally I am the person who gets asked to do that. I take that as a compliment (and as a bit of a chain around my neck sometimes) that people have recognized this ability in me. What comic books have taught me is that with great power comes great responsibility. I must use my superpower wisely. Stay tuned to see if I do!  

My Unplanned 10K Run!

   "I ran an easy six miles today."
   I cannot tell you how many times I've read this at the beginning of some runner's blog or Facebook post. I know how far six miles is and it always blows me away that someone could describe it as "easy" and seem rather blasé about it at the same time.
   Well...not me!
   I RAN AN EFFING 10 KILOMETERS TODAY!!!!
   I have had 10K on my radar for about a whole year now. I was working up to it last year about this time when the PF (god, I'm tired of talking about it) hit. I had gotten myself up to 9K when the PF brought a screeching halt to things and it's taken me this long to make it back.


Footbridge across the Thames.

   Today was supposed to be a 9K run, after my 8K run last weekend. Next weekend would have been the momentous 10Ker. A couple of kilometers into the run today I was feeling pretty good. It was actually one of the best days for running we've had in these parts for a long time, due to the kind of winter we (and most of North America) have been having. I was feeling so good it occurred to me that if I finished the 9K and thought I could tack one more K then why not?


Obstacle course.

   This plan solidified itself around the 7K mark. At this point I felt 10K was quite do-able. It was not on the schedule but, really, with the weather the way it's been lately, it was hard to say when I might be able to get in the next 10K run so why not get it in the books today? Which is what I did.
   It was also around the 7K mark that I started to feel it---the left knee began to stiffen up and my left calf also began to complain a touch. It felt as though I was limping as I ran but when I looked down at my legs, they seemed to be running pretty normally. At any rate, there was not nearly enough discomfort to stop.
   The other cool part about the run today was that I didn't take a walking break. I took a handful of breaks last week during my 8K run to take pics along the way. I took pics today but basically did them on the run (we'll see how they turn out!)
   I started the run today from the most westerly end of Springbank Park and simply ran through the park until I made it down beside the river. Then along the river until I'd put in 4.5K. At this point, I just turned around and headed back. The closer I got to the end of the run, the more I figured I'd be able to add the extra K, to  make a full 10K. I took note of my position when I had only half a K left to go for 9 so that when I finished 9 I could run back to that point and then back again to make up the extra kilometer. It worked out well! The legs were more tired than usual but I guess this was to be expected. The real test will be tomorrow and stepping out of bed...


Post-run tired smile.

   So it's nice to know I can run 10K. Taking part in a 10K race this summer was one of my biggest goals for the year and I knew that I wanted to have run it a few times in training before an actual race. My plan now is to try and run it about once a week between now and then and see how it goes. Looking forward to it! One of the humbling things, though, was knowing that, to take part in an actual marathon, I'd have to do what I did today three more times in a row, plus a little. Intimidating, for sure! The good thing is that I don't have a marathon anywhere on the horizon, any time soon!

Maps and Graphs and Charts, Oh My!!

   I hate numbers. I've always hated numbers, in pretty well every shape and form. I was never good at math in school and I don't even like playing cards. You can ask my bank manager, my real estate agent and my life insurance guy and they will all confirm the fact that I hate numbers!
   Something organic goes on in my head when I see a whole bunch of numbers (or should that be a bunch of whole numbers?) that I am supposed to digest. My vision seems to get a touch foggier and I kind of feel like I go somewhere else, whatever that means. It's almost as if I've walked in on something I wasn't supposed to see so I slowly back out through the door I just came in.
   Here's part of the problem with this.
   I read a lot of running blogs. I read them mainly to hear other peoples' stories about their running trials and tribulations, the feeling they get from it, the pain mixed with the joy. For the most part, much of what I read often mirrors my own experience with running. I guess it might be the sharing which goes on. What a few running bloggers like to share, though, are their numbers.

