... not quite the sunflowers of the Tour de France, but the canola field starting to bloom in the background is kind of pretty too. And I'm just past the turnaround point (ie. had to slow down for a 180 degree turn) or I'd be more aerodynamic :-).
Monday, June 26, 2006
Triathlon photos
... not quite the sunflowers of the Tour de France, but the canola field starting to bloom in the background is kind of pretty too. And I'm just past the turnaround point (ie. had to slow down for a 180 degree turn) or I'd be more aerodynamic :-).
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Race Report - Leduc Women's Triathlon
I read somewhere that it's not the night before a big event when it's the most important to get a good night's sleep, but actually 2 nights before ... then you don't have to worry if you have trouble sleeping because you're nervous or because your neighbours always seem to have really loud parties on nights when you need to get to sleep early (yeah, that happened last night - they were still loud past 2 am. We think next time we'll yell out the window at them ... but we were too tired and that would have made us wake up fully last night ...). So, having to wake up at 6 am was difficult ...
Pretty nifty when the race organizer comments that you have a really good-looking bike as he's walking around while your bike is getting checked over by the techs. When they asked in the pre-race meeting, it looked like maybe a quarter to a third of the 120-or-so participants were doing their first triathlon ... maybe that's why Ed says my bike was among the best of the "bike porn" (ie. bikes that are admired by others and nice to look at), a few Cervelos and other Treks, but not a lot.
And I'm not used to not having to start really early (ie. 7-8 am) at a triathlon - my heat time was 10:20 am so I had a few hours to watch others and get ready before I had to race (we had to be set up in transition by 8:15 am, then there was a pre-race meeting at 8:30am, and the first heat was at 9am). Not only then was there time for it to get warmer outside by the time I was racing, it was also a much warmer day overall than 4 weeks ago for the last tri - today it was already 21 C when I started and 24 C when I finished. I got a bit sunburnt, the spray-on sunscreen I tried in 1st transition didn't go on so well to wet skin. I guess I was being too nice in thinking I shouldn't really put on sunscreen ahead of time that could partially come off into the pool - better to protect myself rather than their pool next time!
I felt tired in the swim, though it improved the longer I swam, got into a groove so to speak ... and improved my 750 m swim time by over 20 seconds! Much better than Coronation in that there were only 4 to a lane (25 m pool) and we seemed to be well-matched and spread ourselves out fairly well, so didn't have to worry much about passing/being passed.
Ed wasn't there to yell encouragement at me for a fast transition, as he was volunteering on the bike course, and my transitions were pretty slow today - I kept thinking I must be forgetting something and rechecked several times before I left.
I felt pretty good on the bike, passed a couple of people on the initial flat stretch, then broke my speed record by going 58.5 km/h down the major hill. Going up the other side felt pretty good, and I made it to the turnaround (where Ed was) in about 23 minutes. Back down again I got to at least 50 km/h, and the major uphill was easier than I thought - I'd been worried that perhaps it was steep enough that I'd run out of gears and run out of energy, but that was far from happening. Then back onto the flat stretch again, and into transition, and the run ...
Amazingly enough, my leg was great - my shin (stress injury) didn't hurt at all during the run or afterwards, but I had a horrible abdominal cramp develop and had to powerwalk for about 10 minutes in the middle (guess I need to figure out something better to eat for breakfast). I was able then to run again without too much trouble, and ran all the way to the end ... think the run course was a bit less than 5 km actually because my run time was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, despite walking for so long. My final time was 1:52:27 (improvement of 7 minutes from my last triathlon of this distance), and Ed had finished his volunteer duties by then so was at the finish line even to greet me and take a photo. So, overall a good race for me, and well-organized.
addendum: overall results now here, 55th in the swim of 131, so I guess my future goal is to get my bike and run to match my swim placing :-). And I wasn't last! (oh, and the listed bike time would include both my slow transitions, my actual bike time for the 20 km was about 52 min).
Pretty nifty when the race organizer comments that you have a really good-looking bike as he's walking around while your bike is getting checked over by the techs. When they asked in the pre-race meeting, it looked like maybe a quarter to a third of the 120-or-so participants were doing their first triathlon ... maybe that's why Ed says my bike was among the best of the "bike porn" (ie. bikes that are admired by others and nice to look at), a few Cervelos and other Treks, but not a lot.
And I'm not used to not having to start really early (ie. 7-8 am) at a triathlon - my heat time was 10:20 am so I had a few hours to watch others and get ready before I had to race (we had to be set up in transition by 8:15 am, then there was a pre-race meeting at 8:30am, and the first heat was at 9am). Not only then was there time for it to get warmer outside by the time I was racing, it was also a much warmer day overall than 4 weeks ago for the last tri - today it was already 21 C when I started and 24 C when I finished. I got a bit sunburnt, the spray-on sunscreen I tried in 1st transition didn't go on so well to wet skin. I guess I was being too nice in thinking I shouldn't really put on sunscreen ahead of time that could partially come off into the pool - better to protect myself rather than their pool next time!
