Racing at the OU champs

This weekend I travelled to Kingston with my xcountry team to participate in the Ontario University Xcountry Championships. Although I placed an embarassing 96th out of 101 racers, I am still pleased with how I raced. I am brand new to the xcountry thing this year and was competing against the best of the best in terms of Ontario University xcountry runners. I joined the team at Nipissing this year with an open mind -- to challenge myself and experience what it's like to be on a Varsity team. And I think I accomplished both well.

My training this year was somewhat disrupted by the ups and downs associated with my current situation. Moving back to Waterloo for my teaching placement where I had to establish a brand new schedule and routine was a bit tricky to adjust to, only to have it all screwed around again when I came back to North Bay for a few more weeks of school. Although I didn't train as much as I had *hoped* to, I think I still noticed a bit of an improvement from the beginning of the season. Even if a lot of the improvement came from me just getting a bit more experience with "racing" itself.

One thing I learned (rather, reinforced) this year is that I do not like competing. Xcountry races are incredibly intense and start off extremely fast. And since each race is only about 4 or 5km, the intensity is maintained the entire way through. By the end of the race, I am only just beginning to feel like I'm starting to feel good. And by then, well, it's too late. However, that being said, I have come to appreciate more about pushing myself harder and thinking about the finish line as incentive.

Although I don't think I will keep up the short-distance competitions for much longer, I am glad I experienced this all. I still have my passion for running and am certain that this season will have an affect on my training for next year's half-marathon. Additionally, I have a better understanding of xcountry running now and can't wait to be able to put that to use as a teacher where I totally plan to help out with the xcountry team at whatever school I end up at!

All in all, my finish time of 23:30 for this past weekend's 5km race is something I am proud of. I now have a benchmark for my 5km PB and plan to work on improving that one with time. Even if I don't do a whole lot of races, it's still good to have something to push myself towards.

Huge thanks to Tim for taking me on the team and putting up with my "rookie" status... It's been a great experience to train and race with the Nipissing Varsity XCountry running team!

Blogger stuff

Does anyone know why my blog site is doing wonky things? Why is it that with my 3rd last post, I all of a sudden started to get a huge amount of "white space" at the top of this page? I tried republishing and removing any extra hard returns that I could see, but to no avail...

Math Rap

Looking for a good laugh?? I'd love to learn the story behind this one!

http://keithschofield.com/pi/std.html

Oh dear...

Best FAQ ever!!!

http://web14.compaq.com/falco/detail.asp?FAQnum=FAQ2859

Having worked as a tech support rep, I think I appreciate this FAQ even more than the average intelligent person... ;)

More bear news...

Just got this email from my running coach... Don't know why, but I find this whole thing hilarious.

Due to the large number of bear sightings being reported in our area, the MNR has installed a bear trap on the College Drive campus. The trap is located behind the upper residences near the entrance to the trail system (between College Drive and the back of the residences) The trap will be monitored daily by Security Services and any bears caught in the trap will be removed by the MNR. We advise everyone to avoid the trail area where the trap has been set up.
Thank you.....Facilities Operations Department

It's actually surprising me how scared I am to run by myself these days. Even when I'm running with my team while doing our warmup loop in the woods, I have extra incentive to keep pace with the rest of the group for fear of being left behind and encountering a bear on my own! Every time I hear a snap or rustle in the woods, my eyes bug out and I freak out about the possibility of being attacked. Can we say "paranoid"???

Ah... the fun of living in the great white north!

Home

There is nothing quite like the feeling of going "home". I drove home to Owen Sound last Friday and it was such a great feeling! Firstly, I am still in awe at the amazing coulours I've seen so far this year in North Bay. I swear the North must get a more beautiful fall season than the Southern Ontario regions get! Every day on my way to campus, it's like a new painting is presented to me. I was walking to campus with Kris the other morning and it was so beautiful, we had to stop and take some pictures to capture the moment!





But anyways... back to my attempt to describe this feeling - there really is nothing quite like coming home. Every time I drive into Owen Sound, I get this weird, almost giddy feeling of familiarity. Driving in the back way past Inglis Falls and by all of the subdivisions on the West side of the city, I can't help but think about how much it all feels like "home". I know every turn, and every stop sign, and even the tiniest little landmarks have some sort of memory associated with them...

Every single time, as my drive comes to an end and I turn the corner from 6th Ave onto 6th Street, I take a deep breath and sigh a sigh of relief as I see my childhood home standing strong at the end of the street, usually with mom and dad eagerly awaiting at the window for my arrival...

There's no place like home :)