I’m running the Underwear Affair!

On the sidebar, I added a graphic and link to my fundraising page for the Underwear Affair. After three years of running, I figured I’ve found my stride. It came through on my personal best in the BMO Half, and this week I’ve started a marathon training clinic with two straight days of tempo runs.

But there’s more to running than, well, running. Later this month (June 28), I’m volunteering at the Scotia Half, and two weeks after that (July 11), I’m putting on my boxers to participate in what should be a fun 10K around the False Creek seawall in the Underwear Affair.

This run is also another opportunity for me to show my support for the fight against prostate cancer, which is one of the “below-the-belt” cancers this run wants to spotlight. My grandfather died of prostate cancer two years ago, and participating in the Underwear Affair, as well as Harry’s Spring Runoff, gives me some inspiration in the fact that I run these events (and donate to the related charities) so that I, or anyone else for that matter, should not have to suffer the same fate.

So if you want to help out a great cause and show support for the fight against cancers below the waist, please click here or the big Underwear Affair logo on the sidebar. Better still, join the fun and raise funds yourself! Either way, thanks, and I hope to see you run with me, or cheering for those who are!

This history of booze is refreshing and full-bodied

Iain Gately, Drink: A Cultural History of Alcohol (Gotham Books, 2008)

I may be eight years removed from graduating from UBC with a history degree, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuing to read up on my chosen field, even if my career path didn’t actually go in that direction.

Recently, I’ve started to read overarching socio-cultural histories of certain themes, such as travel and alcohol, which leads me to this one I’ve just finished by Iain Gately. Drink starts at the very beginning of human civilization and recounts how alcohol has been a part of human history ever since. From its initial discoveries,through antiquity and medieval times, all the way to exploration, industrialization, and globalization, booze, according to Gately, plays a central role throughout. Even the experiments with temperance and prohibition in the UK and USA in the 19th and 20th centuries couldn’t halt that progress.

Intriguing as it is that alcoholic beverages have contributed to many historical events, it seems idealized or fantastical that booze alone contributed to such events. Gately portrays it that way, and it works in the context, providing some credibility to the pivotal role of alcohol. There is certainly an emphasis on modern, Western history, as more than two-thirds of this book covers the 18th century onward. There was one chapter devoted to Westernization of Asian drinking habits in the mid-20th century, but sadly, not much else.

Gately also takes some time to look at the drinking habits of various practitioners of art over the centuries. Dutch painters, Romantic poets, French artists, and even rappers’ love of cognac and Cristal are all mentioned. And it’s not all good times, either. Gately devotes some pages in the later chapters to combat the darker side of alcohol consumption, which led to the formations of Alcoholics Anonymous and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and the ongoing saga of the health benefits of alcohol consumption, its promotion by (mainly) winemakers, and the US government’s two-faced attempts to prevent such promotion despite the growing evidence.

Drink, while thick (at almost 500 pages), certainly makes for a great reading companion to that glass of wine or pint of beer. It also provides, for me at least, a new perspective to the established history and adds that cultural dimension that was lacking in the histories I was studying all those years ago.

Why I don’t run to catch the bus

[Buzzer Blog] Friday fun poll: do you run to catch a transit vehicle?

(Here’s another post that manages to combine running with my other interests. Previous ones included running and music, and running and Doctor Who.)

I was quite surprised that Jhenifer at the Buzzer Blog chose to put up my question for this week’s fun poll, after she put out an open call for suggestions. (Oh yeah, and if you saw my title, you know how I voted.)

I was inspired to come up with this poll question by the simple fact that I am a runner, but when it comes to chasing a bus, I can’t be bothered to do it, at least not anymore. Back in high school, I could easily sprint across busy intersections or bound up escalators to catch a bus or SkyTrain that had just arrived.

At some point, probably around the time I was doing my undergrad at UBC, I didn’t bother so much. Maybe it was the fact that, for the most part, I had an idea of when my bus was due to depart (especially after night classes). Nowadays, with next-bus information readily available by phone, txt, or web, there’s really no need to be caught off-guard with a just-arrived bus.

Besides, given my training for long-distance running, sprinting just isn’t my specialty. The first few times I attempted speedwork at a track, I felt like I tested my physical limits at running at top speed. I’m sure I could have just collapsed at the end. Don’t get me wrong, speed training does help in a half marathon, as long you’re mentally prepared to tackle it.

