I don’t often laugh while running alone but yesterday this guy at a co-ed Sunday morning softball league game almost had me slumped over (I did manage to keep on running).  As I ran by the game a guy smacked a homer (it’s just a grass field so the ball sailed over the outfielders, not a wall) and as he pumped his fist while rounding second base he yelled “NOW THAT IS WHAT YOU CALL POWER, LADIES!” I wasn’t the only one laughing, there were also some chuckles from the dugout (and when I say dugout I mean lawn chairs and coolers).

When it comes to laughing while running with other people, well it happens on just about every warm-up with the group in Guelph (Speed River + U of Guelph team).  We’re great at pointing out the shortcomings of ourselves and others.

On Friday I’m going to take part in the Olympic Heroes Parade in downtown Toronto.  There will be a lot of Olympians walking/riding in cars from Nathan Philips Square down to the Air Canada Centre (South on Bay st, West on Wellington st, South on York st).  If I don’t get a seat in a moving vehicle you can rest assured that I’ll rent a Bixi bike along the way.  I need to save my legs for the Zoo Run 10km the next day.  And while I’m on the topic, training for the Zoo Run turned a positive corner some days ago as my legs slowly keep feeling more alive.

COME ONE, COME ALL

…to give our London 2012 Heroes the welcome-home they deserve! The parade will start just North of Bay and Queen. The parade will be comprised of 25 vehicles including Chevrolet convertibles and pick-up trucks. Olympians will be travelling both in cars and on-foot to meet & greet fans along the route. The parade will also feature bands, London cabs, and an old-school double-decker bus. Culminating at Maple Leaf Square, the celebration with continue with a DJ, Canadian pop-rock band Neverest and on-stage interviews with athletes.

I can’t write a blog today without mentioning Supercrawl.  Supercrawl is an annual arts festival on James St N in Hamilton.  It’s only been around since 2009 but it’s gaining a lot of momentum, it’s actually quite astonishing to see how much its grown each year.  This year the musical headlines were Said The Whale, The Great Lake Swimmers and K’Naan (all free btw).  Anyways, I had a fun time at Supercrawl and the Hammer rocks!

Creepy art on display

Mystery Machine took the stage and brought me right back to my early high school days.

I signed up for the Oasis Zoo Run which also serves as the Canadian 10km road championships.  The race is on September 22nd which is, in all honesty, a few weeks earlier than I want to race.  One of the reasons I decided to give a go at the Zoo Run is to focus on a short-term goal.  The Olympics can leave some athletes in a funk for a while because they are a big focal point.  Not having the Olympic result I thought I was capable of at the Olympics makes me want to get back on the horse that much quicker.

I told myself I wasn’t going to run again until I felt like running with a minimum of 10 days off after the marathon.  I felt like running after one week but I waited the extra few days.  And then I told myself I had to wait at least three weeks before I did my first workout or double day.  Three weeks happened today but I didn’t feel like doing a workout, so I’ll wait a couple more days and then see how I feel. The last two days I’ve actually felt pretty good, even had a little pep in my stride again.

After the Zoo Run I will start to train for real.  Oh yeah, that was another comeback plan I made, not to push too hard for 6 weeks after the marathon. I’m not sure exactly what races I’ll do this fall as I’m currently working that out with my agent, Chris Layne but I’m pretty excited about the possibilities.  I’m also hashing out my next marathon which will most likely happen next April.

Actually I forgot, I already did a race.  When I started back running I began with 6km and increased by 2km each day. A few of my friends were running a 10km on my third day back so I jumped in with them.

Other than that I’ve been getting to some things I’ve put off for a very long time, like cleaning out the attic where my parents have lived for 36 years.

Here’s my walkman I used to rock out to in the early 90’s with my custom PowerBar sticker job! Bye-bye…

Earlier today Eric and I watched the women’s marathon on Eurosport. Luckily I found an English audio stream on the internet to compliment the images on TV.  The streams weren’t exactly synched up so the announcers would talk about something we saw one minute earlier however, it was still better than listening to a language in which I only understand ‘wiener schnitzel.’  It was a great opportunity to see how the course runs.  In fact I think it was better than touring the course in person when it’s full of pedestrians and traffic.  Watching that race got me pretty pumped to toe the line in one week’s time. Hoo-ha!

Training in Kamen, Germany continues to roll along as the overall volume decreases.  We had a good workout a couple of days ago and we’ll have a couple more really light sessions before we race.  Just enough to remind us what running marathon pace feels like without tiring us out at all.

As of this afternoon there are only three athletes left here from Canada (Rachel Seaman, a race walker, is the other. Dylan is in St. Moritz at altitude) because everyone else is competing pretty soon.  It’s pretty quiet around here, ghost town  quiet.  Unless we’re watching a Canadian on TV, such as Jessica Zelinka, Brianne Theisen, Cam Levins and Mo Ahmed last night, then it can get noisy.  By the way, that 10 000m was absolutely insane!!

Yesterday Eric and I took a 10 minute train ride to check out Dortmund.  There are a lot of shops, restaurants and pedestrian only streets right there so it’s a good way to pass an afternoon.

Since arriving in Germany I’ve noticed that safari vests are ubiquitous as they are all the rage amongst the senior crowd.  It reminds me of all the mzungus in the Nairobi airport. No one has ever questioned the functional benefits of these vests (lots of pockets, easy layer, etc) but never has the vest made such a statement in the fashion world as it is right now.

Double trouble, sandals with socks.

Half zipped for a semi-relaxed look.  (Bonus sandals with socks in the background)

You can put money on that this guy matches his shoes with his vest.

Cargo pants in case he uses all the pockets on his vest.

I felt like I was missing out so I went into a shop to see if I could pull off the look.

I was sporting a black T-shirt when the kit clearly calls for a button-up shirt with a soft pattern underneath.  In the end I just wasn’t feeling like I could rock the look and left the store less of a man.

However it didn’t take long for me to realize just how versatile the safari vest is as it looks fantastic accompanied by a black t-shirt.  One could even say the simplicity of the black t-shirt really accentuates the vest as it becomes the focal point of the ensemble.