Speed Trials

In the very early 1990′s, when my friends and I were but young ladies of 11 and 12, there was one book (and its sequel) that took our world by storm.  We all knew the story by heart, and keened forlornly for the kind of love that brings with it the passion, and the pain that Émilie and Ovila felt for each other.

Tome I

Tome II

It tells the story of a Émilie Bordeleaux, a school teacher in the early 1900′s in a small village in Québec. Life was hard, the work toiling and unending, and yet somehow, women and men carried on, giving birth, raising children, dealing with adversity, and too often burying their dead. The landscape painted by the author, Arlette Cousture, was so rich and vibrant, each and every teenage girl who read the book instantly fell into a world entirely unlike the one they knew.

Both books were each made into a TV series, and while I didn’t watch them when they first aired, I read the books intently, multiple times.  During a trip through Québec, I even visited the site where the first TV series was filmed. It was seeing those sets, the props, and the costumes up close and personal that got me hooked on the show. When I got home  from that trip, I borrowed each and every episode (on VHS) from the library, and watched the series straight through (all 16 hours).

école de rang / schoolhouse

Even once it was all over, the images of the show haunted me. It was the first time I’d seen that kind of stuff on TV (there are some moderately racy bits in the show, like boobies and male parts, and LOTS of innuendo – all to play up the sexual tension that exists between the two love interests) and for years – well into my twenties – I kept the images of that TV show in my mind.  I looked for the series on DVD, but came up empty handed time and time again.

That is, until my 28th birthday, when I finally found a copy online, and begged for it as my birthday present.  I couldn’t believe how excited I was to finally have it in my hands!!

This series is LONG, because there’s a LOT of shit that goes down. Like I said, it’s all about love, hate, death, friendship, marriage, duty, sickness, and winter. Winter plays a big role in the story. (to quote Gilles Vigneault: Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver!)

I don’t know why this particular story resonated so much with us French-speaking Canadian girls. Maybe it was because it told the story of a strong female heroine. Maybe it was because she lived in the place where we now live. She felt the same bitter cold winter winds, she knew the same rejuvenation that comes with spring, she ate maple syrup in March and corn on the cob in August.  Maybe it was because the love story was so classic and timeless – two lovers ruled by their hearts and not their heads. Two passionate lovers who tried but couldn’t make it work on love alone.  It’s tragic and beautiful and even through the pain of it all, you know that they wouldn’t have changed a thing, because the good times (however few) were worth it.

Maybe it’s because we were all waiting desperately for the day that someone would whisper on our ears: “je t’aime, ma belle brume.”

The Somersault Events Fall Colours Race is my favourite race in this city.  It takes place on Thanksgiving weekend (October 10 this year) and is held in beautiful Cumberland Village.  This year, I’ll be running the 10k for the third time. You can check out my race recap page to read all about the last two. Basically, my times were 51:57 in 2008, and 52:30 in 2009.

This year my goal is to run a sub 50:00 10K. I’m going to feed off the momentum of my 5k training plan, keep up with the speedwork and strength training, and with a little luck I’m hoping to kick some serious ass this October!

Here is my training plan:

Click to enlarge.

So here are some thoughts on the training plan:

Fridays are rest days. By the end of the week, I’m usually pretty burnt out, and history shows that I flake on my Friday workouts more than any other day of the week.

Wednesdays are still my “high octane” days. Tempo runs and 400 meter sprints are brutal, but I know that they are the sole reason I ran a sub 25:00 5k in July, after only recovering from my knee injury two months before.

I have to get over the mileage hump.  I tend to gravitate towards short 3k or 4.5k runs, and anything over 5k seems daunting to me. I have to get over that mentally, and realize that I CAN run 7k on a weeknight!!

I can’t wait for the 30-day Shred to be OVER!!! While it’s been helpful, it’s not my favourite thing in the world, and I’ll be happy to get back to the gym (with my favourite gym partner) and work on strength in a more sustainable form.

Oh, and yes, I am planning on running 7k the Saturday of the NSPI‘s.  All I have to do this year is sit in the grass and watch some bike polo, so it’s no big thing for me to go for a long run early in the morning before the shenanigans start. That is, if the Friday night party doesn’t destroy me first!!!

