Monday was lovely. 1 K swim nice and easy, 18:45, short course. After swimming a bunch of long course lately, it sure seemed like I was doing a lot of turns.
Ran after work and filled in another hole on my map. Walked from work to 1st SW and the Bow path, ran to the Skipping Stone bridge, across, over to the red Peace bridge, and back to the start for exactly 6K, 37:30. I finally nailed the gradual build! As long time readers know, I suck at it. There was very little room between moving at all, and moving at top speed. Today the first 3 K were each pretty well right on 6:30, and then 6:16, 6 even, then 5:45! I can't remember the last time I ran a k that fast! It was a bit of a breezy day for a run, but you've got to love the scenery!
Tuesday was Costco hell. Enough said.
Wednesday was the day of the treacherous assault day. I'm in the training pool, in the lane closest to the hot tub. The swim kids have just got out. Nobody else in the lane. Abut three strokes in I knew it wasn't going to be a swim worth talking about. Part way down the lane I thought I brushed my fingers against another person, then the next stroke was full on contact. At first I thought I'd grabbed some backstroker boob, and was mortified, then realized that something wasn't quite right. I popped up and looked, and there's the ball.
I toss it to the side, finish the lap, and there it was again! It bumped my head and again I panicked. I swam with it down to the end, and tossed it in with the swim kid stuff and the reels of pool lane dividers. Tried another lap, and damned if the ball wasn't there waiting for me! I guess all the tile subtly slopes to the pool. Threw it onto the goal nets stored nearby, and there it stayed.
The swim didn't get any better though. I was tired and sloppy. I missed my swim buddy somehow. I think she was done and on the way out by the time I got there.
Then the run this evening. Ick. My phone says 5K 35 minutes and I don't believe it. The audio I get every K with the numbers was coming much sooner than I was expecting. I had turned on an internal pedometer for iSmoothrun, but I turned it off after. I think I really ran about 4.5 K, which is a 7:45 pace, which is what it felt like. Slow. Clunky.
Quite the contrast to Monday. I think I was tired from that run, which was essentially nearly race pace on a warm day, plus a couple nights of crappy sleep. Bed soon, hope this is better. Looking forward to a 4 day weekend. We have at least some plans. Do you?
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Attawapiskat and Fort McMurray
A friend asked me to blog about this article. It's worth the read. I'll be here when you get back.
In case you don't take the time to read it, the author (Nick Fillmore) asks "The question arises: Why are billions of dollars being pumped in to deal with one crisis while the other is all but being ignored?"
Good question.
I'm going to noodle my way through my thoughts here and find out what I think. I don't intend to be pejorative or racist, but lots of people say things they don't realize are racist. Feel free to call me out.
Lets start with the people that were here first. There are lots of racist or patronizing ways of referring to these peoples, and some of them prefer one term over another. Who am I to choose between them? I completely realize there are many different peoples from coast to coast to coast, with different concerns, and it's a mistake to treat them as a singular people. So for the purposes of this blog just to simplify the writing I'm going to say FPH and that stands for First Peoples Here. It's not intended to simplify the issues.
Next are the peoples that came here later. As far as we know it starts with the Norse about 1000 AD, and we don't really know what impact that had on FPH society. About 1500 AD Europeans started showing up, mainly for cod, but soon were tempted by all that land. Lots of different peoples involved here too, but lets just say Europeans.
One could easily argue that the next 500 years have been catastrophic to the point of near fatality for the FPH overall, and nearly all of it was done to FPH by Europeans. Sometimes with malice aforethought, sometimes without any care for the consequences to FPH, sometimes with noble words and dirty deeds, and one can argue about the extent to which it's still going on now. No rational person could argue that it's not still happening, regardless of the intentions of the people involved.
So, a complicated scene set in three paragraphs. So far so good. Me? A descendant of European background. Back to the question.
At the root I think it comes down to how we deal with issues. European descended society sees a problem like Fort McMurray, and we see a solution, and much of the path to the solution. Prevent the fires in the first place, limit the damage as much as possible, clean up the mess, make sure it's safe, settle insurance claims, rebuild and carry on. I don't mean to make it sound simple. It's an enormously difficult logistical problem complicated in Fort McMurray's case by the limited road access, but the point is that it's an UNDERSTOOD problem. We can work with it. We've done it before. We can break it into pieces and assign people with the relevant expertise.
European descended society sees Attawapiskat, and doesn't have a clue what actions to take. Nobody knows what a solution looks like, and even if the current Canadian government could articulate it, it would simply become one more case of European society doing it to the FPH all over again. Even dealing with parts of the problem doesn't seem to get us anywhere because it's an integrated whole. Trying to solve it piecemeal without some idea of the overall solution does not sound promising.
Mr. Fillmore suggests in his article we airlift prefab homes to Attawapiskat. Fair enough and housing is a huge problem, but why are so many of the homes uninhabitable in the first place? Presumably they were prefab homes too. Were the materials or design inadequate for the climate? Were they not assembled correctly or maintained properly? Doing more of the same isn't going to get us anywhere.
The Attawapiskat airport runway is 3,495 feet or 1065 m long, and it's gravel. Both the CC-130J and C-17 can fly into and out of that, but I'm not sure how much cargo can be carried and still have gas to get back to base. So the capacity is there. It's what we put in the plane that counts. Or we could plan really really well, and send in some huge barges during the summer.
There is a suggestion that we staff the hospital at double or triple the current levels. That's easy to say. It's harder to find the trained staff willing to go there. It can easily be seen as building a dependency on those flown in staff. How long do they stay for? How do we know when the emergency is over and normal (whatever that means) staffing levels apply? Is it feasible to train some of the people that already live there in the skills required?
For 500 years European society has been doing stuff to FPH. Even if we're trying to help, isn't it just another case of us doing stuff to them? Where is the line between "helping" and "doing it to them again?" At what point does FPH have to step up and do things for themselves? What if European society doesn't think that's the right thing? Is aid conditional?
