12 Stupid Things

Fin

2009-12-21T07:19:00.000-08:00

We’re done! Shif and I did 12 Stupid Things (plus 5 or 6 more “bonus stupid things”) over the course of 2009 and we had a great time doing it. We ran 51 km in races, orienteered on snowshoes, climbed the CN Tower, canoed 6 km, did a duathlon, dragon boated, and biked 250 km!

Thanks to everyone who joined us or followed our fun. The first thing that we found out was that people hate saying the word “stupid”. People would ask about our “silly things”, “exciting things”, “crazy things”, or just our “things”, but would refuse to say “stupid”. We must have extremely polite friends.

Speaking of friends, we want to thank all of you who joined us at various events over the year – Missy, David and Paul, Nancy and Clare, Melinda and Diane, Lucy and John, Steve, Lesley and Maureen, Fahreen, Maria, Lisa, Dave, and Madeleine, all the Flaming Dragons, Nicki, Adrianne, my mom Nancy, brother Doug, and sister Lorna. Missy was there at the beginning and the end, the Resolution Run and the Santa Jingle, and two other events in between. David, Paul, Nancy, and Clare were in for three events each. And my sister, Lorna, did the Turkey Trot and what was probably our stupidest unofficial Stupid Thing (which Ashifa was supposed to blog about!), a 220-km (135-mi) bike ride from Boston to Provincetown in September.

The whole project was great for us. We not only got to do a lot of fun things together and with wonderful people, but it was tremendous motivation for us to get in shape and especially to become better runners. (Although oddly, despite all this healthiness, I was actually sick for three of the events – flu, vertigo, and gall bladder attack!)

Lots of people have asked if we’re going to do the 12 things again next year. We definitely won’t be so formal about it, but we plan to do lots of events. We’ll probably repeat some of our favourite events from this year, like the Snowshoe Raid, Pride Run, and Santa Jingle. We'd love to have you join us! Our biggest adventure will be the Ride to Conquer Cancer, a 200-km, 2-day bike ride from Toronto to Niagara Falls in June. We’ll be trying to raise $2500 each for cancer research (I'm sure you’ll be hearing more from us about this!).

Inspired by this year, we’ll also be upping the ante a bit next year. We’re both toying with the idea of training for a half-marathon. I’d also like to try a few new things, like a trail running race. And I’m looking for a partner to do the Muddy Buddy! Any takers? Ashifa will be starting the year off with the Toronto Polar Bear Dip, along with some friends. She's trying to convince as many people as she can to join her (maybe so she doesn't back out).

Thanks for following us this year!

Stupid Thing #12 - Santa Jingle 5K

2009-12-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

We saved the best for last.... I think the Santa Jingle 5K was our favourite event of the year! Shif and I and our friends Missy and Adrianne were among 2,400 Santas running a 5K through the chilly streets of Burlington, Ontario, last Saturday.

Santa Shif

Santa Missy gets a calf stretch

Just a few of the Santas at the start

Adrianne displays her new facial hair. The beards made
nice neck warmers, which was good considering it was -7°C
at the start.

The Santa suits were part of the race kit and you had to wear the suit to run. It was really fun to part of a herd of Santas. There were a few people out cheering us on (and probably a few very confused children). You heard lots of jokes like "catch that guy in front of you - the one in red".

Santas rolling up Maple Avenue

I decided toward the beginning that this was not going to be a terribly serious race for me (the fact that I had hardly run since the Turkey Trot may have had something to do with it). And the pictures taken in the middle of the race are evidence that I wasn't trying too hard. I did kick it in a bit over the last two kilometers. I still had a decent time, but this was the first 5K of the year where I didn't set a personal best. Shif was still in pursuit of her 30-minute race, but figured the cold and the Santa suit would probably keep from getting there. She managed to get pretty close, though - still under 31 minutes.

This was definitely one of the funnest events we did all year. The fact that we got a nice hot breakfast afterward helped! I think we'll definitely try to do this race again next year. We already have the suits, after all! We've also decided they'll be useful for future Halloweens if we want to go as a gang of Santas.

So, we're done! 12 stupid things are done (plus a few extras). I'll be back with a little wrap-up in a day or two.