I felt tired in the swim, though it improved the longer I swam, got into a groove so to speak ... and improved my 750 m swim time by over 20 seconds! Much better than Coronation in that there were only 4 to a lane (25 m pool) and we seemed to be well-matched and spread ourselves out fairly well, so didn't have to worry much about passing/being passed.
Ed wasn't there to yell encouragement at me for a fast transition, as he was volunteering on the bike course, and my transitions were pretty slow today - I kept thinking I must be forgetting something and rechecked several times before I left.
I felt pretty good on the bike, passed a couple of people on the initial flat stretch, then broke my speed record by going 58.5 km/h down the major hill. Going up the other side felt pretty good, and I made it to the turnaround (where Ed was) in about 23 minutes. Back down again I got to at least 50 km/h, and the major uphill was easier than I thought - I'd been worried that perhaps it was steep enough that I'd run out of gears and run out of energy, but that was far from happening. Then back onto the flat stretch again, and into transition, and the run ...
Amazingly enough, my leg was great - my shin (stress injury) didn't hurt at all during the run or afterwards, but I had a horrible abdominal cramp develop and had to powerwalk for about 10 minutes in the middle (guess I need to figure out something better to eat for breakfast). I was able then to run again without too much trouble, and ran all the way to the end ... think the run course was a bit less than 5 km actually because my run time was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, despite walking for so long. My final time was 1:52:27 (improvement of 7 minutes from my last triathlon of this distance), and Ed had finished his volunteer duties by then so was at the finish line even to greet me and take a photo. So, overall a good race for me, and well-organized.
addendum: overall results now here, 55th in the swim of 131, so I guess my future goal is to get my bike and run to match my swim placing :-). And I wasn't last! (oh, and the listed bike time would include both my slow transitions, my actual bike time for the 20 km was about 52 min).
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Peter Reid retiring
Three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion (and Canadian) Peter Reid announced his retirement recently - I've watched (online) the Ironman Worlds in Hawaii each October for the last few years, and will miss him in the races.
(and I really should stop procrastinating and finish getting ready for my triathlon tomorrow, the Leduc Women's Triathlon ... report and maybe some photos to follow, but Ed's volunteering on the bike course so he may only have one chance to take a photo of me on course, and then only if there's not lots of traffic to direct. I'm sure he'll get the "getting my transition area ready prior" and "after the race" photos though).
(and I really should stop procrastinating and finish getting ready for my triathlon tomorrow, the Leduc Women's Triathlon ... report and maybe some photos to follow, but Ed's volunteering on the bike course so he may only have one chance to take a photo of me on course, and then only if there's not lots of traffic to direct. I'm sure he'll get the "getting my transition area ready prior" and "after the race" photos though).
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Longest Day of the year
Sunset here today was at 10:07 pm, now it's just after 11 pm and still twilight (ie. not fully dark). I remember when I was in Peace River in 1998 for part of my residency, in June it was still twilight even after midnight when I'd get called back to the hospital while on call - I think there it got dark about 2 am for a couple of hours only. These are the days I long for in December when it seems like it's dark all the time ...
Building confidence
Today was a day of training to build my confidence before Sunday's triathlon - on the weekend, Ed and I did a ride where on 2 hills I really tried to push it hard, and ended up crashing (figuratively) and burning for the most part :( . I guess I'm not cut out to emulate Jan Ullrich - need to spin more like Lance (for any non-cycling fans, Ullrich is known for pedalling at a lower cadence in a harder gear which requires more strength - Armstrong more for a higher cadence ie. spinning).
So today, I went back up those 2 hills again trying more of a spinning approach, and it went much better :) . And I broke my downhill speed record as well (55.2 km/h down to the zoo) - I could only ever hit mid-40's on my MTB and it took me a while to get the confidence on the road bike to let it go downhill that much faster ...
I also drove the bike course for Sunday again, after one of Ed's friends (with a lot of triathlon connections) was telling us how everyone thinks it's a really hard course. I thought when we drove it before that the uphill sections were long (all relatively speaking of course, not talking Tour de France here or even Icefields Parkway) but not super-steep ... so I was relieved to find again today that my recollection was correct. And the first half going out (and last half coming back) are pretty much flat, so I think it will be fine.
I don't like 25 m pools though (swam at the Leduc pool today too), I lose count of my laps too easily as I'm used to a 50 m pool ...