So many questions and so few answers. So much distrust and it's easy to see why. As a business analyst one of my roles is to help people in a business understand what the gaps are between where they are now and some desired state, whether that's new software, a business reorg, an acquisition or divestiture, or whatever. Once the as-is and to-be states are figured out, and the gaps identified, it's much easier to work out the actions that will address the gaps.
The really hard part is articulating the desired end state and getting buy in or acceptance. That's where we are with FPH. Once you have that you can discover or create the steps that will lead you closer. What are some possible end states? In no particular order:
Of course it's possible to shower Attiwapiskat with material goods. Fillmore suggests "computers, new bicycles, dolls", but I think I'd put a package water treatment plant ahead of those, together with training on how to run and maintain it. Lets do all of that, and lots of other stuff besides, such as school supplies, and medical equipment. Package it all up in those bulk containers, and then turn the containers into housing, schools, or a medical building, whatever is needed. It might not be pretty, but those containers are indestructible, and have been used for homes elsewhere.
Then do it again, and again, till you get around to all 600 some of the FPH groups in Canada, doing the analysis to provide what they need, and not supply what they already have, or don't need, with some sort of priority order figured out. If that's the solution, then we can start putting it together. Moving material goods around is straightforward. Figuring out what is needed, where, is a bit more difficult. Getting the decisions made might be the hardest part, given the seemingly intractable overlapping bureaucracies involved.
What's missing? Life is more than material goods. Part of the problem is that many FPH groups had their cultural heart ripped out of them through the residential school system and other factors. In some ways I think this is the most important piece of all. Without a culture that tells you your place in the world, that teaches you what to value, that gives a reason for your language, that provides a context for your relationships with your family, you are lost. No material goods can replace this.
This is the part that FPH have to deal with themselves. They are the only ones that can rediscover or recreate or create anew a culture that is theirs. Some of this has been happening, and I applaud their efforts, but I'd like to understand what we as European descendants can do, without being patronizing or in the way, to support or help.
How the FPH have been treated is Canada's biggest and most enduring shame. I don't think anybody likes it the way it is, other than the people profiting from the conflict. I'd like to believe most Canadians want to see things improve, and are willing to support activities leading to that. But the devil is in the details. What activities? How paid for? Who first? What about corruption? What changes to the justice system are needed? Who leads these efforts? What is the process? So many questions.
In case you don't take the time to read it, the author (Nick Fillmore) asks "The question arises: Why are billions of dollars being pumped in to deal with one crisis while the other is all but being ignored?"
Good question.
I'm going to noodle my way through my thoughts here and find out what I think. I don't intend to be pejorative or racist, but lots of people say things they don't realize are racist. Feel free to call me out.
Lets start with the people that were here first. There are lots of racist or patronizing ways of referring to these peoples, and some of them prefer one term over another. Who am I to choose between them? I completely realize there are many different peoples from coast to coast to coast, with different concerns, and it's a mistake to treat them as a singular people. So for the purposes of this blog just to simplify the writing I'm going to say FPH and that stands for First Peoples Here. It's not intended to simplify the issues.
Next are the peoples that came here later. As far as we know it starts with the Norse about 1000 AD, and we don't really know what impact that had on FPH society. About 1500 AD Europeans started showing up, mainly for cod, but soon were tempted by all that land. Lots of different peoples involved here too, but lets just say Europeans.
One could easily argue that the next 500 years have been catastrophic to the point of near fatality for the FPH overall, and nearly all of it was done to FPH by Europeans. Sometimes with malice aforethought, sometimes without any care for the consequences to FPH, sometimes with noble words and dirty deeds, and one can argue about the extent to which it's still going on now. No rational person could argue that it's not still happening, regardless of the intentions of the people involved.
So, a complicated scene set in three paragraphs. So far so good. Me? A descendant of European background. Back to the question.
At the root I think it comes down to how we deal with issues. European descended society sees a problem like Fort McMurray, and we see a solution, and much of the path to the solution. Prevent the fires in the first place, limit the damage as much as possible, clean up the mess, make sure it's safe, settle insurance claims, rebuild and carry on. I don't mean to make it sound simple. It's an enormously difficult logistical problem complicated in Fort McMurray's case by the limited road access, but the point is that it's an UNDERSTOOD problem. We can work with it. We've done it before. We can break it into pieces and assign people with the relevant expertise.
European descended society sees Attawapiskat, and doesn't have a clue what actions to take. Nobody knows what a solution looks like, and even if the current Canadian government could articulate it, it would simply become one more case of European society doing it to the FPH all over again. Even dealing with parts of the problem doesn't seem to get us anywhere because it's an integrated whole. Trying to solve it piecemeal without some idea of the overall solution does not sound promising.
Mr. Fillmore suggests in his article we airlift prefab homes to Attawapiskat. Fair enough and housing is a huge problem, but why are so many of the homes uninhabitable in the first place? Presumably they were prefab homes too. Were the materials or design inadequate for the climate? Were they not assembled correctly or maintained properly? Doing more of the same isn't going to get us anywhere.
The Attawapiskat airport runway is 3,495 feet or 1065 m long, and it's gravel. Both the CC-130J and C-17 can fly into and out of that, but I'm not sure how much cargo can be carried and still have gas to get back to base. So the capacity is there. It's what we put in the plane that counts. Or we could plan really really well, and send in some huge barges during the summer.
There is a suggestion that we staff the hospital at double or triple the current levels. That's easy to say. It's harder to find the trained staff willing to go there. It can easily be seen as building a dependency on those flown in staff. How long do they stay for? How do we know when the emergency is over and normal (whatever that means) staffing levels apply? Is it feasible to train some of the people that already live there in the skills required?
For 500 years European society has been doing stuff to FPH. Even if we're trying to help, isn't it just another case of us doing stuff to them? Where is the line between "helping" and "doing it to them again?" At what point does FPH have to step up and do things for themselves? What if European society doesn't think that's the right thing? Is aid conditional?