That’s my explanation for the poll question and my reasons why I voted “No”. I had no delusion of changing anyone’s mind in voting, but if I did, then bonus to me! I’ll catch you on the bus, if I can make it.

BMO Half 2009 – the analysis

What a difference a year makes! Last year, I logged a time of 2:19:47. This year, I had as my goal to beat that time. Little did I realize that the 2:12:13 in this year’s BMO Half is a new personal best! I can point to two main factors why I did as well as did this year:

• I ran the whole thing non-stop (except for walking pauses to consume gel or water that never exceeded one minute). In training, I consciously made the decision to move away from the run-10-walk-1 method I’ve used in training for, and running in, the last four half marathons. I quite surprised myself with the result, not just in the time, but in the fact that the whole run was consistent from beginning to end, and as I’ve tweeted soon after the race, I took great pride in that.
• I knew what to expect. The hill heading to Prospect Point is the main challenge in an otherwise flat course on the Downtown Peninsula. This year, I forced myself on to those grueling hill sessions with progressively steeper inclines. This was what was neglected in previous training sessions, and I did ignore them at my peril. I also knew to conserve my energy once the run entered Stanley Park. This paid off too: my speed in the section that included Prospect Point was greatly improved over last year.

Training Summary: The total km logged over 16 weeks of training was 352.2. I’m sure that had a lot of influence in this year’s result (vs. 275 km last year).

Next up: I think I’m going to capitalize on the momentum of this result by registering this week for the Royal Victoria Marathon. What I did today shows I am more than capable of taking on the rigors of training for a full marathon, and I’m keen to get started!

Quick bites

1. Record Store Day [Alan Cross article] – It’s sad that many people are abandoning purchases of physical albums in favour of MP3s. Record Store Day is the response. You’ll likely get shades of High Fidelity, but the independent record store is still the best place to discover something new, even if you weren’t looking for it.

2. Happy birthday, David Tennant! “Planet of the Dead” has now aired in the UK (and coming soon to Space in Canada). I only bring this up because I have just finished reading the 1st Doctor novel The Time Travellers, and in page 267, there is a date mentioned: 18 April 1971. Guess what? That’s Tennant’s birthday! It’s probably not coincidence – this novel was published in late 2005, around which time Tennant’s 10th Doctor was about to encounter “The Christmas Invasion”.

3. BMO Vancouver Half Marathon is in two weeks. I completed the last long run of my training this morning, and I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. So far in my training, I’ve run almost 300 km, which is already more than the total amount I trained for last year. And this year, I’ve eschewed my 10-and-1 long run approach and went for straight running (with appropriate walk pauses for hydration). Let’s see how this will work under race conditions.

This might be what can be called “lousy Smarch weather”.

(Simpsons fans will automatically recognize a line from “Treehouse of Horror VI” for my quotation in the title.)

It’s the beginning of April. It’s supposed to be spring, right? It snowed in the higher elevations earlier today; elsewhere, it was just a cold rain. I didn’t mind all the snow this past winter, but I do have a tipping point when it comes to enduring cold, rainy weather. And I think the volatile weather of late is part of the reason I’m now fighting a cold.

In theory, I could have gone for a run this week; supposedly, that can help fight the effects of the cold at the same time. But after my hill-training session last week in the same dreary cold rain, even I couldn’t face another round, particularly on a planned steeper course. Mind you, hill training is essential for the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, with a killer hill in the middle of the course.

I know that a runner in Vancouver inevitably has to run in the rain, and I’ve accepted that. But I just might have run into training fatigue. Until this week, I’ve followed my three-day-a-week training program pretty well. And with my schedule busy enough as it is, that is an accomplishment. But have I been overtraining? I still have three more long runs before I taper for the BMO Half. When I told that to a fellow Twitterer who is also training for the same race, she told me that she only has one long run left before the taper. Hmm, I don’t know if there is an ideal taper time; it is different for different people, even different for the type of distance about to be run.

I think the priority for me would be to get better, then get back out and pick up the training where I left off. The rest will certainly get me itching to get back to the running!

About iPods and running

Guardian – Project Marathon: The playlist
Miss604 post - The New iPod Shuffle Minimalism at a Whole New Level

These two links appeared within the last few days, so it was about time I posted about my music players and why I probably won’t run with one.

I purchased the iPod in 2005. Despite it being “refurbished”, I still use it as my primary player, simply because it has more space than my iPhone (20 GB vs 8 GB). And despite a multitude of iPods that Apple has thrown at us, I remain faithful to the old monochrome screen. Come on – who actually still has an operating black-and-white iPod? The nostalgic factor alone is what keeps me from hanging on to the bitter end.

