Cobble Hill 10K

This past Sunday, I ran the cobble hill 10k. As per usual, it was very last minute... I only found out about the race the day before. I decided that I was going to run the night before when I saw online that there was day-of registration.

When I got out to Mill Bay, I wasn't feeling too keen on the run - I must have sat in my car for a solid 10 minutes trying to coax myself out of it...telling myself I didn't have to run. Finally, I pushed myself to get out of my car and onto the scene - and I'm glad I did!


I started out feeling pretty good. I kept trying to relax as much as possible, which I noticed helped considerably for maintaining a regular breathing rhythm. The course was fabulous, too; beautiful, rolling, winding roads. It was pretty chilly out - when I was about halfway, it started to snow! I definitely should have worn gloves! I thought I was being courageous wearing capris, that is until I saw the real runners in their shorty shorts and tee's.


For the last 6-7 kilometers, I had a guy run right on my hip. Oddly enough, every race I've entered, I've had someone pace off of me for almost the entire race. They usually thank me for it at the finish line or through internet correspondence. At 100m from the finish line, he sprinted me... and unfortunately, won. He did shake my hand afterwards and told me how good of a pacer I was.

I ended up running a 48:40 10k - my best time, yet!

Most of my regular circle of friends are mainly elite athletes. Sometimes I get very discouraged with my training because they are always better, faster, stronger, or the excitement about my finishing times get overshadowed by their times because they blow mine out of the water. I've decided that I'm going to focus more on my progress than on theirs, and try to keep in mind that I am a beginner athlete. I need to remember that I've been in sport, coming up on 2 years now. Comparisons between them and I are not relevant because most have them have been training for more than a decade, if not for their whole. This also led into more thought about my goals for this season. Taking a cue from Tom, I've decided to make some serious goals for 2009. They include:

1. Running so hard I puke
2. Running a sub 46 minute 10 km
3. Sub 2:45 time at UBC - March 8th
4. Sub 3:40 10k swim in July
5. Completing a week long cycling trip up the coast of California in mid-April



Pictures from the race aren't online yet. I am going to get a new camera soon, so I wont be picture-less for long. I'll be sure to upload race pictures when they're up.

Also, with all this school-work procrastination, perhaps another goal should be to pass all my classes..!? haha! ...Next September, please remind me never to take a full course load again. It really wreaks havoc on all other parts of my life.

Keep fit and have fun,

JS

Don't you ever wonder what your appendix was ever used for a million years ago?

Well.... don't you?


JS

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas! The past couple days in Salmon Arm have been a nice change of pace. We've been going on some nice hikes, eating some delicious food, and chillin to the max. I would have taken some pictures, but Tom soaked it when he was raped by ocean waves during his Juan de Fuca hike. Instead, I made my own picture to illustrate the awesome-ness. Enjoy!


Stay fit and have fun!

JS

Love Your Mother

The only good thing that came out of the bio class I took this semester: www.storyofstuff.com

Yes, Reading articles, listening to lectures, and getting engaged in debates/discussions might be a little overwhelming at first, but here are a couple suggestions to get the ball rolling:

Political action: participate in rallies/protests - uvic is really good for supporting all sorts of crazy things. Keep an eye out around campus and read the signs they have posted up. Sign petitions and join activist groups. Ask questions. Most importantly - contact elected officials! Gary Lunn of the Conservatives is the MP for the Saanich area. Not living in Saanich? You can find your MP here. Write them letters, give them a call, or drop by there office on the way to the ferries.

Consumer Action: Buy organic and locally produced products. Support your local farmers and tradesworkers. Check the labels to see where something was made. China? Indonesia? Thailand? Put it back.

Personal Action: Get informed about our world and its production. Let friends and families know about this, too. Spread the word. Shun them when they want to go to WalMart to buy knock-off items that 9 year old girl just got paid 2 cents a day for making in mass amounts. Also, walk, bike, or take the bus to work/school as much as possible.

Don't forget to smile,

JS

Light at the end of the tunnel...

I am feeling pretty damn good! I just finished all my term papers for the semester. It's been a grueling week; having one paper due every day, Monday through Friday. I can't articulate any intelligent thoughts, or any thoughts for that matter, but at least it's done (and I can recover)! I just have to hand in my last assignment tomorrow afternoon and then I'll be on cloud nine. Now have close to two weeks before finals start and I feel like I am needing to do something fun; maybe a camping trip or something of the sort. I can't shake the desire to skip some classes. I haven't missed a single one this year and I feel like I am deserving of it. Realistically, though... I know I wont miss any.

I have a few goals for my week and a half of freedom. They include:

*Swimming, cycling or running at least once a day
*start reading "Life of Pi"
*Bake copious amounts of treats
*Perfecting the waltz
*Running Gunner Shaw
*Dance at swing city
*Start my Christmas shopping (Can you believe that we're only 35 days away!?)
*Get my FULL motorcycles license!
*Start to take more pictures for my blog

I made some pretty delish peanut butter cookies yesterday. I've got some other good ideas of things to make that I'm pretty excited about. I'm hoping I don't get fat this Christmas.

