Pick Your Poison

First official OUSER race of the year, PYP located at Horseshoe Valleys. I had run a 5Peaks half Marathon there in 2009 so I had a mental image of what the course would entail...and what I thought was wrong.Seems that I remember a flatter race at ski resort... slightly delusional. So either the 5peaks course avoided hills or PYP took advantage of all the hills. Either way today was rather uphill. I honestly do not recall a race where I walked so many uphills.

Coming into the race I was going on little sleep for several days, plus I actually sprained my ankle 10 days ago and it is still rather swollen. So my expectations were minimal. My race plan which I developed as I was running the first few kilometres was to run hard the first loop and try not to die the second. This required all my double caffeine gels. I am still feeling jumpy and irritable. I didn't want to do it but I kept on thinking about how nice the ground looked for a nap. Despite the endless uphills and a tad less single track than I like, I did like the course.

There was some upsetedness I heard about people getting lost, but honestly I had no trouble. I was upset that the race director felt it was not important to wear a helmet  while ridding a MTN bike around the course...and my other major beef is kinda self centred. There were no awards/door prises.  I like awards/ door prises. Admittedly the race swag for everybody was a jar of honey, a shirt and a pair of socks which is one of the most impressive handouts I have gotten, but even if I am not an award winner I like feeling the joy with the winner.

Today I was not a award winner.  I think I was fifth female, and tenth overall with a time of around 2:35ish. . I also got a new blister on my left foot.

WWII Inspired Readings

On the advice of Lois Plowright I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society. I didn't really expect to like the book despite the raving review, but it was wonderful. Flowing and the amount of detail given will forever change my internal images of WWII.

On the advice of an ad in the Toronto Star I read The Postmistress. Nothing new here. The writing was not particularly catching,  and there was little 'not done before'.  My advice, go with the former.

What I don't get...

So I am kinda feeling the Face book burn out. I get it now. A few of my friends quit FB, and at the time I just didn't understand but now I am seeing the light.

Basically there are two major issues that drive me insane.

The first being I just can't stand when people give a 'shout out' to people who are not on FB ie. "Happy birthday Jessie" Jessie happens to be six and does not have an account. Or "I'm so proud of you Missy for getting straight A's" Again Missy isn't on FB. Or my personal favorite, "Missing you tons today Grandpa". Grandpa is dead. What's the purpose? Perhaps it is the phrasing of it all that drives me nuts. Why not? " I am sad that my grandfather died. Or " I am and excellent  Chinese mother cause Missy got straight A's" Make the updates about YOU not the supporting cast.

Secondly, People are too darn happy. Really, it is great to hear about how darn cute your kids are, how super funny they can be and how you are the luckiest mother EVER, once and awhile. But daily??? Come on I don't buy it. Lets hear about real life. It makes the rest of us feel better about our patheticness.

Sure I am not the most emotional person out there, Ok so I have none and am a stone,  so i am sure everybody will forgive me for offending you. Or maybe I will be just unfriended.

OK winter, here's the thing.

I can not take all the boots, coats, mitts, hats and other related winter paraphernalia  anymore. I am sick to death of my snow scraper. Thus, like it or not everything is going away this weekend. Your part of this entire operation is agreeing to put a hilt to all the snow- like winter related activities OK?

I know you are upset with me for taking off my snow tires already, but can't we just be friends.....from a distance?

Before..

My mother dropped in today and asked Ever in an off handed way who his mother was...... She didn't recognize  him! Lots of people really can't believe what a different looking little boy he his. I agree :(

Goat not sheep

There is a song sung at Sunday School about wanting to be a sheep not a goat. Well I hate it. I get the overall Christian theme of the song but that dose make make me like it. All I hear is ' Come along children, don't think for yourself, no independent thoughts, never question authority, you must be like everybody else.

 Hence I like individually. I like uniqueness. I liked having a little boy that had beautiful blond hair. Now I have a mouse brown haired kid who looks like all the other sheep/ kids. No sweetness, only hard typical boyness.

 How did this happen? I was just about to cut Evers hair when I got called into work, and cause I have a family to support I went. Thinking that Luke could just cut his bangs a bit. WRONG. See the bangs as they are- that's how he cut them. The second and third photos were done after somebody 'fixed it'. I did not supervise the second cut and again too short. He hates it, I hate it, and I will not mention what I feel for Luke right now cause his mother reads this.

On the Topic of...

Excuses.

I really hate them. Sure we all use them from time to time, but for some people it becomes their mantra, their personal buy out, their reason for not even trying.... and it makes me mad.
Honestly I really don't care. Cause if you think you got it bad, somebody else has got it worst and they don't  dwell on it, make it who they are. Nope they put on their big girl pants, and just do it.

In other words....

Suck it up.

Its 2 o'clock and I have time on my hands....