So today, I went back up those 2 hills again trying more of a spinning approach, and it went much better :) . And I broke my downhill speed record as well (55.2 km/h down to the zoo) - I could only ever hit mid-40's on my MTB and it took me a while to get the confidence on the road bike to let it go downhill that much faster ...
I also drove the bike course for Sunday again, after one of Ed's friends (with a lot of triathlon connections) was telling us how everyone thinks it's a really hard course. I thought when we drove it before that the uphill sections were long (all relatively speaking of course, not talking Tour de France here or even Icefields Parkway) but not super-steep ... so I was relieved to find again today that my recollection was correct. And the first half going out (and last half coming back) are pretty much flat, so I think it will be fine.
I don't like 25 m pools though (swam at the Leduc pool today too), I lose count of my laps too easily as I'm used to a 50 m pool ...
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
An interesting word ...
Weltschmertz - Sorrow or sadness over the present or future evils or woes of the world in general; sentimental pessimism.
This word was highly prominent in Canada a few weeks ago, when a local 14 year-old girl came 2nd in the American national spelling bee, misspelling "weltschmertz" to be eliminated. There were complaints via letters to the editor how it was unfair that the Americans could mispronounce "toque", or that they should have given Finola the Americanized pronunciation (w-sound) in addition to the correct/original one (v-sound) - amazing what brings out the conspiracy theorists (the organizers were obviously anti-Canadian, you know).
Last week, I thought about this word (and "ennui") when I was feeling somewhat down and unmotivated to do much of anything ... especially after my leg injury, I was incredibly tired, and was worrying too much about the "woes of the world in general". Maybe it was related to all the rain and cold we had last week too, I don't know - but feeling much better this week, no more weltschmertz nor ennui :-).
(and I was able to run today for just over 20 minutes, with only a few twinges and slight aching from my left lower leg that was injured ... so I should at least be able to manage the 5 km run in the triathlon on Sunday, even if then I can't run afterwards for another while).
This word was highly prominent in Canada a few weeks ago, when a local 14 year-old girl came 2nd in the American national spelling bee, misspelling "weltschmertz" to be eliminated. There were complaints via letters to the editor how it was unfair that the Americans could mispronounce "toque", or that they should have given Finola the Americanized pronunciation (w-sound) in addition to the correct/original one (v-sound) - amazing what brings out the conspiracy theorists (the organizers were obviously anti-Canadian, you know).
Last week, I thought about this word (and "ennui") when I was feeling somewhat down and unmotivated to do much of anything ... especially after my leg injury, I was incredibly tired, and was worrying too much about the "woes of the world in general". Maybe it was related to all the rain and cold we had last week too, I don't know - but feeling much better this week, no more weltschmertz nor ennui :-).
(and I was able to run today for just over 20 minutes, with only a few twinges and slight aching from my left lower leg that was injured ... so I should at least be able to manage the 5 km run in the triathlon on Sunday, even if then I can't run afterwards for another while).
"In Praise of Slow"
I just finished reading this book, by Carl Honoré, a Canadian journalist living in London (whose father was one of our pathology professors in med school). IIRC, I read a review of the book in the paper, where I was amused by the author recalling his initial joyful reaction to hearing that there was a collection available of "One Minute Bedtime Stories" and then his horror at realizing how obsessed with time he had become - and then interested to read how he grew up in Edmonton with a physician father (so figured out who that must be, as I mentioned, one of my prior profs). Of course, I bought the book months ago, probably before Christmas even, then started reading it when I was working at "Clinic C" (while I had a lot of time between patients initially).
Lots of interesting ideas, given that part of what I was trying to accomplish with leaving "Clinic A" was to slow down my life in a sense ... so good reinforcement to know I'm not the only one feeling as I did. A good summary, from page 275, "The secret is balance: instead of doing everything faster, do everything at the right speed. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Sometimes somewhere in between. Being Slow means never rushing, never striving to save time just for the sake of it".
He mentions a University of Lethbridge prof who does "slow reading" by posting thoughts and insights on the internet after each of his reading sessions, thereby taking longer to read each book but finding a greater understanding and appreciation of the books by doing so. Which is kind of the reason why I've been posting stuff about various books and films here (at least sometimes), makes me think more about them and therefore absorb and appreciate them more.
We've been making an effort every so often to enjoy a really good meal at nice restaurants, sort of related to the "Slow Food" philosophy in a way - like when we ate at Lumière in Vancouver 2 years ago, taking the opportuntity of an evening port call to find a nice restaurant in San Jose (Puerto Rico) instead of eating on the cruise ship, or even when we went to the Catch Oyster Bar in Calgary 2 weekends ago. Can't afford to do that all the time (especially Lumière ;-) ), but really enjoyable on special occasions :-).