So many questions and so few answers. So much distrust and it's easy to see why. As a business analyst one of my roles is to help people in a business understand what the gaps are between where they are now and some desired state, whether that's new software, a business reorg, an acquisition or divestiture, or whatever. Once the as-is and to-be states are figured out, and the gaps identified, it's much easier to work out the actions that will address the gaps.
The really hard part is articulating the desired end state and getting buy in or acceptance. That's where we are with FPH. Once you have that you can discover or create the steps that will lead you closer. What are some possible end states? In no particular order:
- Complete integration with European society. That's one of the ideas that got us into this mess. Isn't going to happen.
- True First Nations, in the European sense of the word. A FPH group would have complete autonomy over some specified block of land. Defining that block of land could be difficult, and that's just with different FPH groups arguing about it. At one time I looked and the various land claims in BC added up to more territory than there was to share. What if that block of land has a city on it, say Vancouver? How do we get to a point (and this is going to sound racist) where the local group is ready to take (or renew) control over a block of land? Do we just turn it over, and introduce them to the United Nations and support their claim for membership? I have difficulty thinking that a group of a few hundred or thousand are going to be granted admittance. What of the relationship to Canada? Do we provide ongoing support, or are they a free and independent nation able to provide for themselves under most circumstances? How do we work out a transition strategy?
- Some form of local government. Would it really be so difficult to declare that a particular group of FPH are a municipality, with powers similar to that of other cities and towns? How much supervision, if any, is imposed on them? How do we deal with the transition? I know there have been some scuffling between some FPH groups and the Harper government asking them to account for money given them. Their position was that it's their money, and they don't need to account for it. I beg to differ. Consider the source. The money raised from some kind of internal taxation, or industry revenue is theirs, no question. My personal opinion is that this is the most promising road.
- An outgrowth of the current "reserve" (a word that makes my teeth hurt) system, where the rules are different. Encourage local industries with favourable tax treatment. There are some FPH groups in the Okanagan valley that have done very well for themselves, owning wineries, a destination resort, golf course, campgrounds, and other companies. I have with my own ears heard FPH people call them sellouts. Maybe there's some work to be done on that.
Of course it's possible to shower Attiwapiskat with material goods. Fillmore suggests "computers, new bicycles, dolls", but I think I'd put a package water treatment plant ahead of those, together with training on how to run and maintain it. Lets do all of that, and lots of other stuff besides, such as school supplies, and medical equipment. Package it all up in those bulk containers, and then turn the containers into housing, schools, or a medical building, whatever is needed. It might not be pretty, but those containers are indestructible, and have been used for homes elsewhere.
Then do it again, and again, till you get around to all 600 some of the FPH groups in Canada, doing the analysis to provide what they need, and not supply what they already have, or don't need, with some sort of priority order figured out. If that's the solution, then we can start putting it together. Moving material goods around is straightforward. Figuring out what is needed, where, is a bit more difficult. Getting the decisions made might be the hardest part, given the seemingly intractable overlapping bureaucracies involved.
What's missing? Life is more than material goods. Part of the problem is that many FPH groups had their cultural heart ripped out of them through the residential school system and other factors. In some ways I think this is the most important piece of all. Without a culture that tells you your place in the world, that teaches you what to value, that gives a reason for your language, that provides a context for your relationships with your family, you are lost. No material goods can replace this.
This is the part that FPH have to deal with themselves. They are the only ones that can rediscover or recreate or create anew a culture that is theirs. Some of this has been happening, and I applaud their efforts, but I'd like to understand what we as European descendants can do, without being patronizing or in the way, to support or help.
How the FPH have been treated is Canada's biggest and most enduring shame. I don't think anybody likes it the way it is, other than the people profiting from the conflict. I'd like to believe most Canadians want to see things improve, and are willing to support activities leading to that. But the devil is in the details. What activities? How paid for? Who first? What about corruption? What changes to the justice system are needed? Who leads these efforts? What is the process? So many questions.
Saturday, May 14, 2016
A heroes and data rant
That week went by awfully quickly.
A while ago I saw a photo on Facebook. It showed a mangled car (probably a result of driver incompetence) and the caption said something like, "Don't you wish God were here?"
My instant answer was "NO! I want a trained team of emergency responders."
Which leads to just recently there was a cartoon in a paper. You probably saw this one. It had some "super-heros" on the left, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, some others I didn't recognize. On the right was a tired looking fire fighter wearing a Fort McMurray T shirt. The caption said something like, welcome to the club.
I was seeing red, and I've been stewing about this for a while now. Lets see if I can say why in a rational way.
There is no disrespect intended towards the fire-fighters, but why anyone would think this is a compliment is beyond me. I have zero respect for those comic book "super-heroes". They are emotional children, and often do more damage "saving" the world than whatever the problem was. They just jump in, unaware of the issues, and do whatever strikes them at the moment. What passes for character development, plot, and conflict bored me decades ago, and the recent movies haven't improved things a bit. Enough of them.
When fire-fighters zoom up to a burning building, there is a plan. Everybody has a role, and they've trained their asses off to do it. Where does the plan come from? Many decades of experience distilled from nearly every fire that's happened across every nation with organized fire departments. It's called data. What worked, what didn't. How new materials behave. Fire behaves according to rules. Understand the situation, understand the rules, and you'll understand what the fire is going to do, and the best way to deal with it. Which isn't to say there are surprises because we usually don't understand everything about the situation.
In some cases they wire up a house with video cameras and let it burn to test specific things. I once watched a video of an interview with a fire-fighter as he was saying it was weird to stand around while a home burned. They had to wait till the scientists gave them the go ahead.
There are lots of hazardous substances and situations where the rule for lay people to follow is "Stay away from that shit!" Who doesn't? Fire-fighters. They have to deal with that shit. I'm pretty sure I don't have the stones to look at a burning building, pull on my protective gear, and go in there to put it out.
Even the most rabid right wing nut doesn't propose cutting the training budget for fire-fighters. The best training available still results in injured staff and lost property, and nobody wants that. Plus even they realize it might be their home next.