You know you are an ultra runner if....... ( Not that I really am, but I am getting there)
Note: I copied and pasted and deleted ones I didn't like, added some that seemed funny to me. Original is some where in the world wide web.


Your husband tries to introduce you to your three children and you reply "Three?"




You spend more time in the drug section than the food section of the local market.



You wonder why they don't make all running socks a dusty brown color.



You have more dirt on your shoes than in your garden.



You think that arinca and ibuprofen  belong on the breakfast table.



You don't recognize your friends with their clothes on.



You have more buckles than belts. (Someday, although I do not know if I will be crazy enough to run 100miles more than once)



Your feet look better without toenails.


You spend more time inspecting your feet than a diabetic.



Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile training run. Come on Luke it will be fun. You can ride your bike!



You're tempted to look for a bush when there's a long line for the public restroom.



You don't think twice about eating food you've picked up off the floor.



You can expound on the virtues of eating salt.



You develop an unnatural fear of bears/ coyote/wolf hybrids.



When you can recite the protein grams by heart of each energy bar.



You don't even LOOK for the Porto-potties anymore.



Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age in kilmetres.



Your ideal way to have fun is to run as far as you can afford to with some fellow crazies.



You know the location of every 7-11, public restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.



You run marathons for speed work.



You have more fanny packs and water bottles and flashlights than Imelda Marcos has shoes.



You visit a national park with your family and notice a thirty-mile trail connecting where you are with the place your family wants to visit next, which is a 100-mile drive away, and you think "Hmmmm".



Someone asks you how long your training run is going to be and you answer "seven or eight ... hours".



People at work think you're in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.



You actually are in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.



Your weekend runs are limited by how much time you have, not by how far you can run.



You always have at least one black toenail.



You buy economy-sized jars of Vaseline on a regular basis. 



You think of pavement as a necessary evil that connects trails.



You rotate your running shoes more often than you rotate your tires.



Your friends recognize your better dressed in shorts than in long pants.



You really envied Tom Hanks' long run as Forest Gump.



Any time a plain old runner talks about her aches and pains, you can sympathize because you've already had that at least once.



You don't need to paint your toenails; they're already different colors.



You start planning the family vacation around races, and vice-versa.



When you start considering your next vacation location on the merits of its ultras only.



You spend you entire paycheck on running gear, ultrabars, and entry fees.



You leave work early to hit the trails. Or beg people to stay late.



You wear t-shirts based on if you've had good work outs when you've worn them before.



Have a trail shoe collection that would make Imelda Marcos envious.



You walk up the stairs and run down them.



Peeing in the toilet seems unnatural.



You start wearing running clothes to work so you're prepared for afterwards.



Running trail is better then sex. (even if you don't get any)



Vaseline isn't just for fun anymore.



When the start of a marathon feels like a 5K and you're wondering "Why is everyone in such a rush? Where the ##@@**!! is the fire?"



As an infant you were dropped on your head.



You sign up for a 10K and

you strap on your fanny pack because you never know where the aid stations are.

you bring your own drinks.

you bring potatoes and salt.

you start fast and a six year old passes you.

you are the only one walking the up hills.

you run it a second time because its not far enough to call a training run (and you were racing the first time through).

you are the only one around who is eyeing the bushes THAT way.

you punch the lap button on your watch instead of the stop button at the finish.



When "NEXT GAS 36 MILES" signs start sounding like tempting runs.



Your pedicure kit includes a pair of pliers.



Your number of toes to toenails doesn't match.



You drink from a water bottle at the dinner table.



You consider the mold and mildew in your bottles extra electrolytes.



You just found out Poison and Oak are words by themselves.



You see a 1 quart water bottle colored like an Advil bottle, and don't realize that it's not in fact an Advil bottle.



You know you're married to an ultrarunner when Valentine's gifts come from Ultrafit.



You know you're married to an ultrarunner when she helps you up and says, "Come on, suck it up, keep moving!" and you know she means it in love.



You know you're an ultrarunner when a prospective employer asks for a photograph and all you have is race photos.



You know you're an ultrarunner when the races you enter end in a different area code. -and pass through several different Zip codes enroute.



You know you're an ultrarunner when your crew tries to keep you motivated by saying, "You're in second place and only 6 hours behind first with 25 miles to go!"



You bother to argue about (discuss the meaning of) what an UltraRunner is!!!



when you don't finish on the same day as the winner.



When you meet the opposite sex you see:

A possible crew.

A possible pacer.

A possible search and rescue team.

A possible race director.

A possible source of race entry fees.



You ask advice of hundreds of people on a list, looking for answers you have already determined to be correct, taking hold of only those, and running with 'em.



Your wife asks you the morning after your first 50 miler if you're still planning on that 100K in five weeks, and you say "Sure!"



You strap on your water bottles and walk the hills... in a 5 K race and consider that your 10 minute pace is a blistering pace.



People praise you to the high heavens for being able to finish a marathon, and you feel insulted.