Stupid Thing #11: Trotting with turkeys - and reflections on safety pins...

2009-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

(posted by Ashifa)

Our eleventh stupid thing found us in Ohio on Thanksgiving (US) morning with about 7,000 other “stupid” people. In a feeble attempt to justify the gluttony that was to follow at that evening’s dinner, the mass of us lined up to run 5 miles (8 km, for the Canadians in the crowd) at full-throttle, through the streets of Miamisburg. Some of the participants even managed to purge some of their breakfast while running, thus making even more room for their forthcoming turkey feast (yes, sadly I ran through someone’s regurgitated corn flakes before I noticed the puddle my shoe was in).

While we’ve recently been doing training runs of 5 miles and longer, this was our first 5-mile race. The psychology of this race was definitely different from our usual 5k races. Jen’s family did the race with us, and on our way to the race her brother Doug make a very astute comment – he said “the only problem with racing 5 miles is running it too fast”. Given he knows what he’s talking about (Doug has run marathons and relay ultras, so he’s been around the block a few times!) – I decided to take his advice to heart. My strategy was to scale back from my usual 5k pace a bit, to think endurance, and to keep reminding myself that pain is temporary!

So for this 8k I was aiming for 52 minutes – a 10:30 min/mile pace, which is a fair bit slower than my 5k race pace. I made it in at 51:42 – well under my goal time – so needless to say I was very happy! Jen also made it in very close to her goal time and came in at 55:58! Doug of course was back, well-rested, hydrated, and waiting for us at the finish line by the time we sauntered through (he probably even had time to run home and throw the turkey in the oven!).

Hopefully one of these days, if we keep training hard, we’ll manage to give him a run for his money! Jen’s mom, Nancy, and sister, Lorna, joined us at this race too by participating in the 1-mile walk option. It was great to be cheered in to the finish line by supportive faces! I think it was the first time that we’ve had that, and it really was quite a treat!

The 31st annual Turkey Trot was organized by the Ohio River Road Runners Club – and by organized, I mean ORGANIZED! By far the largest event we’ve attended yet, it was also the most well-organized race we’ve participated in as well. Race-kit pickup was smoother than you can imagine, pace markers were clearly visible at the start-line, and each mile marker had a digital clock with a running chrono. And of course we cannot forget the long-sleeve technical t-shirt with the picture of a giant turkey! Other race organizers can learn a thing or two from these folks!

Of course with any race kit comes a number bib, and the safety pins with which to attach the bib. We figure that between the two of us, we’ve probably amassed over 100 safety pins over the course of this year. Aside from the one or two that are used to hold up our pants that are now too big on us, most of these sit in a container on Jen’s desk, collecting dust, and waiting to be put to some use. Fortunately, today’s safety pins had a much more utilitarian destiny – they were promptly used to fix a broken toilet lever chain at Jen’s mom’s cabin (can’t have a broken toilet on Thanksgiving day!). But this got us to thinking about other innovate ways to rescue our other safety pins from their dusty destiny. Here is the start of our list – feel free to add new ideas of your own!

1) Impromptu date and have no jewellery to wear? Easy – string together safety-pins to make a dashing necklace/bracelet set!

2) Keep a few in a first-aid kit to use for closing gaping wounds if you’re too far from a hospital to be able to get stitches

3) Emergency landing feature for a hot-air balloon – if only that little boy in Colorado had one in his pocket…oh no, wait…never mind!!

4) If you happen to lose a body piercing and want to keep the hole open until you buy a new one – a well-sanitized safety pin could be your best friend!

5) Find yourself hungry and near a lake full of tasty fish just waiting to be caught? A safety pin can make a perfect fishin’ hook!

Till next time folks!

Stupid Thing #10 - Toronto Marathon 5K

2009-10-22T18:37:00.001-07:00

When you tell people you're doing the "Toronto Marathon 5K", they often only hear the first two words. Which is kind of funny.