But it isn't just the people going into burning buildings or fighting forest fires. They're the point of the spear and deserve every bit of recognition they get. Right behind them are a host of other people, though. Radio operators, planners, logistics, maintenance, the list goes on and on. There is a role for all of them in this, following a plan.
That's why they don't want untrained people around trying to be heroes. It's dangerous enough when they know who is doing what, and to have some idiot trying to protect his home with a garden hose just distracts them. On that note, I'm going to be utterly astonished if the people going through the burned areas to assess the hazards and try to make them safe do not discover some charred bodies in the ruins.
So back to those cartoons. The fire-fighter does not belong in the "super-hero" club because the so called comic book super-heroes do not measure up in any way. I'm not sure what club the emergency responders belong in, but it's going to be pretty exclusive.
Many of these people are modest and humble, saying things like, "I"m just doing my job." Which is true, except that it's a difficult dangerous job at the best of times. It wouldn't have taken things being much different for us to be having funerals about now. Plus, you don't see any of them punching out after their shift is over. They were going till they couldn't go anymore.
And whaddya know? The relief crews were organized as well, drawing people and equipment from all over the country in a planned way. This doesn't happen by accident. A lot of people spent a lot of time planning for emergency situations, and once this is all over, a lot of people are going to look at everything that happened to see what can be learned, and what could be done better. It's easy to overlook this kind of work, but there are a lot of people alive today because of it. This sort of stuff is what taxes pay for.
Back to regular programming. A nice relaxed swim, feeling the swim love on Monday, 1 K, 18:30, short course. Massage Tues, feeling really beat up after. Water ran with Katie about an hour on Wed, then 700 m easy swim feeling kind of clunky, weak, and feeble, long course. Ran 6K 38:21 feeling pretty good.
Thursday we went out out a greenhouse just east of town. I visited with a very nice cat and got this lovely pic of a pretty flower. No idea what it is.
I discovered these in a pocket of the car during clean out the car day. Lots of other crap too. I have no rational explanation for why I have a map printed in 1999 in my car. It's the one at the top, with the logo of a company I haven't worked for in 16 years. It's probably been 5 years since I last looked at any of these, and there they were, getting in the way each time I put the seat down to put my bike in the car.
I was laughing as I took this shot. Curtis had just come up onto my lap, trampling Celina, then settled down on top of her so I could pay attention to him. It was purely an accident that she was getting his tail in her face. I'm sure of it. An accident.
Friday I water ran with Katie, Michelle, and Antje for an hour or so, though Katie was still going when I was forced from the water. Then 1K 19 minutes long course feeling nice and relaxed.
Today was cheering on my buddy Patricia doing her first half marathon! 2:10 or so, and congratulations! I cheered her coming and going at South Glenmore park, and she looked great! Just before she came back, someone called to me from a bike, but I was looking at Patricia, and I don't know who it was. I'm going to feel awfully dumb if it's someone I know well. Was it you? (later note, it was my buddy Sue Wills!)
Then I went out for my own run, 12 in a double loop around the neighbourhood, 1:22, 6:49 pace feeling pretty good. My legs were relaxed and happy. I could have run more, but I figured this was a nice neat map.
Two construction notes. In Fish Creek, where the path has been washed away for a while, the repairs are almost done. They dumped tons of rip rap into the water and built up the bank. The paving equipment is there, probably will be done early next week. That's right at the bottom of the map. At the very top the new pedestrian bridge over Anderson road is well underway.
A while ago I saw a photo on Facebook. It showed a mangled car (probably a result of driver incompetence) and the caption said something like, "Don't you wish God were here?"
My instant answer was "NO! I want a trained team of emergency responders."
Which leads to just recently there was a cartoon in a paper. You probably saw this one. It had some "super-heros" on the left, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, some others I didn't recognize. On the right was a tired looking fire fighter wearing a Fort McMurray T shirt. The caption said something like, welcome to the club.
I was seeing red, and I've been stewing about this for a while now. Lets see if I can say why in a rational way.
There is no disrespect intended towards the fire-fighters, but why anyone would think this is a compliment is beyond me. I have zero respect for those comic book "super-heroes". They are emotional children, and often do more damage "saving" the world than whatever the problem was. They just jump in, unaware of the issues, and do whatever strikes them at the moment. What passes for character development, plot, and conflict bored me decades ago, and the recent movies haven't improved things a bit. Enough of them.
When fire-fighters zoom up to a burning building, there is a plan. Everybody has a role, and they've trained their asses off to do it. Where does the plan come from? Many decades of experience distilled from nearly every fire that's happened across every nation with organized fire departments. It's called data. What worked, what didn't. How new materials behave. Fire behaves according to rules. Understand the situation, understand the rules, and you'll understand what the fire is going to do, and the best way to deal with it. Which isn't to say there are surprises because we usually don't understand everything about the situation.
In some cases they wire up a house with video cameras and let it burn to test specific things. I once watched a video of an interview with a fire-fighter as he was saying it was weird to stand around while a home burned. They had to wait till the scientists gave them the go ahead.
There are lots of hazardous substances and situations where the rule for lay people to follow is "Stay away from that shit!" Who doesn't? Fire-fighters. They have to deal with that shit. I'm pretty sure I don't have the stones to look at a burning building, pull on my protective gear, and go in there to put it out.
Even the most rabid right wing nut doesn't propose cutting the training budget for fire-fighters. The best training available still results in injured staff and lost property, and nobody wants that. Plus even they realize it might be their home next.
But it isn't just the people going into burning buildings or fighting forest fires. They're the point of the spear and deserve every bit of recognition they get. Right behind them are a host of other people, though. Radio operators, planners, logistics, maintenance, the list goes on and on. There is a role for all of them in this, following a plan.
That's why they don't want untrained people around trying to be heroes. It's dangerous enough when they know who is doing what, and to have some idiot trying to protect his home with a garden hose just distracts them. On that note, I'm going to be utterly astonished if the people going through the burned areas to assess the hazards and try to make them safe do not discover some charred bodies in the ruins.
