Vancouver 17 and 18

Well, today I ran 3 miles in the early morning. It was really slippery and I wasn't feeling it, so I bailed out early. All day I wondered if I would be able to drag my sorry ass out for a late night 40 minutes... Well, after walking all over town looking for a job, then going to power yoga at 4, things were still up in the air.  To encourage myself to go, I took the bus home which I usually don't do and saved my legs from the half hour walk, then went out for a great 40 minute run.

Hmmmm... Wait a minute! Am losing my mind? In order to get home quicker and "save my legs" from the half hour walk, I pay $2.50 for the bus only to then go for a 40 minute run???.. (in the pouring rain I might add)... 

Yeah, well, I guess the only way to try and explain it is to say that the 40 minute run in the rain is a way better buzz that the 30 minute walk home in the rain... And I guess that's what it all comes down to.. Running is a buzz, a positive addiction, a blood circulating, heart thumping inner warmth that radiates out and washes over you and keeps you warm no matter the temperature. It's like being inside a big warm bubble. Things outside the bubble aren't as important as they would be if you were walking. You pay less attention to traffic signals, you care less about your worries, you just put one foot in front of the other and go! The sideways glances, grins and slow head back and forth shaking of people you pass who obviously think you are a crazy freak with a screw loose only adds to the fun! So, Yeah, I guess I may be losing my mind!  What a blast!

Run 17 am

Run 18 pm

Vancouver Blizzard

About four or five inches of snow was enough to pretty much shut down the city. Everyone was so worked up about it, I decided I would wait until evening to run. Well, by the time I got home from yoga, the sidewalks were like a bottle. So, tomorrow morning, for sure.. Yoga was good. Hot yoga! With Heather.

Poses I can't do. Eagle! Ugh! Squat with feet flat. Malasana.. 

2008- Run 16 Vancouver

Run this morning was really good! I didn't have water or any energy bars so I shut it down after 1:20 at just under 9 miles. I went out a bit too fast for a long run but that was a result of not doing anything the last two days. A night out on the two sure takes the wind out of my sails.

Went to Anusara Yoga this evening and had a good workout. Couple things I noticed I was doing improperly: 1) in down dog, my feet are too far back and (2) in plank, my hands are too far forward. Nice to go to Anusara practice to get everything lined back up again. :)

Tonight I was finally able to get a library card! Took out a couple French books to study and a McSweeney's Collection.. a periodical edited by Dave Eggers.

Going to try and run at dawn tomorrow.

Weekend Off- Saturday and Sunday.. Vegetable

much needed break. 

Cosmic Energy, Lights and Magnets

Energy & Cosmic Magnetism

Mark Farina has a few lines about the sound music makes. 

Crazy Party.. Leon Louder The Live In Tokyo Album. In the song he says something like

"The string has a small bit of wood resting on it, this is called the damper because it dampens or stops the string from sounding.. now when I press a note, a hammer jumps up and hits the string...." 

String Theory again.. 

I've been listening to Farina, thinking about energy, energy fields, the last book I read, The Celestine Prophecy and working through my own thoughts. 

There are many things to think about when considering the importance of vibe.. of energy.. swirling and swirling... (wbyeats)

The Celestine Prophecy certainly isn't a great novel, but I've very much enjoyed it. I especially liked the idea of Critical Mass. That nagging feeling that something just isn't quite right. It's not so much a hole in our fabric that we need to stuff full of belief but rather an observation of a world run amuck. Critical Mass wonders about how they can continue to sell junk for less than it costs to make it. Critical Mass is looking at every SUV you see as a contributor to climate change. It's seeing a cheeseburger as cow stink and the Ozone killer. Critical Mass is waking up to the Unsustainablility in which we immerse ourselves everyday. (I'd forgotten that Critical Mass was the name of those Bike Protesters that block traffic on self appointed days in the city).

Recently a friend of mine gave me a small trinket he picked up at the Dollar Store. It is a Lapel pin, a button, but you attach it to your shirt with a magnet and it blinks. A trifle. Not very interesting in and of itself, but he bought it for only it only $1.  It has three very small little lights on it, a red a yellow and a blue.  You twist the top to turn it on and the little lights blink in succession, blinking on and off, each in their turn; the kind of thing you would wear at a Rave or a concert. (Maybe on Canada Day to the Fireworks). Inside, there were two small wrist watch batteries to power the unit and a second magnet, to make contact with the external magnet meaning wouldn't have to poke a hole in your shirt to wear it. The top of the thing, where the lights were located was transparent and inside you could see the little transistor like wires connecting the three lights. It was very small, about twice the size of the eraser you would find at the end of a pencil and it was compact and fairly complex. The truly amazing part was that they would sell this trinket for $1. Surely there was more than $1 worth of raw materials inside this button. Three little lights, two batteries, two magnets, some transistor wire, an outside housing and some transparent material on the top. How could they sell this little thing with so many parts containing so many little bits for only $1? The raw materials had to have cost more than $1, not to mention the assembly and the shipping from China! How could they sell it for only $1. 

It seemed criminal somehow. 