A chart of how other activities interact with my running

   As much as running can be a very subjective kind of thing, it also is something which has aspects to it which can be easily measured and kept track of. And then shown to the world. In chart form.
   Because many of us are now wired up when we run, charts come spewing forth from this, pretty effortlessly. Many are charts with splits on them--runs divided up into sections with their different times attached. This can sometimes mean many sections with many times, many of which are only minutely different from the other (see what I did there?) You see people's weekly, daily and monthly training plans (quite often with words and phrases I'm unfamiliar with---WOD?, burpees?), VO2 max charts, heel-to-toe drop charts, shoe weight measurement charts, This means many numbers. This means one whole section of a person's blog I skip.
   In fact, if I'm reading someone's blog post and I come across a chart, I stop dead in my tracks. Kind of like what I do if I'm walking through a grassy meadow and I spot a snake. When I realize there's a graph, I sometimes quickly scroll down the post to see if there are more. If there's only one chart with numbers on it, I'll read the post. If, however, there are a bunch of charts and numbers...well, I might just skip that post entirely, sad to say.
   I'm not even really fond of maps, for some reason. Unless you're a running blogger from London, any map you post is pretty well going to be lost on me, sadly. 
   I want to quickly mention that this is only my personal issue. I take no umbrage with people who find charts and graphs and maps useful and informative, they can be a way of concretely demonstrating how much you might be improving as a runner. I'm just clearly allergic to them, if there were an epi-pen for  allergic reactions to numbers, I would carry it with me.
   Numbers are everywhere in running. Even the shoes have numbers! A quick check on the internet found "adidas adiZero Hagio 2.0" and "New Balance 890v3" and "Saucony Type A5". My head was spinning so fast I had to close that window and go look for pics of cute kitty cats!
   Having said all this, PLEASE don't stop posting all your maps and charts and graphs! I'm sure I'm part of a very small minority when it comes to these sorts of things and I'm also quite sure there are readers out there who devour them voraciously, so why change?

Just Another 8K Photo Essay

   I ran 8K today. This is the second farthest I have ever run and only the second time I have ever done it. I ran 8K about this time last year as part of my gradual climb up to 10K. The following week I did 9K and that's about where the PF hit. Next weekend, I'll tack on an extra kilometer, body willing.
   Today, I used the Flower Jovia method of distance running! I ran for a bit, took a pic, ran for a bit, took a pic, ran for another bit and so on and so on. Flower is a running blogger from Florida who does these amazing photo essays while out on her runs. All sorts of wonderful scenery and a whole whack of wildlife to boot---pelicans, dolphins, turtles, peacocks---pretty well you name it!
   Now, today I had no exotic wildlife (I spared you all a pic of the deer carcass I came across....) to show you but I did stop briefly quite a few times if there was anything of note. My route today was an extension of the river route I've been running the last few weekends and, at this point, it is taking me right downtown or at least pretty close.


Yes, I went toward the light...

   I started the run near the dreaded sewage treatment plant I told you about a couple of posts ago. The smell wasn't too bad today, I guess the wind must have been blowing in the right direction. Eventually, the path took me out of the park where the plant is and onto city streets.
   To exit the park, I had to take a tunnel underneath a set of train tracks. My wife always tells me that if I find myself in a tunnel with a light at the other end, I should try not to go into the light. Today, I ignored her.
   This tunnel was actually named after Greg Curnoe, a well-known London artist. He was tragically killed in a cycling accident back in 1992. In his honour, they have a plaque erected at one entrance to the tunnel. You can read a little about him here.
   From there, I popped out into a little neighbourhood near Wharncliffe Road, a reasonably busy north-south street. Happily, the path along the river runs under it. At this point, I managed to get a pic of both the Wharncliffe bridge I was about to run under along with some reasonably cool graffiti under it. It sort of looked like the commissioned kind of artwork.


Headed for the Wharncliffe bridge

   From there, I totally ignored the sign which informed me I was running on a flood plain and continued on.


Graffiti under the bridge

   This shortly had me arriving at the Forks of the Thames. I drive by the Forks all the time but this was my first opportunity to see it from this angle. Actually, at this point I was seeing London from a whole different perspective than I usually do altogether and it was a little disorienting and yet kind of cool at the same time. I'd see a building from a different angle than I was used to and I really had to go through the memory banks to figure out just why the building was familiar and what part of the city I had popped up in.



The Forks of the Thames

   Once I had figured out where I was, I decided I should probably head back in the general direction from whence I'd come. In truth, I think I'd totally lost track of the path I had originally been on and could go on no longer following it. So I ran along the city streets for a bit before I made it back towards Greenway Park.


Bethesda Centre

   On the way back to Greenway, I passed what used to be the Bethesda Centre, a home which was run by the Salvation Army for unwed mothers and their babies. It is currently unused and up for sale. I only mention this because this is where Justin Bieber's mum stayed back when she was heavy with him. Now North America is heavy with him. 
   So, back under the Curnoe tunnel and on to the Sewage Plant, where I'd parked. From there I had to tack a couple extra kilometers on just to bring me up to eight. This part of the trip twice took me past the deer carcass, which was conveniently already in the cemetery.

   Back at the car and my 8K was in the books. The Jovia method got me there without thinking I had actually stopped nine times along the way, if only briefly. I was only doing some photojournalism, right?