To balance out the cookies I just ate, I'm going for a swim.. the 10m board is open tonight - we'll see how gutsy I am, a little later tonight.

Keep your chin up,

J

Ouch!

Yesterday I did the Thetis 20K relay. As per usual, I got on a team last minute - approximately an hour before the race start. I don't know how, but I always seem to get on relay teams with such fasties! Matt Sharpe led us out, then Aaron Thomas, I did the third-leg, and Nicolas Bocherens was our anchor (I told you I was with fasties!) I ended up running a 23-something minute 5K, which is pretty good for me!

I've been thinking lately, I think I need to hang out with elite athletes less and make friends with some fatties to boost my self-confidence a bit.

Tom, Danny, MJ and Nathan put together a pretty rad team, too. After getting on the Running Room/NTC All-Star team, I had to lay out some serious trash talk - but they crushed us! All of them ran a solid 18-something minute 5K, bringing them to 4th place overall. Not bad at all for cyclists!

I'm off for some more paper writing....
Keep your chin up!

J

Getting up to date...

It's been a while since my last blog. If you read my last one, entitled, "back to school..." you would understand why. Well, I suppose now is a better time than any, so lets play catch up. I'm still trying to decide if this is worthwhile or not, considering the only people who read my blog are Paulie, Tom, and occassionally Jess (maybe?).

On September 14th, I did the Sooke half iron relay with Linday's Mom, and Barb Bialokoz. I don't know how I pulled that one off, but I managed to get an amazing team with 2 fabuolous athletes to race with. It was a blast! Not only did I have one of my best swim times of 31:50 for a 2K, but Barb dominated on the bike and Mel FLEW on the run. We managed to pull off a first place overall finish for the relays. I also did the individual sprint race for fun. I didn't know how well my knee would like the 5K run, but I decided I needed to man up. That is the last triathlon race of the season.

Mid September was my birthday. I think with hearing me stress out for the past 2 weeks, Paulie decided he would come to Victoria and celebrate with me. It was pretty rad that Nic, Ferg, and Brendan hosted a great shin-dig at the Sandell Manor. With a 'Cowboys and Indians' theme to the get together, I was fairly impressed with some of the costumes. Paulie even made an appearance with a Cowboys football t-shirt. Pound it, Paulie! Also, during the summer, my Mom bought me a motorbike for my "early birthday present". It's proven to be quite the challenge, as I'm sure Kent can attest to, but I've been getting better and better. I rip around the waterfront loop, and through downtown and I get so many funny looks, and people doing double takes. I often get a lot of thumbs-ups, all of which I chuckle to myself about.

Thanksgiving weekend - my favourite holiday of the year - Paulie came into town, like normal. It was so rad spending time with him and going for some wicked hikes. I'm pretty lucky that I get to talk about anything and everything with him... all the while hiking around local trails. When I was in Hawaii, I decided to sign up for the RVM half. Due to a persistent knee 'injury', for lack of a better word, I decided to demote myself to the 8K. I was ecstatic with my run time! Considering a lot of other factors, I was extremely happy to finish with a 39:20 - far better than I ever thought I could do in that state.

Lately I've been motorpacing Danny Sessford up climbs. The first time we went out, we were at the observatory. Half-way up the third climb, I ran out of gas! I coasted down in neutral, and rode back at a slow pace, and turning my bike off at every red light. It finally caught up with me going up the hill at Broadmead Village. Danny then started to push me, while he was on his bike! We decided to pull off to the side of the road because it was probably not the best idea to push a motorbike in the bike lane. My ginger friend, Katie, came to our rescue and brought a gerry can with a full tank of gas. Later that night, we realized that I had a reserve tank! Good to know for next time, I guesss!

Yesterday, I got hammered on the OBB ride. I was trying to tap out of the pain box, but it just wasn't working for me. I was feeling pretty good, and pretty strong for the first half of the ride. Then, coming around the corner by the airport, I knew I was fading fast. I was at the back of the lead group and they were slowly pulling away from me. I got hit hard by a very strong head wind.... the strongest I've ever riden in, which made it impossible for me to bridge back up. I looked behind me, to see the second group, and I tried really hard to catch a wheel, but I was spent. Long story short, Tom and Danny ended up pushing me the rest of the way home. Needless to say, I had a great nap when I got home.

School has been going really well. I did a lot of switching around with classes during the first two weeks of classes, and I'm happy with the ones I am taking. Because I'm super busy with all my school work, my training is definitely on the back burner, which I'm a little bummed about... but c'est la vie. I'm pumped about the classes that I have lined up for next semester. I've 4 set out for now, so I'm just trying to decide how much training I want to be doing in the spring and how much time I will need. I might drop a class once second semester comes around.

Now, I am going for a nice easy spin around the waterfront. It looks like a good day for riding, so this will be my abrupt ending.

Keep your chin up,

J