This little magnet was everything that is embodied in this idea of Critical Mass mentioned in the Celestine Prophecy. They are tearing apart the Earth at a feverish pace and selling it off in useless little disposable bits. I say "They" when I should be saying "We", we who stand idly by or, worse, buy one of these bits.

I hadn't held a magnet in my hands in a long time and I quite a long while playing with it. Slowly attracting the smaller magnet with the larger, repelling it, making it spin and lift- attract and repel. 

There are many things that cross your mind when playing with magnets. One can't help but consider how our ancestors would have believed they were magic, how the properties of matter are physical things and how attraction and repulsion are physical attributes of things as well. Playing with magnets makes you consider some of  your relationships with things and people. Why are we attracted to some people and not to others? Isn't it the same sort of relationship? Isn't it just magnetism? Is there an invisible thread connecting us to people we connect with? The Planet continues to send us physical signals that things are not right, but maybe it's sending us little magnetic pulses as well. Little jolts that spin  our consciousness and tweak our antennas  and make us wonder why we are feeling so odd all the time. The nagging suspicion that something just isn't right. (I guess its true that on the other side of attraction lies repulsion).

Friday Morning Run with Toni

Was up extra early today worrying that I would oversleep and drank way too much coffee before heading out. Met up with Toni from yoga and went for a great run up the other side of the harbour towards Stanley Park. I think I might run over there a bit more often because there is a way more sun.

You would think that after yesterday's fiasco, I would "be prepared" but I wasn't. I carried my camera the whole run only to finish  and realize the battery was dead! 

Run 15 with Toni

Friday at 4 pm went to power yoga class with Beth! Was good. 

Shit a Brick Trick

Today was yet another time in my life that I wished I had paid more attention in Boy Scouts. How can I not "Be Prepared" when I am out on my bike? So many aspects of my life are sooo disorganized or worse, in utter disarray, that whenever I start to think about them, I get an ice cream headache. But, my bike... my bike is my shrine. Everything on it is shiny and new and polished and has it's place...  I spent 3 hours cleaning her up when I first arrived and it wasn't even dirty. Everything has it's place on my bike. It is it's own little world, self contained, self sufficient, simply perfect.

So, today, when I started to feel a bubble in my back tire about 1 hour into my Brick II ride, I was only mildly upset. I've been so lucky with flat tires. I've only had a few in the thousands of miles I've put on that bike. But they certainly seem to come at the wrong time. 

The last flat tire I had was during a race in St. George in 2006. I was able to get it fixed and didn't lose too much time. I chalked it up to experience and continued on my merry way. Today, when I realized the bubble in my tire was another impending flat, I was mildly upset, but not too worried. I have a spare tube, an air pump and all the tools with me to fix the tire ... So, when I pulled over, I was mostly worried that the flat tire would mess up my Brick training for the day.

You can only imagine my surprise when, after I had taken the back rim off, popped the tire off the rim, pulled the old tube out and unravelled the new tube, I realized that my new tube wasn't the right size. It had a long valve stem, but it wasn't long enough!!... no amount of twisting or turning or pulling or swearing was going to make that valve stem stick out far enough to get my trusty tire pump onto it. So, there I was, 13.98 miles into the ride, probably 12 miles from home on a major road that was twinned with no tire, no phone, nobody to call anyways, not really sure of the way home if I wasn't on my bike, and worst of all.. no bus fare!!

So, after reviewing all the expletives in my repertoire, which took a good five, no ten, minutes, I started to walk. After 50 yards, I started to glance over my shoulder for potential rides. I stuck my thumb out at a Volkswagon Camper Van. Buddy gave me the hands up in the air shoulder shrug. He looked as though he sincerely wanted to pick me up so at least I had a bit of a chuckle. I was a sorry looking buckaroo to be sure.

After a few more minutes of walking without the next set of lights appearing to get any closer, I looked back over my shoulder at a new pack of cars coming along.  I stuck out my thumb and immediately a full sized Ford truck began weaving over towards me on the side of the road. 

In a nutshell, the rest of story is that this guy, Graham, a Scot, picks me up in his shiny new truck, (me all covered in dirt and mud) and drives me to the bus stop, about 5 miles away (which I never would have found) and gives me $2.50 bus fare to get me on my way! He told me that I'd best be careful or I'll like it here in vancouver so much, I'll move here. 

He may be right.

Bike 2- Vancouver

So, this week's Brick Training is out the window... need to get new tube and might start packing two tubes ... ohhhh.. and BUS FARE!!

After getting home, I showered and headed off to 4 p.m. class. It was a hot class with Julie! It went pretty well. 

Tomorrow, I am going to get up early and go running with Toni.. 9 am.. :)

So, the number of yoga classes and runs are no longer the same.. Maybe I could run twice one day? 

2008- Run14- Vancouver

fire alarm to get me out of bed.. hard to get going but warmed up after the first 2 miles and felt pretty good.. Still a bit sore form hot yoga yesterday..

Run 14

Off to yoga with Claire.. I thought it was a hot class but I'm on the wrong day, so it was actually a power class! It was a good stretch.. Had some good feelings at the end in cobra and there was a cool 5 minute meditation.