Lots of interesting ideas, given that part of what I was trying to accomplish with leaving "Clinic A" was to slow down my life in a sense ... so good reinforcement to know I'm not the only one feeling as I did. A good summary, from page 275, "The secret is balance: instead of doing everything faster, do everything at the right speed. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. Sometimes somewhere in between. Being Slow means never rushing, never striving to save time just for the sake of it".
He mentions a University of Lethbridge prof who does "slow reading" by posting thoughts and insights on the internet after each of his reading sessions, thereby taking longer to read each book but finding a greater understanding and appreciation of the books by doing so. Which is kind of the reason why I've been posting stuff about various books and films here (at least sometimes), makes me think more about them and therefore absorb and appreciate them more.
We've been making an effort every so often to enjoy a really good meal at nice restaurants, sort of related to the "Slow Food" philosophy in a way - like when we ate at Lumière in Vancouver 2 years ago, taking the opportuntity of an evening port call to find a nice restaurant in San Jose (Puerto Rico) instead of eating on the cruise ship, or even when we went to the Catch Oyster Bar in Calgary 2 weekends ago. Can't afford to do that all the time (especially Lumière ;-) ), but really enjoyable on special occasions :-).
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The difference between Canada and the US ...
you'd never see the US president sitting in the crowd and high-fiving fans at a sports event, without obvious security personnel everywhere ... photo from the Journal.
(Oilers won so Stanley Cup finals going to a 7th game tomorrow!)
(Oilers won so Stanley Cup finals going to a 7th game tomorrow!)
Thursday, June 15, 2006
I guess I spoke too soon ...
... my doctor called this morning about my bone scan. Good news is that I don't have a stress fracture, bad news is that there was increased uptake on the bone scan consistent with stress periostitis in my tibia (= inflammation of the bone lining, an overuse-type injury, often referred to as "medial tibial stress syndrome" (MTSS)). I had thought that perhaps it was MTSS, but didn't realize that this actually causes inflammation of the bone and shows up on a bone scan :-( . The treatment is rest, ice, anti-inflammatories ... I've already been "resting" (in terms of no running) for almost 3 weeks since my last triathlon, I didn't ask my doctor how long I should be resting for and whether it was ok to do my next triathlon on the 25th as I didn't really want to hear her answer. (She continues to use the term "shin splints", which sports medicine specialists are trying to avoid because it is too non-specific and actually refers to a number of conditions - but then, apparently the radiologist also used the term "shin splints" in their report as well ... sounds like I'm not dealing with any sports medicine experts here, not that I'm one myself lol).
So, I figure I'll rest until next week, try an easy short run (or two) then do the 5 km at the triathlon (walking lots or entirely if I need to) ... then no more running until it's completely better afterwards. I might even request a sports medicine referral if it doesn't seem to be settling properly ... with what I'm reading, apparently over-pronation is potentially part of the cause and orthotics can help, so perhaps my current orthotics aren't quite right, and the podiatrist I got them from is usually so quick with visits that I'm not sure he'd actually do a thorough analysis of my gait and whether there's too much pronation or similar.
(and "overuse" in my case would be too much too quickly, in terms of increasing distance, not that I'm doing too much running in general because that certainly wasn't happening with me ...)
A side benefit though is that I will be able to claim at least 1 or 2 continuing medical education credits for all the reading I'm currently doing about tibial periostitis/MTSS/stress fractures :-) .
Some articles:
-simple version from about.com
-an article from a podiatry perspective
So, I figure I'll rest until next week, try an easy short run (or two) then do the 5 km at the triathlon (walking lots or entirely if I need to) ... then no more running until it's completely better afterwards. I might even request a sports medicine referral if it doesn't seem to be settling properly ... with what I'm reading, apparently over-pronation is potentially part of the cause and orthotics can help, so perhaps my current orthotics aren't quite right, and the podiatrist I got them from is usually so quick with visits that I'm not sure he'd actually do a thorough analysis of my gait and whether there's too much pronation or similar.
(and "overuse" in my case would be too much too quickly, in terms of increasing distance, not that I'm doing too much running in general because that certainly wasn't happening with me ...)
A side benefit though is that I will be able to claim at least 1 or 2 continuing medical education credits for all the reading I'm currently doing about tibial periostitis/MTSS/stress fractures :-) .
Some articles:
-simple version from about.com
-an article from a podiatry perspective
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
More riding ...
I did another "long" (for me) ride yesterday, 32.3 km including 3 hills - Keillor Road (or what's left of it, it's now a multi-use path with switchbacks after the vehicle road fell into disrepair and caved in), and twice up my usual training hill in Laurier up from the zoo. My route took me almost all the way to the university, so it's possible that I could bike to work when I work there (though not practical).