I ran 4.5km today in 24:08. It was a good run, with some hills, lots of wind resistance   and lovely views.

How do you scout your route? I have over 25 routes saved in Google Maps, of varying distances and terrains. I usually start with a goal distance (say, 4.5km) and try to mix up the terrains (some are hillier than others, some cover more pathways than streets, some are in affluent neighbourhoods) to give my legs and my eyes a variety of sensory stimulation!!

The dreaded Booth Street hill!!

Today’s route was totally based around a particular two-block path that runs adjacent to the O-Train. I love this path for several reasons, but the most important is because it’s where I taught myself to ride my bike without holding onto the handlebars when I was 13 years old. Though it was only a very small part of my route, it was my favourite part, and I even named this route “Path Run”.

Google Street View – Gotta love it!

I’m also one of those people who HATES it when I have to travel to get to my run. Most, if not all, of my routes start either at my home or at my work.  Luckily, I work right next to the Rideau Canal, and I live in a great neighbourhood where I have easy access to paths and to beautiful residential streets right outside my front door. It makes for a nice diversity of routes, so I never get bored.

Let me know how you scout your routes.  Do you have neighbourhoods that you love to run in? Or do you stick to the paths, or tracks, to get your miles in? Any secret spots that nobody knows of (yet)??

Just finished this skirt from Stitch magazine – and while I really loved the idea of this skirt, and had wanted to make it for quite some time, I must say that I’m not in love with the finished product.

from the magazine

my version

Perhaps it’s because of my choice of fabric and notions. I cut up my old duvet cover for the skirt, and the contrasting lining was a fitted sheet I bought at Value Village for $2.99. While I love both fabrics, and how well they work together, they were just too flimsy for such a structured skirt. I think I needed fabrics that could hold their shape more. But the advantage of wearing your old duvet cover is that you constantly feel like you’re tucked in bed!

The buttons were a splurge, purchased new, and I really like them. But I think they overpower the skirt – their colour is too contrasting, their weight and size too heavy for such light fabrics.

Also, the pattern wasn’t the easiest to follow. It came straight out of the magazine, and was printed on both sides, so I had to trace everything onto my fabric with tracing paper, and making sure everything lined up took a bit more time than I would have liked (not to mention that there were 4 patterns superimposed on one another, making it even more of a headache to sort out).

When I first sewed on the buttons according to the pattern, they were too bunched together:

first attempt

I had to reposition them, which helped with the draping of the skirt, but still, I’m underwhelmed.

But to end on a positive note, I LOVE my serger!!! This skirt is totally constructed with serging, and the speed at which I finished it was AMAZING. Why sew when you can serge??? Honestly, my mind was a little bit blown away here. On another positive note, how fun are notions? I spent a good 20min picking out the buttons, and it was just about the funnest thing in the world. Will definitely be spending more time in textile stores in the near future!

When I woke up on Saturday morning, my day was wide open. But it quickly filled with things to do, and before I knew it, it was 7pm and I still hadn’t gone for my run.

Confession: I haven’t really worked out since Thursday morning. I skipped a run on Thursday afternoon, and I skipped the 30-Day Shred on Friday. We’ll blame it on the cycle of the moon, okay?

I did have a thought to just skip Saturday’s run too, since it was already getting late, but the thought of missing 3 workouts in a row didn’t sit well with me, so I strapped on my shoes and headed out the door.

Running at dusk is so lovely. The heat of the day has somewhat dissipated, and the sky looks so beautiful.

And it’s so quiet out (at least in Ottawa). There were fewer cars on the road, and I had the whole path all to myself.

I try to vary my routes between running on paths and running on roads to give my knees a bit of a break.  Luckily, in Ottawa that’s easy to do (we have LOTS of cycling and walking paths throughout the City).

In the end I ran 5.5km in 32:32 minutes. My average heart rate was around 150bpm, with some peaks when I ran up a couple of hills. I also sprinted to the finish, just for good measure.

I’m happy I went for the run. It’s so easy, when it’s that time of the month, to curl up on the couch and do nothing, but it did me wonders to go out and get back into my training. I have to start bumping up my mileage soon (in preparation for the 10k race in October) and skipping my weekly long run is NOT the way to do it!!!