"I loved having Brock play in my band. He was always on time and rarely drank my beer." - Paul Bellows, the Dead Canadas
My totals for 2008 · 31 December 08
I track my workouts at www.workoutlog.com and these are my totals for the year 2008. I am posting my totals here partially so I have one place I can refer to, but also ‘cause I like to show off… hee hee.
Type
Distance
Duration (hh:mm)
Run (trails & track)
1751.0 km
184:25
Bike
472.4 km
29:05
Swim
41475.0 m
22:14
Cardio (elip, stairs, ski)
n/a
16:30
Hockey
n/a
42:12
Weight Training
n/a
20:01
Tennis
n/a
12:01
Stretch/Yoga
n/a
15:11
Total Duration:
342:19
I didn’t manage to reach my (late) goal of running 2008 km in the year 2008, BUT if you add up all my mileage I did 2264.88 km. WOO!
Next year: 2009 running kilometres! Starting tomorrow… or the next day.
Influenza (or flu) is a common respiratory illness affecting millions of Canadians each year.
Many people use the terms “flu” or “stomach flu” to describe other illnesses that may actually be a common cold or a mild case of food poisoning. There is no such thing as “stomach flu.” A true case of influenza typically starts with a headache, chills and cough, which are followed rapidly by fever, loss of appetite, muscle aches and fatigue, runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes and throat irritation. Children may have nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but these symptoms are uncommon in adults.
A couple guys approached me well over a year ago and asked if they could use a few of my songs in a documentary about the Oiler’s Stanley Cup rush in 2006. The movie is called The Whyte Movie and this is what the film makers have to say about it:
“The WHYTE Movie pays homage to Edmontonians who came together to celebrate with each other and ultimately showed why Edmonton is still the City of Champions, a city where, in all aspects of its daily life, its people live, work, and play with a spirit and enthusiasm seldom seen anywhere else,” says Calgary filmmaker Daniel Sponagle, who directed the film.
In all, the movie features 18 songs, including eight Edmonton artists from Brock Skywalker and Captain Tractor to Paul Bellows and Whitey Houston.
“It is a fun-filled, delightful journey that highlights everything that is great about the city of Edmonton,” says Sponagle.
So, without any further fanfare, here is the portion of the movie that features a song I wrote with John Whytock – Blue Satin Jacket.
Thanks to Neil Evenson, who edited the film and sent me the link.
Nov 7th update – The Big Fall has been posted now too.
WOO! I set another personal best! I did the RVM in 4:13:10. That is 22 minutes shorter than I did the sun-baked Quebec Marathon back in August! WOO! If I keep improving at this rate I will be qualifying for Boston in 4 years… and will be in a higher age group by then too… sigh…
Let me recap (as much for my benefit of keeping track as for the benefit of showing off):
Oct 7 – Royal Victoria Marathon ’07 – 4:50:51
May 10 – Dash’n for Compassion Half Marathon – 1:55:36
July 5 – Alberta Jeep Dealers Half Marathon – 1:55:02
Now it is time to concentrate on hockey, swimming and building some upper body strength. I also need to give my Achilles Tendinitis time to heal before I begin some late winter training for the Vancouver Marathon that I missed last year due to some frozen ears and frost bitten belly.
I am flying standby tonight to Vancouver and then driving over to Victoria with my cousin bright and early on Saturday to grab all the free stuff I can at the Race Expo. Then I will try to get a good night’s sleep before getting up Sunday morning to run 42.2km in what I hope will be less than I ran it in August at the Québec City Marathon (4:35:53).
Wish me luck, good pace, good weather… and lots of extra complex carbs!
St.Albert Starrt Triathlon (sprint) · 5 September 08
8 days after the Quebec City Marathon I participated in the St.Albert Starrt Triathlon. “Sprint” is the fancy way of saying it was a half triathlon. 750 metres of swimming, 20 km of cycling and 5 km of running. Sounds like fun right? Well, YES it certainly was!
I took 1:42:08 to do all that (including the transitions). My goal was to finish in under 2 hours so I really exceeded my expectations! WOO! Plus, when I crossed the finish line, my first words to Ellie (after “I need some water” (I dropped my Gatorade about halfway through the cycling portion)) were “That was awesome!”.