So back to those cartoons. The fire-fighter does not belong in the "super-hero" club because the so called comic book super-heroes do not measure up in any way. I'm not sure what club the emergency responders belong in, but it's going to be pretty exclusive.
Many of these people are modest and humble, saying things like, "I"m just doing my job." Which is true, except that it's a difficult dangerous job at the best of times. It wouldn't have taken things being much different for us to be having funerals about now. Plus, you don't see any of them punching out after their shift is over. They were going till they couldn't go anymore.
And whaddya know? The relief crews were organized as well, drawing people and equipment from all over the country in a planned way. This doesn't happen by accident. A lot of people spent a lot of time planning for emergency situations, and once this is all over, a lot of people are going to look at everything that happened to see what can be learned, and what could be done better. It's easy to overlook this kind of work, but there are a lot of people alive today because of it. This sort of stuff is what taxes pay for.
Back to regular programming. A nice relaxed swim, feeling the swim love on Monday, 1 K, 18:30, short course. Massage Tues, feeling really beat up after. Water ran with Katie about an hour on Wed, then 700 m easy swim feeling kind of clunky, weak, and feeble, long course. Ran 6K 38:21 feeling pretty good.
Thursday we went out out a greenhouse just east of town. I visited with a very nice cat and got this lovely pic of a pretty flower. No idea what it is.
I discovered these in a pocket of the car during clean out the car day. Lots of other crap too. I have no rational explanation for why I have a map printed in 1999 in my car. It's the one at the top, with the logo of a company I haven't worked for in 16 years. It's probably been 5 years since I last looked at any of these, and there they were, getting in the way each time I put the seat down to put my bike in the car.
I was laughing as I took this shot. Curtis had just come up onto my lap, trampling Celina, then settled down on top of her so I could pay attention to him. It was purely an accident that she was getting his tail in her face. I'm sure of it. An accident.
Friday I water ran with Katie, Michelle, and Antje for an hour or so, though Katie was still going when I was forced from the water. Then 1K 19 minutes long course feeling nice and relaxed.
Today was cheering on my buddy Patricia doing her first half marathon! 2:10 or so, and congratulations! I cheered her coming and going at South Glenmore park, and she looked great! Just before she came back, someone called to me from a bike, but I was looking at Patricia, and I don't know who it was. I'm going to feel awfully dumb if it's someone I know well. Was it you? (later note, it was my buddy Sue Wills!)
Then I went out for my own run, 12 in a double loop around the neighbourhood, 1:22, 6:49 pace feeling pretty good. My legs were relaxed and happy. I could have run more, but I figured this was a nice neat map.
Two construction notes. In Fish Creek, where the path has been washed away for a while, the repairs are almost done. They dumped tons of rip rap into the water and built up the bank. The paving equipment is there, probably will be done early next week. That's right at the bottom of the map. At the very top the new pedestrian bridge over Anderson road is well underway.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
swish, swash, crickle, CRACK! A naked patio.
Last you heard, my swim sucked, but but I didn't despair. I know these things come and go. Within a couple strokes of my Saturday swim, my inner shark rejoined me and I knew I was going to have a good swim. We had the choice of joining a sloppy breast stroker taking up a whole lane, or a slow crawl who was at least circle swimming. Within a lap of joining him, he went off to swim with the breast stroker and Michelle and I had a lane to ourselves.
I settled into the 18:30/k groove and actually finished the 1000 m a bit faster than that. Then 5x100 on 2, all 1:45 or faster. A bit of easy swim playing with my stroke a bit, then a blistering fast (for me) 88 second 100 m. Yay me. Another 200 m cool down, then HOT TUB!
My inner shark comes and goes, in the way of inner sharks. He was all about trying to keep up with the swim kids in the next lane. As if. But what it did do is help me keep my stroke clean, and that leads to a faster swim. I certainly wasn't putting any more effort into the swim, and if anything I wasn't breathing as hard. But that subtle difference in water feel made for a swim that was a minute faster per k.
I tried finding out what my inner shark has been up to, but he was a bit evasive. Secret shark stuff, no doubt. Maybe he's part of a team working on laser technology. He was more talking about the sloppy prey in the other next lane.
Michelle wasn't feeling the swim love so we worked on flip turns a bit. I'm puzzled by how she be simultaneously so buoyant, and so heavy in the water. She comes from a running background so it's no surprise her legs are heavy in the water as she swims. I have the same problem, (she has run muscles, I have a lead butt) and it's a subtle balance thing to fix, along with finding the right kick, and engaging the core, body balance, and a side of Jedi mind trick. I'm still working on it. But then when she wants to sink, as in an initial push off the wall, or to pick something off the bottom of the pool for good luck, there is no sink. I'm a bit puzzled by that.
Team aquatic had a swim sale, and I know you all will be devastated to learn that I did not find a skimpy little speedo I could model for you. Try to restrain your grief. All I got was some body wash. (Of which there is less to wash, I found out after a brief visit to the scale.) Michelle was in there trampling and elbowing looking for the deals, and scored!
Later, the CRACK happened. We went to a bike swap/sale, but it was pretty picked over when Linda and I got in. I was a little intrigued by a recumbent, and thought I would give it a try.
That photo catches the exact moment I tried to relax on the bike only to find the back of the seat and headrest was too low. I think if the room had been quieter, people would have heard the echo, the crack was that loud. It didn't hurt at the time, and nobody has mentioned me screaming. You could be forgiven for thinking so. I pedaled around the parkade, amusing people by going under the mostly empty bike racks. Getting up was a bit of a trial. They wanted $1700 for that bike. It was interesting to ride, but not that interesting.
Later during ice cream, (chili chocolate and guide mint) I tried to sneeze and thought someone was stabbing me in the right shoulder. Holy doodle! That was very painful, and essentially ended that day's activities. Some careful rubbing against a door frame, some gentle stretches on the yoga mats, a pain pill, and a good night's sleep and I'm feeling much better.