And I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet, so hopefully that's good news - had a bone scan last week to rule out a stress fracture in my leg, since I've had recurrent shin pain and swelling every time I try to do more running. It may still end up as a swim-bike-walk triathlon for me in less than 2 weeks now ...
And I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet, so hopefully that's good news - had a bone scan last week to rule out a stress fracture in my leg, since I've had recurrent shin pain and swelling every time I try to do more running. It may still end up as a swim-bike-walk triathlon for me in less than 2 weeks now ...
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Too good to be true???
I'll believe it when I see it - found out Friday night that Ed and I (hopefully) will be able to buy tickets to tomorrow's Stanley Cup playoff game, at face value, from some friends that Ed met doing the Bell City Chase series (we were in Calgary this weekend for the event there, and he did the one in Edmonton two weeks ago - "The Bell City Chase is a unique urban adventure that requires participants to exhibit teamwork, resourcefulness, determination and the ability to make decisions on the fly as they search for ChasePoints scattered in unknown locations throughout the city. ChasePoints are designed to test teams with a variety of physical, mental, and otherwise adventurous challenges").
Like I said, I'll believe it when I actually see the tickets, but it sounds like it's going to happen. Considering that a quick check of E-bay shows tickets for tomorrow's game in the thousands of dollars for a pair ...
Which then makes me reflect on hockey in general... how I was so ticked off last season with the lockout that I made no effort to go to any games at all this year. How I really got into pro cycling as a fan since last summer and have spent way more time reading cycling news and watching cycling races than I have paying attention to hockey until recently. How until the playoffs I don't think I actually watched an entire hockey game this season except the Vancouver-Phoenix game we watched at Geri's when we visited last November. But hockey fandom must be deeply entrenched within me I guess, even as I rationally think of reasons not to watch ...
As for hockey playoff games, I think I've only ever been to two - one was in high school when I got a free ticket to Edmonton-Vancouver in the first round, memorable because a) it was back when Edmonton fans looked down condescendingly on the first round and often didn't bother to show up (this was probably actually 1986, before the Oilers lost to Calgary in the 2nd round thanks to Steve Smith's own goal... then the Oiler fans learned not to take things for granted), and
b) I was cheering for the Canucks, hadn't been in Edmonton long enough at that point to get over my hatred for the Oilers ...
Apparently I also went once to one of the Edmonton -Dallas games a few years ago, but those weren't all that memorable because the Oilers generally lost. (Now that I think more about it, I do remember walking up to the arena and seeing someone selling "Belfour sucks" buttons outside - and the chant "Bel-four, Bel-four" just to get under the skin of the Dallas goalie at the time).
When we found out about the tickets, the Oil were down 2-0 in the series with things looking pretty bad after a 5-0 loss and the loss of star goalie Roloson in the first game. But we figured either the Oilers would be playing better and back in it, or else we might get to see the Stanley Cup presentation. With Edmonton winning last night there's no chance we'll see a Stanley Cup presentation (phew!), hopefully they'll play well and tie the series!
ADDENDUM (June 13) - we lost. A let-down in a lot of respects, yeah it was an exciting atmosphere but in the end it's just a hockey game, and there are a lot of more important things in life ...
Like I said, I'll believe it when I actually see the tickets, but it sounds like it's going to happen. Considering that a quick check of E-bay shows tickets for tomorrow's game in the thousands of dollars for a pair ...
Which then makes me reflect on hockey in general... how I was so ticked off last season with the lockout that I made no effort to go to any games at all this year. How I really got into pro cycling as a fan since last summer and have spent way more time reading cycling news and watching cycling races than I have paying attention to hockey until recently. How until the playoffs I don't think I actually watched an entire hockey game this season except the Vancouver-Phoenix game we watched at Geri's when we visited last November. But hockey fandom must be deeply entrenched within me I guess, even as I rationally think of reasons not to watch ...
As for hockey playoff games, I think I've only ever been to two - one was in high school when I got a free ticket to Edmonton-Vancouver in the first round, memorable because a) it was back when Edmonton fans looked down condescendingly on the first round and often didn't bother to show up (this was probably actually 1986, before the Oilers lost to Calgary in the 2nd round thanks to Steve Smith's own goal... then the Oiler fans learned not to take things for granted), and
b) I was cheering for the Canucks, hadn't been in Edmonton long enough at that point to get over my hatred for the Oilers ...
Apparently I also went once to one of the Edmonton -Dallas games a few years ago, but those weren't all that memorable because the Oilers generally lost. (Now that I think more about it, I do remember walking up to the arena and seeing someone selling "Belfour sucks" buttons outside - and the chant "Bel-four, Bel-four" just to get under the skin of the Dallas goalie at the time).