Where the Guardian article and Miss604’s post converge for me is running with music. My iPod and iPhone are too bulky to be taken for a run, and the ubiquitous white earbuds won’t cut it. On my few jaunts on a treadmill, they’re liable to jiggle out of my ear, and if they manage to stay on, I couldn’t leave them there for prolonged periods; I fear I could ruin them my drenching them in sweat. Besides, I run on the street, and running on the street with my ears blocked is just asking for trouble.

That hasn’t stopped me from thinking of a fantasy playlist I could listen to as I run. I fell on a few songs that already have “run” in the title. Others seem suited for mid-run inspiration, or for the triumph of a finish. Here are a few that I would put in an iPod shuffle:

• Lenny Kravitz, “Always on the Run”
• Moby, “Run On”
• Cake, “The Distance”
• Sarah Slean, “So Many Miles”
• Flock of Seagulls, “I Ran”

And I want to try a 45:33 run, to coincide with the LCD Soundsystem album of the same name, just to see if it goes well with my running rhythm.

Does the Doctor belong on Space?

(A follow-up to “Journey’s End” for Doctor Who on CBC)

Tonight, Doctor Who shifts from the CBC to Space for the Canadian premiere of “The Next Doctor”. In the run-up to this airing, Space has probably given it more promotion than the CBC did for all of series 4, with the tagline “back where he belongs”. And it’s technically correct.

Meetups of interest and more!

Here’s a list of meetups that I am likely to be attending in the near future:

• Wed, Feb 25: February 2009 Vancouver Blogger Meetup – happening again at The End Cafe (north of Broadway/Commercial station). A lot has happened in the past month, namely Wordcamp Whistler, Twestival, and Northern Voice, so expect attendees from those to show up (not least the meetup organizer, Raul). But you can expect interesting conversations in other topics as well.
• Thu, Feb 26: I <3 Transit week and Buzzer meetup – Jhenifer of the Buzzer Blog (and print version) is calling transit fans/supporters/boosters to come out to The End Cafe (same place as above) and geek out about public transport in Vancouver. And yes, while even I might complain about so-so service, I choose to take transit, and I will definitely show the love this week!
• Sun, Mar 1: Doctor Who March meetup @ La Fontana Caffe (Hastings & Boundary, Burnaby) – To geekery of another persuasion. The first meetup I attended was on Doctor Who’s 45th anniversary, and as befitting the occasion, attendees have dressed up in costume and watched the first ever serial on DVD.
• Sat, Mar 14: Not a meetup, but it is related to Doctor Who, and definitely big news: “The Next Doctor” will air on the Space channel at 18:00 PDT (adjust for your time zone). And with a 90-minute time slot (including commercials), it’s a good bet the whole thing will air (unlike “Journey’s End” on the CBC). This might bode well for the remaining gap-year specials…

Being Erica? Probably not for long.

The CBC has done it again: a mid-season schedule tossup that moves Being Erica from Monday to Wednesday, Fifth Estate from Wednesday to Friday (in what I’ve called the CBC’s “graveyard” where shows go to die) and Just for Laughs from Friday to Monday. Last year, jPod and MVP switched places, and both were cancelled after their seasons were finished.

What does this mean for any of the shows affected? I have a feeling Fifth Estate is too well-established to languish on Fridays, and since Just for Laughs is, well, Just for Laughs, then the odd one out will likely be Erica.

Despite myself, I like Being Erica. I don’t want to overthink any of the possible butterfly effects that could have resulted from Erica’s going back to certain points in her life, and evidently the show doesn’t either. Case in point: episode #4, where Erica goes back to 1st-year university and does a weirdly-effective spoken-word version of Britney Spears, four years before anyone’s ever heard of Britney Spears. But the idea of going back and re-living a point in the past, no matter how pivotal it is in the overall scheme of things, is quite interesting. It also helps that Erin Karpluk is quite a cutie!

So what does the timeshift mean for Erica Strange? If we look to precedent, then the inevitable will happen. And, knowing the CBC, they’ll keep Sophie (possibly the network’s lowest-rated prime-time series) for another season just to rub it in.

(PS. I don’t think there could ever be a series called Being Eric. Not that I don’t have those moments I could back to; there just aren’t that many in terms of decisions made and regretted.)