Friday was a 5K, 34:22 run in the warmth. This is only slightly faster than my last run, but it felt way better!
Lots of puttering around the house over the weekend working on a ginormous to do list. Which leads me to these before, during, and after photos. We put up this flimsy diagonal lattice because we had no other choices at the time. The old one was falling apart. Last fall we found a source for some good quality lattice, and decided to replace before the flowers got too big. I was thinking June...
The climatis on the right is already intertwined, and we had to cut the lattice apart a bit to keep it. This one used to live on the back fence. When we did the backyard renos a couple years ago we cut it off that lattice, back to the roots basically, and gave it another chance here. It seems to be doing really well. The other one, on the left side of the same box isn't doing so well. I think it's a grump old climatis that doesn't believe it's spring, and wants to snooze a little longer, and take it's time getting going. Lots of days I feel the same way.
The naked patio.
Now the new lattice. I think it looks much better!
The rescued climatis is gently hooked on with little clamps till it regrows it's own. If the light was better you could see the purple blossoms.
And just because, some of the flowers in the side garden.
After that was a lovely 11 K 1:21 (7:20/K pace) run along the WID canal, starting at 50th Ave, down to Glenmore and back. My heart rate was nice and steady about 130, which is a little bit higher than I'd like. We found a little picnic spot along the bike path, several tables and a little fire pit, trees to shelter from the wind. The only problem is access. This is pretty much a ride access only. No place nearby to park and carry in picnic stuff. We didn't get rained on though the wind was picking up and the clouds getting darker. It started raining about an hour after getting home and a good thing too. It's dry here.
All in all a very busy weekend. For things crossed off on my to do list, I'm batting about 74%, that is 17 of 23 things listed. One of those things is a big huge complicated thing, and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to all get done. I should break it up into sub-tasks. One of the tasks (tidy desk and put away tax paperwork) is pretty much the fifth labour of Hercules, and I'm well started. Nowhere near done. I might yet get one more done, and one task is dependent on another, in that if I do the other within the month, I don't need to do the first.
And your weekend?
I settled into the 18:30/k groove and actually finished the 1000 m a bit faster than that. Then 5x100 on 2, all 1:45 or faster. A bit of easy swim playing with my stroke a bit, then a blistering fast (for me) 88 second 100 m. Yay me. Another 200 m cool down, then HOT TUB!
My inner shark comes and goes, in the way of inner sharks. He was all about trying to keep up with the swim kids in the next lane. As if. But what it did do is help me keep my stroke clean, and that leads to a faster swim. I certainly wasn't putting any more effort into the swim, and if anything I wasn't breathing as hard. But that subtle difference in water feel made for a swim that was a minute faster per k.
I tried finding out what my inner shark has been up to, but he was a bit evasive. Secret shark stuff, no doubt. Maybe he's part of a team working on laser technology. He was more talking about the sloppy prey in the other next lane.
Michelle wasn't feeling the swim love so we worked on flip turns a bit. I'm puzzled by how she be simultaneously so buoyant, and so heavy in the water. She comes from a running background so it's no surprise her legs are heavy in the water as she swims. I have the same problem, (she has run muscles, I have a lead butt) and it's a subtle balance thing to fix, along with finding the right kick, and engaging the core, body balance, and a side of Jedi mind trick. I'm still working on it. But then when she wants to sink, as in an initial push off the wall, or to pick something off the bottom of the pool for good luck, there is no sink. I'm a bit puzzled by that.
Team aquatic had a swim sale, and I know you all will be devastated to learn that I did not find a skimpy little speedo I could model for you. Try to restrain your grief. All I got was some body wash. (Of which there is less to wash, I found out after a brief visit to the scale.) Michelle was in there trampling and elbowing looking for the deals, and scored!
Later, the CRACK happened. We went to a bike swap/sale, but it was pretty picked over when Linda and I got in. I was a little intrigued by a recumbent, and thought I would give it a try.
That photo catches the exact moment I tried to relax on the bike only to find the back of the seat and headrest was too low. I think if the room had been quieter, people would have heard the echo, the crack was that loud. It didn't hurt at the time, and nobody has mentioned me screaming. You could be forgiven for thinking so. I pedaled around the parkade, amusing people by going under the mostly empty bike racks. Getting up was a bit of a trial. They wanted $1700 for that bike. It was interesting to ride, but not that interesting.
Later during ice cream, (chili chocolate and guide mint) I tried to sneeze and thought someone was stabbing me in the right shoulder. Holy doodle! That was very painful, and essentially ended that day's activities. Some careful rubbing against a door frame, some gentle stretches on the yoga mats, a pain pill, and a good night's sleep and I'm feeling much better.
Friday was a 5K, 34:22 run in the warmth. This is only slightly faster than my last run, but it felt way better!
Lots of puttering around the house over the weekend working on a ginormous to do list. Which leads me to these before, during, and after photos. We put up this flimsy diagonal lattice because we had no other choices at the time. The old one was falling apart. Last fall we found a source for some good quality lattice, and decided to replace before the flowers got too big. I was thinking June...
The climatis on the right is already intertwined, and we had to cut the lattice apart a bit to keep it. This one used to live on the back fence. When we did the backyard renos a couple years ago we cut it off that lattice, back to the roots basically, and gave it another chance here. It seems to be doing really well. The other one, on the left side of the same box isn't doing so well. I think it's a grump old climatis that doesn't believe it's spring, and wants to snooze a little longer, and take it's time getting going. Lots of days I feel the same way.
The naked patio.
Now the new lattice. I think it looks much better!
The rescued climatis is gently hooked on with little clamps till it regrows it's own. If the light was better you could see the purple blossoms.
And just because, some of the flowers in the side garden.