...

Had some interesting thoughts today about energy.. Maybe I will write a bit of it down later.

Unlucky 13

Don't hot yoga and run.. 

Just Brutal!

Yoga/ Run

Tight.. standing forward bend.. done properly... oww yah!

Run 12- late night...

keep core engaged when getting tired..

another 5 miler tomorrow

Got Haircut!

Yoga Lesson 12

Weekend Yoga

So, I've been in Vancouver two weeks tomorrow. I've been to yoga every day except for last Saturday and Sunday. I was wishing I'd gone those days so as to get a streak going, but it was not to be because of Mark Farina! But that is another story. So, this weekend, I promised myself I would go to yoga both days. Yesterday was Power Yoga. It was pretty intense. The teacher was named Brandy and she put us through quite a workout.

Today, was 10 am Hot Yoga. Again, another good workout. I think I like the Hot Yoga the best because of all the sweating you do, but the Power and Anusara were good as well. Today, I learned the importance of the 4 count breath. 4 count inhale; 4 count exhale. I also found I was able to get my hip opened up which should really help the running.

Yogi folks: Julie, Laura (brother from home), Rich (the artist).. Yesterday, Brandy and a guy named Todd. Friday, Bill. Liv. 

Later today, going for LSD II

.....

2008- Run 12 Vancouver LSD II 

2:06 

13.15 miles

9:38 avg/mile

felt great.. snickers!

2008 - BRICK I

Finally got out on Bike! What a rush! Biked out to UBC and just had a blast! It was cold but who cares! First time I've ever been out on a road bike in January!! 1 hour on Bike..

AND!!!

Just because it was such a buzz! I decided I would Brick it! So, 30 minutes hard run after the Bike... Going to try and Brick at least once a week! Gotta eat and get going to yoga!

2008-Bike 1- Brick I

2008- Run 10- Brick I

Then, yoga! almost did a full bridge tonight!  then, mmm.. lentil burger for dinner! Damn, I love Vancouver!

Yoga

Well, if I am serious about keeping an Exercise Journal, I guess it's time I wrote something about yoga. 

Firstly, given my previous experience with Blogger, I find myself a bit reluctant to write in the first person, to let others know who I am, where I am, and what I'm up to. It's not that I was writing anything previously that was crass or distasteful. But being new to the world of Blogging at the time, I was hesitant in that "you never know who is watching" paranoid sense that everyone should bring to the Internet. However, I'm not doing anything wrong and I'm certainly not hurting anyone, so why bother with the extra effort to remain anonymous? All of the best Blogs I read and followed were ordinary folks who had extraordinary things to say. Not one of the Blogs I enjoyed was authored by someone who wasn't fairly up front with their real identity. Besides, I heard somewhere that the best writing comes from personal experience.

So, yeah, yoga has been good so far!

Tomorrow.. bike and haircut! :)

Granville Island Run

Ran down around in Granville Island. Can only imagine how crowded it must be down there in summer. There was an interesting looking Gallery will have to go back and visit sometime.

Run 9 Vankoovah

Last night came across some interesting stuff at a site called Free Range Studios.. Some kind hearted folks who are putting up well informed videos on You Tube.. check out LaMouth-alution and the Story of Stuff

haircut! Bike!

yoga..

Giant TCR II-

Today's Checklist:

-Run...

-Ride Bike! 

-Go to Yoga

-Find Public Library

-Get a haircut

(and if I have time maybe)...

-Find a job

.

.

.

Run was crap! hopefully things pick up!

Made it to yoga but today wasn't the best day I ever had. Did read much of The Celestine Prophecy. Very enjoyable so far. Job and a haircut- to- morrow!

Bike Arrived Today!! I'm Pumped!

But went running.. need to focus on running.. shoot for 30 miles a week for the remainder of the month...

Motion Based Link: 2008 Vancouver Run 7

SUNNY DAY!! first sunny day since I arrived! Wind yesterday blew the clouds away!

Went to Yoga Flow class last night.. Did not enjoy it as much as Anusara.. Will go back to Anusara tonight. But the flow class was good. It was hot!! One of these days, I will go in for one of the Hotbox classes they have at the studio.. 

Since I arrived, I went to 5 yoga classes last week.. last night and tonight.. will try to go 5 times a week. Yesterday was 2 months since I left Istanbul.. :(

2008- Run 6 Vancouver

windy.. fun run

motion based link to run 6

2008 Run 5 Vancouver LSD1

last half hour was tough.. need to pack a gel or something for that last 3 miles.. some water would have been nice but was ok without it... a bit overcast.. first time the clouds have come off the mountaintops

2008 going to refocus on running for awhile...

Today's run:

Motion Based Link to 2008 RUN 5 VANCOUVER LSD 1

Week 1 2008- Travelled to BC by Car.. no runs

Week 2 2008- 30 miles

Vancouver

Going to try and keep blog up.. 

2008- Run 4 

Mike Power is an Inspiration!

2008- Run 3

2008- Run 2

2008- Run 1

New Garmin Edge 205 arrived.. Hoorah!!