You do a triathlon and it is your RUN time that is slower than the years when you specialized in triathlon.



You are told *not* to run another marathon during the next few months (because that would be bad for your health), and you really follow that advice - by immediately sending off the entry form for your next 50/100 miler.



Somebody asks about the distance of an upcoming race and you, without thinking, say, "Oh, it's just a 50K."



You're running a marathon and at mile 20 say to yourself, "Wow, only 6 more miles left, this is such a great training run!"



You know you are a clumsy ultrarunner when after running headfirst into the trail for the third time get up and continue running even though you are bleeding and covered in maple syrup where your gel flask exploded and you have another 20k to go.



You go for an easy 2 hour run in the middle of a Hurricane and think it is fun to get wet, muddy and run through the rivers that were once trails.



You get to the 81 mile point of a 100 miler and say to yourself, "Wow, only 19 miles left!"



You try to tie double knots in your Oxfords.



You pass a swamp towards the end of a run and think 'How bad could it be?"



Livestock salt blocks look good after a run.



You're embarrassed that you've only done 50K's...



Your wife/girlfriend/significant other asks you if you want to have sex on any particular night and you respond with:

"sorry, I don't have time, I have to go running"

"sorry, I'm too tired, I just went running"

"sorry, I would rather go read all my messages from the ultra-list"



You go down a flight of stairs, uh, backwards, after an ultra and everybody laughs.



No one believes you when you say "never again".



You refer to certain 100 mile races as "low-key."



You number your running shoes to distinguish old from new, since they all look dirty.



Prior to running a difficult race, you check to see if there is an local hospitals.


The only time major household projects get done is in a taper or race recovery.



Everything in your life, everything, is organized in different sized zip-loc bags.



You call a 50-mile race "just another training run".



You think a 100-mile race is easier than a 50 miler because you don't have to go out as fast.



You say, "Taper? Who's got time to taper? I have a race coming up this weekend."




You have to rent a car to drive to a major event because you and your pacer own stick shifts and neither will be able to drive them on the return trip.



You actually DO drive a stick shift home with a severely pulled left hamstring



You meet someone of the opposite sex on the trail of a 100 and all of conversation is about what color is your urine, can you drink? and were you able to dump.



Ya know you're and ultra runner when a girl changes her tank and her bra in front of you and all you do is take another drink of water, look at your watch, get up and tell your pacer "Let's hit the trail."



On a long drive you see the road signs listing various mileages to different places and think of how long it would take to get there on foot rather than by the car your driving.



You've started a race in the dark, run all day, and finished in the dark (if your lucky).



Your non-Ultrarunning running friends look at you strange when you tell them that 10:00/Mile is a fast pace for a 100 mile race (not to mention most ultras).



You don't hesitate to lie down in the trail (anywhere) when you are falling asleep on your feet during the early morning hours on the second day of a 100 miler; and it feels so comfortable.

Finally...



You know your an ultrarunner when you actually sit down and read all of the postings about, "You know your an ultrarunner when..." and can laugh and relate to all of the comments.

Joke

How do you know there is a triathlete in the room?

Don't worry, they will tell you.

lollolololololololololololololololololol

Birthday Run

>
Cause Birthdays are not happy for everybody, and because sometimes people are in a grump on them, and sometimes it is best they are not around their loved ones on that day.... I went running on my birthday.

My plan was to run 33k on 33. I had hopes of a long Bruce trail run, however due to the lack of melting snow I had to alter that hope a bit. I also wanted a 'aided' run. There had to be water drops cause I am yet to purchase a hydration pack that works for me while running. I do have MEC one but it a little to much. Anyways I chose the long, straight, flat Georgian trail from Collingwood to Meaford. Very easy, mentally draining run. I went slow out and just wanted to complete the distance.

In the end I did 35k due to some confusion about the trail setting out from Collingwood. As always my favourite 'wildlife' of coffee drinking purse wearing animals were seen. Do not plan to do this again but if I did... planning it to ride a bike back to the start would make it better.

Shoes

I was cleaning the closet the other day and thus would be the reason why I only seem to have running shoes to wear.

Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday and I got a toaster and you all can feel sorry for me now.

Tired

This morning I got up at 0430 to go to a conference in London. I have never woke up that early before in my life. Ugggg sat in a a chair all day. So tired, can't run,  trying to stay awake to make it to the pool cause I know I will regret it if I don't.

For sale....

I want to buy a MTN bike this year but I don't want to spend real money only it sooo I am selling stuff.
People please buy my stuff.

Breast Pump
Hybrid Bike
Jogging Stroller

Arrows

Maya goes to an after school learn about Jesus thing at her school. I do not know if is about outreach cause only church kids go. Anyways it is called Strong Arrows, but I can't quite remember that so I always call it Broken Arrows.... and for that Maya yells at me. I kinda deserve it.