When we found out about the tickets, the Oil were down 2-0 in the series with things looking pretty bad after a 5-0 loss and the loss of star goalie Roloson in the first game. But we figured either the Oilers would be playing better and back in it, or else we might get to see the Stanley Cup presentation. With Edmonton winning last night there's no chance we'll see a Stanley Cup presentation (phew!), hopefully they'll play well and tie the series!
ADDENDUM (June 13) - we lost. A let-down in a lot of respects, yeah it was an exciting atmosphere but in the end it's just a hockey game, and there are a lot of more important things in life ...
Saturday, June 10, 2006
A Published Writer Now ...
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
I was already feeling despondent yesterday morning, about the fact that the Oilers blew a three-goal lead in the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs, lost their star goalie to injury, then had the backup goalie make a stupid mistake that caused the winning goal for Carolina ... then I read something in the paper that just made me feel ill. I won't go into details or even link to it, those in Edmonton who know me might figure out what it is and the connection (and if you really want to know, e-mail me), but it doesn't seem right to post details about it at all.
What I wanted to say, though, was that although I'm certainly a big advocate of the justice system learning how to properly deal with people who have mental illnesses (let's just say I know from other personal experience that the justice system doesn't always treat such people well), it doesn't mean that I think those with mental illness should get away with violent crimes by virtue of being "not criminally responsible" - if it gets to that point, the system has already failed them miserably, but they still need to be accountable for what they've done (even if that means confined to a psychiatric institution long-term rather than prison, but at least something). What made me feel ill was the idea that 2 years after an incident, on the morning a trial was about to start, only then does it come to light that perhaps someone has a mental illness and needs psychiatric evaluation/ possibly can't stand trial?? Yeah, right ... nice delaying tactic there. And that's all I can really say about it.
What I wanted to say, though, was that although I'm certainly a big advocate of the justice system learning how to properly deal with people who have mental illnesses (let's just say I know from other personal experience that the justice system doesn't always treat such people well), it doesn't mean that I think those with mental illness should get away with violent crimes by virtue of being "not criminally responsible" - if it gets to that point, the system has already failed them miserably, but they still need to be accountable for what they've done (even if that means confined to a psychiatric institution long-term rather than prison, but at least something). What made me feel ill was the idea that 2 years after an incident, on the morning a trial was about to start, only then does it come to light that perhaps someone has a mental illness and needs psychiatric evaluation/ possibly can't stand trial?? Yeah, right ... nice delaying tactic there. And that's all I can really say about it.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Training ...
I figured that since I have some time off work, I could start doing some longer bike rides (my usual route is about 20 km) ... for example, ride to some of the parks, sit and read for a while/enjoy the outdoors, then ride home. So yesterday, I did just that ... was aiming for Government House Park via McKinnon Ravine, ended up riding all the way along River Valley Road to the LRT bridge (ie. almost downtown), 15 km. Then I came back a bit and sat and read for a while ... until I noticed that it was starting to cloud over in an ominous kind of way. So I started heading home, at a faster pace than on the way out.
As I reached Westridge (about 10-15 minutes from home), it started to rain. I still thought I could make it back before any downpour, until a few big wind gusts hit me and my nice light road bike didn't like them very much. I figured that the combination of wind, slippery wet road and traffic on skinny tires wasn't such a good thing, so I headed over to my parents to take shelter until the storm blew over.
After visiting with my dad for about 20 minutes, with the storm looking to be more entrenched rather than simply blowing over, he offered to drive me home. So, I had a total of 27 km for the day instead of 32 or so ... still my longest ride on my own (or actually perhaps ever), and once again almost doubling the odometer on my new bike (from 30-something to 60-something).
I made the mistake of joking to my husband that I "hitched a ride in the team car" (aka my dad's 1987 Chevy van) ... and now he won't stop teasing me about it. It's not like I called someone to come pick me up out of the rain :-) .
(and I had another minor crash, getting too cocky with my pedals I guess and not taking proper care, I remember thinking "gee, this seems easier and easier to click out of the pedals" as I was slowing down, when I leaned too far to the other side and went over... more bruises, oh well).
As I reached Westridge (about 10-15 minutes from home), it started to rain. I still thought I could make it back before any downpour, until a few big wind gusts hit me and my nice light road bike didn't like them very much. I figured that the combination of wind, slippery wet road and traffic on skinny tires wasn't such a good thing, so I headed over to my parents to take shelter until the storm blew over.
After visiting with my dad for about 20 minutes, with the storm looking to be more entrenched rather than simply blowing over, he offered to drive me home. So, I had a total of 27 km for the day instead of 32 or so ... still my longest ride on my own (or actually perhaps ever), and once again almost doubling the odometer on my new bike (from 30-something to 60-something).