After that was a lovely 11 K 1:21 (7:20/K pace) run along the WID canal, starting at 50th Ave, down to Glenmore and back. My heart rate was nice and steady about 130, which is a little bit higher than I'd like. We found a little picnic spot along the bike path, several tables and a little fire pit, trees to shelter from the wind. The only problem is access. This is pretty much a ride access only. No place nearby to park and carry in picnic stuff. We didn't get rained on though the wind was picking up and the clouds getting darker. It started raining about an hour after getting home and a good thing too. It's dry here.
All in all a very busy weekend. For things crossed off on my to do list, I'm batting about 74%, that is 17 of 23 things listed. One of those things is a big huge complicated thing, and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to all get done. I should break it up into sub-tasks. One of the tasks (tidy desk and put away tax paperwork) is pretty much the fifth labour of Hercules, and I'm well started. Nowhere near done. I might yet get one more done, and one task is dependent on another, in that if I do the other within the month, I don't need to do the first.
And your weekend?
Thursday, May 5, 2016
The catch went clunk, not swish
Amazing how fast you lose water feel! I missed a week while we were on vacation. There was a pool nearby, I knew where it was, I brought swim gear, but in the end I chose to stay snuggled into bed. I think if it had been a routine I would have made it. I can drive to Talisman in my sleep, deal with getting in via the app, I know where the good lockers are, where the pool toys are, everything you need to know to sleep walk from bed to getting wet. But going to a new place wasn't something I wanted to do tired.
I'm feeling it now. Two swims this week, Tuesday and Thursday. Both very slow and clunky. The water felt sticky for most of the first swim. It felt like I was thrashing in the water. I did about 1 K. Intervals were slow.
Then today, my body thought the pool was holy water, and converted to Pastafarianism in about 100 m. The first 100 m was 1:50 which is ok for long course. Then I slowed down. Most of the rest were right about 2 minutes, working hard. Bleah. Overall 19:40. More bleah. I spent lots of time thinking about form and wondering about my kick, but I think the real issue was being weak and feeble.
What seemed to be happening is there was no glide. As soon as the stroke stopped, so did I. My catch wasn't catching, the roll was not coordinated with the pull, and the timing was subtly wrong on everything. It will come back. Maybe I'm just tired.
There was a mostly nice run on Wednesday, 5K, 35 minutes in fairly warm weather. The heat didn't bother me, and I was on top of my breathing the whole way, but my legs were not with the program at all. It was a slog beginning to end.
I'm wondering if part of the reason is a slow recovery from volume buildup. My long runs were around the 10 to 11 K mark for a number of weeks, then two weekends in a row I went way past that, and I'm pretty sure that was overdoing it. I know better.
I was feeling kind of anxious and overwhelmed today, without being completely sure why. I think it's just that I'm thinking about lots of stuff just now. And of course, thinking about thinking about lots of stuff starts a recursive loop that just gets worse. My solution was to write out a list of things to do. it's very long, though one thing has been crossed off already. Lots more to go.
I'm feeling it now. Two swims this week, Tuesday and Thursday. Both very slow and clunky. The water felt sticky for most of the first swim. It felt like I was thrashing in the water. I did about 1 K. Intervals were slow.
Then today, my body thought the pool was holy water, and converted to Pastafarianism in about 100 m. The first 100 m was 1:50 which is ok for long course. Then I slowed down. Most of the rest were right about 2 minutes, working hard. Bleah. Overall 19:40. More bleah. I spent lots of time thinking about form and wondering about my kick, but I think the real issue was being weak and feeble.
What seemed to be happening is there was no glide. As soon as the stroke stopped, so did I. My catch wasn't catching, the roll was not coordinated with the pull, and the timing was subtly wrong on everything. It will come back. Maybe I'm just tired.
There was a mostly nice run on Wednesday, 5K, 35 minutes in fairly warm weather. The heat didn't bother me, and I was on top of my breathing the whole way, but my legs were not with the program at all. It was a slog beginning to end.
I'm wondering if part of the reason is a slow recovery from volume buildup. My long runs were around the 10 to 11 K mark for a number of weeks, then two weekends in a row I went way past that, and I'm pretty sure that was overdoing it. I know better.
I was feeling kind of anxious and overwhelmed today, without being completely sure why. I think it's just that I'm thinking about lots of stuff just now. And of course, thinking about thinking about lots of stuff starts a recursive loop that just gets worse. My solution was to write out a list of things to do. it's very long, though one thing has been crossed off already. Lots more to go.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Vacation runs
Even though I just read SUAR's blog, it isn't what she might think. I'm talking about actual running. I just know what some of you were thinking.
So far, running on vacation has happened in Torino, Venice, Nova Scotia, Vancouver Island, and Bermuda. Oddly enough, or maybe not, all of them were near water. Maybe there's a theme there I should think about.
The only one I had company with start to finish was in Nova Scotia, along Crescent beach. That was both a stunningly beautiful place to run, and so much fun to run with new friends. (Hi Janice and Janet!) There was a run in Bermuda where I joined a guy doing hill repeats. I was in shorts and a tech shirt, while he was in a full track suit, with a hat and gloves. We'd waved at each other a few times over the previous several days, but the first time we got close enough to talk, he said, "Canadian, right?" Except it wasn't a question. It was warm enough for me to be swimming in the ocean. We jogged around an out of business golf course, and chatted.
Torino was along the river but in a city I didn't like much. Venice was along the Grand Canal and it was an amazing experience. I was very careful and didn't get lost. Bermuda on roads and paths and beaches in the warmth and, often the wind. Nova Scotia was always a beach. Once on Hirtle's beach at about 2 in the morning with a full moon. It was lovely, and there was another guy running as well, but he didn't want to chat. Perhaps he thought I was a stalker or something.
The least nice beach was the other day in Sidney. Gravel and rocky, with logs to dodge made it an interesting run, and the scenery was nice in an expensive homes kind of way, but it wasn't the same as running a sandy beach. Even sand can vary. Crescent beach is firm enough to drive a car on. St. Catherine's beach in Bermuda is soft enough that running in shoes would quickly be a bad idea, but it's still not as soft as Horseshoe Bay. Those give your calves and feet a real workout. Hirtles can be a mix depending on a lot of factors.