I can’t wait to do it again and there has even been some chatter about me and my cousin training for the 2010 Ironman in Penticton. Now that would be something! We’ll see…
Anywho, it was a great time and I thank Dave and Bill for getting me on board. Dave bailed on the race itself but Bill kicked my ass with a time of 1:24:59. Next year Bill… next year!
So I did it. I ran 42.2km (in French) and cut 15 minutes off my best (and only) full marathon time. 4:35:53 is what I did in Québec on Aug 24, 2008. 4:50:51 is what I did in Victoria on Oct 7, 2007. So, that is a pretty great improvement, if I do say so myself! WOO!
It was something like 33 degrees and VERY humid and people were dropping like flies. The next morning the newspaper said 50 people were treated for heat related health issues and one 51 year-old, experienced marathoner, actually died 3kms from the finish line. Yikes! I watched no less than 5 of my fellow runners stumble and collapse in front of me. Which, I can’t lie, did worry me.
Myself, well… I was seeing double when I crossed the finish line and couldn’t really speak. But after I sat down in the massage tent for about 15 minutes, with a bag of ice on my head and put a litre of water in my belly, I was more or less fine.
The next day I was up and walking around Québec like a real tourist and 3 days later Ellie and I went on a 25km bike ride around Montréal. A successful marathon AND a successful vacation. Just what I always wanted.
Below is a Google map (generated by my awesome Garmin Forerunner 305) of the route. We started in Levis and ended right smack dab in the middle of Veux Québec. It was pretty picturesque running along the St.Laurence, I must say. Crossing the bridge was very cool too. Though once we were on the Québec side of the river there was no shade and it was getting close to noon and the hottest and sunniest part of the day.
Daveb and I got up early and joined the lineup in front of the Rogers Wireless store as 5th and 7th in line at about 7:30am (yes, we are nerds). We stood out front in the varying weather until the store opened at 10:00am and even though the Rogers network completely crashed and we didn’t actually have our activated and working iPhones until about 1:00pm – it was still well worth it and I don’t regret a moment.
With our new iPhones in hand we headed across the parking lot to the Mucho Burrito and celebrated our purchases with the best burritos in town since Whole in the Wall closed down. Sigh… I miss that place.
Well I did it. I ran the Alberta Jeep Dealers Half Marathon in Calgary on Sunday, and man was it fun! I placed exactly in the middle of my division (77th out of 144) with a time of 1:55:02.
I was really hoping to shave off more time from my Dashin’ for Compassion race (1:55:36) but, although it was a flat and “fast” course, us middle-of-the-packers got very bottlenecked a couple times (once on the way through the Stampede Grounds and one more time through the Calgary Zoo). I figure I lost about 5 minutes when my pace was forced down to 6:50-ish rather than 5:00 for a few Kilometres.
But, oh well, it was very fun and I felt really good at the end AND made it back to Kris’ house in time to catch the tie-breaks and rain-delays during the Federer and Nadal battle for the Wimbledon title. What a game! What a day!
Here’s a google map of the course, if you are interested in where we ran.
Tomorrow Ellie and I pile into the car to drive 3 hours south. Not so we can go to the rodeo and take in the rest of The Stampede but rather so I can carbo-load and try to beat my Personal Best (1:55:36) in the Calgary Marathon.
I am doing the (not “just a”) Half-Marathon on Sunday – I am saving the big event for Quebec City where I will run the length of the St.Laurence… TWICE!
The Calgary Marathon is not quite as picturesque, though it does promise to be a rather flat and therefore “fast” course. We’ll see. I am trying not to think about it too much, though over-thinking things has never really been my strong suit. Heh… anyway, wish me speed and good hydration! WOO!
The 
8 days after the Quebec City Marathon I participated in the 
So I did it. I ran 42.2km (in French) and cut 15 minutes off my best (and only) full marathon time. 4:35:53 is what I did in Québec on Aug 24, 2008. 4:50:51 is what I did in Victoria on Oct 7, 2007. So, that is a pretty great improvement, if I do say so myself! 
I got an iPhone!
Well I did it. I ran the 
Tomorrow Ellie and I pile into the car to drive 3 hours south. Not so we can go to the rodeo and take in the rest of