I made the mistake of joking to my husband that I "hitched a ride in the team car" (aka my dad's 1987 Chevy van) ... and now he won't stop teasing me about it. It's not like I called someone to come pick me up out of the rain :-) .
(and I had another minor crash, getting too cocky with my pedals I guess and not taking proper care, I remember thinking "gee, this seems easier and easier to click out of the pedals" as I was slowing down, when I leaned too far to the other side and went over... more bruises, oh well).
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
Edmonton Folk Festival - to go or not to go?
We used to go every year (from 1989 to late 1990's sometime) to the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, that's where I first heard Ani DiFranco and Dar Williams, where I heard a number of Canadian musicians before they hit it "big" (Crash Test Dummies), where I've heard a number of Canadian bands that were never really "big" but I loved anyway (Junior Gone Wild, Spirit of the West, Moxy Früvous, Captain Tractor), and Canadian music staples like Blue Rodeo, Barenaked Ladies, Jann Arden, Colin James/Colin Linden, Great Big Sea. Then there are the musicians I might not have gone to see otherwise, but I can say I've seen live - Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Cockburn, Randy Newman, John Hiatt, Ashley McIsaac, Oysterband (a highlight in 1997 was seeing Oysterband and Great Big Sea on stage together to sing "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down", originally by Oysterband and covered by GBS). And all the world music performances over the years.
So, the 2006 lineup was released the other day, and I've been trying to decide whether I should go again after missing a few years (it got so competitive trying to get a good spot on the hill, and so tiring trying to see everything possible, that we just kind of gave up for a while). Here's my analysis of this year's lineup (trying to help myself figure out whether or not to get tickets):
would like to see (haven't before) - ***Sarah Harmer, Bedouin Soundclash, Jason Collett (has sung with Broken Social Scene), Feist (has also sung with Broken Social Scene), Hawksley Workman
would like to see again - James Keelaghan, Paul Kelly, Bruce Cockburn
big names but I'm not really a fan - Neville Brothers, Linda Ronstadt
and a whole bunch of names where I have no clue who they are ...
So, the 2006 lineup was released the other day, and I've been trying to decide whether I should go again after missing a few years (it got so competitive trying to get a good spot on the hill, and so tiring trying to see everything possible, that we just kind of gave up for a while). Here's my analysis of this year's lineup (trying to help myself figure out whether or not to get tickets):
would like to see (haven't before) - ***Sarah Harmer, Bedouin Soundclash, Jason Collett (has sung with Broken Social Scene), Feist (has also sung with Broken Social Scene), Hawksley Workman
would like to see again - James Keelaghan, Paul Kelly, Bruce Cockburn
big names but I'm not really a fan - Neville Brothers, Linda Ronstadt
and a whole bunch of names where I have no clue who they are ...
Coronation Triathlon
And speaking of triathlons, I guess I should post something about my experience last Sunday (I was waiting until my husband had his photos ready as well, but I guess I'll just add a few photos later).
I entered (and finished) the Coronation Triathlon last Sunday - was a little bit worried the days prior as the weather seemed to be getting worse and worse, on Saturday the forecast for triathlon day changed from sunny and 18 C to rain/cloud/high of 13 C. But when I woke up (before 5am :-( ), it was clearing up and didn't look like any chance of rain. Mind you, it was only 6 C out, not pleasant in a wet swimsuit or tri suit.
The organizing team had changed for this year, and they still have a few bugs to work out ... it was good for safety reasons that they decided to close the transition area at 7 am rather than letting competitors wander in and out during the event, but they didn't really seem prepared for everyone to be checking in between 6 and 7 am as a result. So, the first swim heats got off to a late start (about 20 minutes), and being in the next heat by virtue of being in the mountain bike category, I got off to a late start as well. At least I don't get nervous right before the event - I did all that in the week prior :-). By starting us off into the pool at only 5 second intervals and by adding 2 faster swimmers to our heat just prior, we ended up with severe lane congestion - I think I managed only a single flip-turn, the rest of the time at the ends we were all stopped and bunched up trying to figure out who should go out first for the next length. And the lane counters got confused IMO - they advised me I had only 1 lap to go when I knew I had 2 left, I think they let some people out of the pool early, but at least I know I did the right number of laps. Despite all that, I had a PB in the swim by about 25 seconds from my time 3 years ago (when we did it as a team so all I had to do was swim).