Probably the best solo vacation run was in Bermuda on a really hot day. I ran a bunch, left everything but shorts on the beach (Bermudans are a bit prudish about nudity), swam a while, practiced some swim hard and transition onto the beach, then ran some more to dry off. Sort of. Being sticky with sweat and dried salt perfectly suited my mood. Our host was there when I got back, and he fired up the outdoor shower for me.
There's something relaxing about running while on vacation, at least for me. Usually there's lots of time, and you can run when and where it suits you. It's a great way to see more scenery than just walking, and gets your workout done. I find it's a big change and helps me recover from the lots of walking we do on vacation.
I'd love to go to Venice again, but not because of the run. Just because it's an amazing place. Hirtle's beach (and a bakery not far from it) have a special place in my heart, and I know I'm going there again. I'm just not sure when. I'd love to run in Bermuda again, but I'm probably not going to go just for a run.
Do you run on vacation? Where was your best vacation run?
So far, running on vacation has happened in Torino, Venice, Nova Scotia, Vancouver Island, and Bermuda. Oddly enough, or maybe not, all of them were near water. Maybe there's a theme there I should think about.
The only one I had company with start to finish was in Nova Scotia, along Crescent beach. That was both a stunningly beautiful place to run, and so much fun to run with new friends. (Hi Janice and Janet!) There was a run in Bermuda where I joined a guy doing hill repeats. I was in shorts and a tech shirt, while he was in a full track suit, with a hat and gloves. We'd waved at each other a few times over the previous several days, but the first time we got close enough to talk, he said, "Canadian, right?" Except it wasn't a question. It was warm enough for me to be swimming in the ocean. We jogged around an out of business golf course, and chatted.
Torino was along the river but in a city I didn't like much. Venice was along the Grand Canal and it was an amazing experience. I was very careful and didn't get lost. Bermuda on roads and paths and beaches in the warmth and, often the wind. Nova Scotia was always a beach. Once on Hirtle's beach at about 2 in the morning with a full moon. It was lovely, and there was another guy running as well, but he didn't want to chat. Perhaps he thought I was a stalker or something.
The least nice beach was the other day in Sidney. Gravel and rocky, with logs to dodge made it an interesting run, and the scenery was nice in an expensive homes kind of way, but it wasn't the same as running a sandy beach. Even sand can vary. Crescent beach is firm enough to drive a car on. St. Catherine's beach in Bermuda is soft enough that running in shoes would quickly be a bad idea, but it's still not as soft as Horseshoe Bay. Those give your calves and feet a real workout. Hirtles can be a mix depending on a lot of factors.
Probably the best solo vacation run was in Bermuda on a really hot day. I ran a bunch, left everything but shorts on the beach (Bermudans are a bit prudish about nudity), swam a while, practiced some swim hard and transition onto the beach, then ran some more to dry off. Sort of. Being sticky with sweat and dried salt perfectly suited my mood. Our host was there when I got back, and he fired up the outdoor shower for me.
There's something relaxing about running while on vacation, at least for me. Usually there's lots of time, and you can run when and where it suits you. It's a great way to see more scenery than just walking, and gets your workout done. I find it's a big change and helps me recover from the lots of walking we do on vacation.
I'd love to go to Venice again, but not because of the run. Just because it's an amazing place. Hirtle's beach (and a bakery not far from it) have a special place in my heart, and I know I'm going there again. I'm just not sure when. I'd love to run in Bermuda again, but I'm probably not going to go just for a run.
Do you run on vacation? Where was your best vacation run?
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Dialed back in?
Last night was get home, reassure the cats we actually lived here and were the same humans that left them a week ago. They were kind of choked at us. Unpack, putter around a bit, fall into bed. Crappy night's sleep.
Up for a Sunday swim. The pool was empty! Love it. The first 500 m sucked, as I thoroughly expected it to after a week of not swimming. 9:45 or so. Bleah. Then I gradually found the groove and got faster over the next 500 for just over 19 minutes. I'll take it. Played around in the water a bit, and soaked up the hot tub big time! I'm still sore after a big week of walking, and last week's 18 K, and running on a rocky gravelly beach. Here's the map of that. Look at all the blue! It's lovely running along the water.
Later in the afternoon we sprayed up the sunscreen and headed out to run in the heat of the day. So nice! I filled in the missing bit on the map in North Glenmore park. 11 K, 1:21, running just a little bit faster than usual. Along the way just outside the park I stopped for this.
Boring, yes? I have to admit it looks much better when it's full of bikes in T2 for Calgary 70.3. It was about 18 C, but I didn't really feel the heat. It just felt good to run in the warmth.
What else do you do in the heat? BBQ of course! Bison. Yum! Wine and relaxing on the patio after. Linda is still scoping out the garden, seeing how the various plants are doing. We are still well behind the BC gardens of course, but there are a few splotches of colour, like this.
Up for a Sunday swim. The pool was empty! Love it. The first 500 m sucked, as I thoroughly expected it to after a week of not swimming. 9:45 or so. Bleah. Then I gradually found the groove and got faster over the next 500 for just over 19 minutes. I'll take it. Played around in the water a bit, and soaked up the hot tub big time! I'm still sore after a big week of walking, and last week's 18 K, and running on a rocky gravelly beach. Here's the map of that. Look at all the blue! It's lovely running along the water.
Later in the afternoon we sprayed up the sunscreen and headed out to run in the heat of the day. So nice! I filled in the missing bit on the map in North Glenmore park. 11 K, 1:21, running just a little bit faster than usual. Along the way just outside the park I stopped for this.
Boring, yes? I have to admit it looks much better when it's full of bikes in T2 for Calgary 70.3. It was about 18 C, but I didn't really feel the heat. It just felt good to run in the warmth.
What else do you do in the heat? BBQ of course! Bison. Yum! Wine and relaxing on the patio after. Linda is still scoping out the garden, seeing how the various plants are doing. We are still well behind the BC gardens of course, but there are a few splotches of colour, like this.
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