Stupid Thing #3 - Friends in Motion 3K

This morning, we did our last-minute replacement March Stupid Thing. Our original event, Unlock the City, sadly was rescheduled for a day we won't be in town. Not a lot of events to choose from in March, but we found the 10K/3K Friends in Motion charity run in High Park in Toronto.

We decided we weren't quite ready to tackle a 10K, so our goal was to run the 3K as fast as we could (fast being a relative term - I [Jen] have never been known for my velocity). Our average pace has been improving (shockingly) a lot in the last month or so, so we thought we'd put ourselves to the test. None of our friends decided to brave the hills of High Park in winter weather with us!

Shif trying to stay warm before the start. It was about 3°C (37°F).
They didn't have a bag check at the race, so no extra clothes!

I actually almost didn't make the race. I've been battling vertigo since Tuesday. I'm feeling a lot better, but I'm still a little wobbly. I woke up this morning with a few balance issues and I decided I would just walk the 3K. But then we got there.... and it looked so fun.... and everyone was getting ready.... and I took a little test drive and felt okay.... so I decided to run, but at a very leisurely pace. It probably wasn't very smart, but I didn't fall over.

The dizzy redhead

The 10k start

If you know anything about High Park, you know it's hilly, especially in the south half where the 3K course was. So it was just a wee bit challenging. Shif did a great job! She's improved her pace by 2.5 minutes per mile since the Resolution Run in January and she beat her goal for this race, despite going out a little too hard after finding herself at the front of the pack at the start. I actually did okay, despite the whole inner ear malfunction and not having exercised at all since Tuesday. I had to talk a couple walk breaks, but I finished in a decent time. When we mapped the route ourselves later in the day, we found that our course was actually 3.4K, so we got a little bonus running in, too. :-)

Serious runners, serious stretching

Holding up the same tree

Notice the "you're all winners" medals!

Shif doing some sort of quasi-yoga

Achilles video

Here's a video and story about a Canadian Forces amputee who did the Achilles 5k. These guys finished right after me.

999th and happy about it

So, I (Jen) decided I might as well do the Achilles St Patricks Day 5k this weekend. Ashifa as out of town for work , so it was just me. She was going to try to make it back for the finish, but after 24 hours awake and busy in the ER, she had to miss my fantastic finish. :-) It actually was pretty fantastic, by our standards. I was aiming for sub-40 minutes, which would be a couple minutes improvement on my two previous 5ks. I ended up at 38:10, and that included a stop to retie my shoes! Very happy! I finished in 999th place.

Skydome, before the 2000 runners...

It didn't even occur to me to wear green.... I was one of the few non-green runners. That whole 'St Patricks Day' part of the title of the race obviously didn't register. I also didn't partake in the free boxes of Lucky Charms.

Runners getting ready in the shadow of the CN Tower
(I still can't believe we'll be climbing up that thing next month).

Self-portraits of Runner #683 (the cell phone camera has its
limitations, namely the length of my arms)

The line for beer and chili after the race. Sadly, the chili wasn't very good.
But the beer (Steamwhistle, of course) was cold. Dr. Shif is left to question why
they were feeding dehydrated runners alcohol, but I explained that's why most
people were there in the first place.

Videos!

We're getting ready for our next Stupid Thing, the Friends in Motion 3K/10K next weekend in High Park. We're going to try the 3K and see how fast we can go. I decided to warm up with the Achilles 5K in downtown Toronto tomorrow. Shif might make it to see me finish and share in the post-race chili and beer at Steamwhistle. We maximized the use of her rental car yesterday by driving the route to make sure I wouldn't die on any of the hills. :-) If I can get over the GO tracks, I'll be set.

Doing a little youtube surfing on a Saturday morning and found some videos from some of the future events:

CN Tower Climb

Pearson Airport Runway Run

Pride Run

My boss talking about the Tour de Greenbelt

A couple videos from Trek or Treat.

Run for the Cure


And.... a video from the start of the Snowshoe Raid last month. I spotted a few members of Team 12 Stupid Things at the end.

1776 Steps for the Environment - Support Us?

In April, we'll climbing 144 flights of stairs, 1776 steps, in support of the World Wildlife Fund-Canada. If you aren't up for doing a stupid thing yourself, we politely ask that you consider (no arm twisting) sponsoring us for the climb. As outdoorsy types, it's a cause we certainly support. If you'd like to throw a toonie or a Susan B. Anthony our way, click the link below. (And, Americans, the Canadian dollar is worth about 80 cents right now, so this is a great deal for you!)

You can support either one of us by clicking here - we'll let you pick which of us you like more. :-)

Canoe the Credit registration is up

Registration for Canoe the Credit - May 24 - is now open! It's expected to fill up fast.

Airport Runway Run registration is open!

The registration for the Toronto Pearson Runway Run 2009 is open. This is a 5K run or 2K walk on a real airport runway. This one is expected to fill up fast, so sign up soon if you want to reserve a spot!

Other events that we've heard sell out fast:
Flying Chicken Run and Mud Run (registration currently open)
Trek or Treat and Canoe the Credit (both say registration will be open very soon)

Roadblock! Changes to the March Stupid Thing

Well, it was bound to happen.... something has screwed up our best-laid plans. The Unlock the City race, originally scheduled for March 28, has been postponed until April 4. So, not only is it not in March anymore, but Shif and I will be on our way to the Grand Canyon that day.

So... you are all welcome to do Unlock the City on April 4. We were really excited about it and I know a lot of others were, too. So we definitely encourage you to do it - and let us know how it goes. There are two other Unlock the City races later in the year (June and October, I think), so we might try to do one of those.

So, for our March Stupid Thing, we've had to improvise; there's not a lot going on in March. What we've settled on is the Friends in Motion 10K/3K run/walk in High Park on Sunday, March 22. We haven't decided if we're going to exhibit our blazing speed in the 3K or tough out the 10K by run/walking. We know it isn't as fun as the scavenger hunt, but we'd love to have any of you join us - it's spring, it's High Park, it's for charity, you get a t-shirt, and anybody can walk 3 kilometers!

FYI - a couple of the events later in the year have registration open or it will be open soon. Some of them are very popular, so you might want to sign up soon if it's something you're dying to you (I'm thinking of you, chicken people). The ones we've heard fill up quickly are Canoe the Credit, Flying Chicken Run, Mud Run, and Trek or Treat. The updated list and links are here.