Then out into the brisk Edmonton morning in a wet triathlon suit. I was quite warm from the swim so I decided against my long-sleeved shirt and/or jacket and just put on a t-shirt ... and then thought I'd made the wrong decision as I froze on the first section of the bike course, downhill into the wind. But I warmed up after getting to the bottom and turning to go back uphill again. I made good time on the bike, 14-15 minutes per lap (compared to 16-18 minutes last year), wasn't worried about the fancy road bikes that passed me as long as I didn't get passed by too many other MTB'ers (which I didn't), and I even managed to pass 2 roadies at various points! Ed and my parents were at the top of the course to cheer me on for each of the four laps (and I think Ed convinced my parents that it would be greatly appreciated by the competitors to cheer for everyone who went by). I finished the bike leg about 9 minutes ahead of last year...
...which meant that my legs were dead going out onto the run. Instead of my usual 10 :1 run:walk pattern (a la Running Room), I found that I was picking out landmarks about 5 minutes ahead and just struggling to run to them before taking a quick break ... first to the water station, then down the hill, then to the turnaround point, etc. On the way back, I figured that if I could get to the "flamme rouge" (=1 km to go marker in cycling, they didn't have it marked that way but that's how I thought of it lol) I could take another quick walk break and then be able to run to the finish. Then I realized that because I was so much slower on the run than last year (and because my T2 transition time was slower as this was the first time I've had bike shoes to change out of into runners), I was in jeopardy of not beating last year's time despite my PB swim and bike ... so I really pushed it the last km and it hurt, but I beat last year's time by just under 2 minutes!
So, I came home and signed up for the Leduc Women's Triathlon in late June, a bit shorter than this one so I should have no problems with the run even if I don't train :-)
(photos to follow, maybe)
I entered (and finished) the Coronation Triathlon last Sunday - was a little bit worried the days prior as the weather seemed to be getting worse and worse, on Saturday the forecast for triathlon day changed from sunny and 18 C to rain/cloud/high of 13 C. But when I woke up (before 5am :-( ), it was clearing up and didn't look like any chance of rain. Mind you, it was only 6 C out, not pleasant in a wet swimsuit or tri suit.
The organizing team had changed for this year, and they still have a few bugs to work out ... it was good for safety reasons that they decided to close the transition area at 7 am rather than letting competitors wander in and out during the event, but they didn't really seem prepared for everyone to be checking in between 6 and 7 am as a result. So, the first swim heats got off to a late start (about 20 minutes), and being in the next heat by virtue of being in the mountain bike category, I got off to a late start as well. At least I don't get nervous right before the event - I did all that in the week prior :-). By starting us off into the pool at only 5 second intervals and by adding 2 faster swimmers to our heat just prior, we ended up with severe lane congestion - I think I managed only a single flip-turn, the rest of the time at the ends we were all stopped and bunched up trying to figure out who should go out first for the next length. And the lane counters got confused IMO - they advised me I had only 1 lap to go when I knew I had 2 left, I think they let some people out of the pool early, but at least I know I did the right number of laps. Despite all that, I had a PB in the swim by about 25 seconds from my time 3 years ago (when we did it as a team so all I had to do was swim).
Then out into the brisk Edmonton morning in a wet triathlon suit. I was quite warm from the swim so I decided against my long-sleeved shirt and/or jacket and just put on a t-shirt ... and then thought I'd made the wrong decision as I froze on the first section of the bike course, downhill into the wind. But I warmed up after getting to the bottom and turning to go back uphill again. I made good time on the bike, 14-15 minutes per lap (compared to 16-18 minutes last year), wasn't worried about the fancy road bikes that passed me as long as I didn't get passed by too many other MTB'ers (which I didn't), and I even managed to pass 2 roadies at various points! Ed and my parents were at the top of the course to cheer me on for each of the four laps (and I think Ed convinced my parents that it would be greatly appreciated by the competitors to cheer for everyone who went by). I finished the bike leg about 9 minutes ahead of last year...
...which meant that my legs were dead going out onto the run. Instead of my usual 10 :1 run:walk pattern (a la Running Room), I found that I was picking out landmarks about 5 minutes ahead and just struggling to run to them before taking a quick break ... first to the water station, then down the hill, then to the turnaround point, etc. On the way back, I figured that if I could get to the "flamme rouge" (=1 km to go marker in cycling, they didn't have it marked that way but that's how I thought of it lol) I could take another quick walk break and then be able to run to the finish. Then I realized that because I was so much slower on the run than last year (and because my T2 transition time was slower as this was the first time I've had bike shoes to change out of into runners), I was in jeopardy of not beating last year's time despite my PB swim and bike ... so I really pushed it the last km and it hurt, but I beat last year's time by just under 2 minutes!
So, I came home and signed up for the Leduc Women's Triathlon in late June, a bit shorter than this one so I should have no problems with the run even if I don't train :-)
(photos to follow, maybe)