Our "stupid thing" for October was supposed to be something far cooler than a regular old 5K - it was a night-time Halloween trail run in a conservation area. But that event was cancelled, so settled for running up and down Toronto streets again, which is spooky in a different way. The 5K is an adjunct to the bigger events, the marathon and half-marathon, and is probably largely designed as a moneymaker for the event. But, hey, we had fun. One of the perks of running in a big race is that you get a lot more free stuff. :-) Coupons... product samples... we got free cereal, energy bars, hair elastics, menstrual cramp heating pads, and more magnets than you can fit on a beer fridge. Plus a t-shirt that has a map of the marathon route on the back, so we can pretend that we ran the whole 42 kilometers.

One serious drawback of this race was that it started at 8 a.m. I learned from our last race that not eating before I run is not really a good idea. But you also don't want to be too full, so we needed to eat a significant amount of time before the race. Plus, we had to ride our bikes to the race because the subway doesn't run until 9 on Sundays. All this leads to the unfortunate requirement that we get up at a ridiculous hour on a Sunday morning. I will let you guess whose breakfast is whose.

There were about 2600 people doing the 5K, a lot of them walking. This is the biggest race we've done thus far. It's fun to be part of such a big crowd. Well, except for the walkers who refuse to heed the organizers' pleas for them to move to the back at the start line so the people who are actually running for a good time don't have to weave around them. Walkers also have a habit of traveling in packs and walking 4 or 5 abreast. Shif and I both probably lost a minute off our times just trying to get around people at the beginning of the race.The start

The race is pretty straightforward - run from Queens Park (the site of the Ontario legislature building) straight down University Avenue to Wellington, turn around, and come back. The tricky part of this is that the first half is downhill and the second half is a long consistent climb. We both tried to ride the downhill as much as we could and build up some time before we started the slog back to Queens Park. I missed the marker that indicated the 1K point, so I had no idea what my pace was until the 2K marker, when 40% of the race was over. I felt slow and sloppy, but it turned out my pace was pretty fast. And that included 15 or 20 seconds to stop and retie my shoes.

The secret to success for me when I'm running is to not think about running - to try not to think about how heavy I'm breathing, and how my form feels like crap, and how my shoulder is cramping, and how I can't possibly run anymore. If I can just distract myself a bit I can get into a rhythm. Right before the turnaround I successfully ignored myself for at least a minute because I was trying to spot Shif on the other side of the road after she made the turn. One of the good, or bad, things about out-and-back courses is that you can see how far ahead of you others are. It's especially interesting (inspiring? demoralizing?) to see the leaders (people who can run a 5K in 15 minutes) in the homestretch when you feel like you've barely started.

There was a water stop between the 2K and 3K marks, shortly after the uphill started and my heart rate had accelerated. I decided to walk through the water stop, drink the whole cup without spilling most of it on my shoes, and get my energy back. Then I was back at it and felt pretty strong. The 4K marker, we later learned, was in the wrong place. I noticed that my time for that kilometer seemed exceptionally fast, but I thought maybe I had kicked it in a little more than I thought. Based on that time, I knew I would easily make my goal 33:45, and at the same time I was getting a weird painful stitch in my shoulder (this happened in the Island Run too), so I backed off just a little bit.

As it turned out, that bad bit of information meant I didn't actually make my goal, but I still finished at 34:03. That's 39 seconds faster than at the Island Run three weeks ago - and that course was totally flat, so I was pretty happy! Shif was gunning to get under 30 minutes and didn't quite make it (30:36). 30 minutes was her goal for the end of the year, so she still has two months to break it, and I know she will. We have both come soooo far since that pokey Resolution Run in January.

After the race, we wanted to hang around and watch the half and full marathoners come in to the finish. We watched the winners of the half cross the finish line, but it was freezing (1° and we were wearing just our running clothes), so we took a warm-up break at Second Cup.

We made it back to see the half-marathoners who were finishing in more than 2 and a half hours. Those people are more inspiring than the winners. Most of them are probably first-timers and you can see how much they've suffered to get there. That's a lot of running! We got a nice spot in the sun at the last turn and cheered them on.

Shif has a big smile at the finish!

So, 10 stupid things in the books and two more to go! We already have several family members who are going to trot and/or walk the Turkey Trot with us in November. And a couple other friends have already signed on to don Santa suits with us in December! This is your last chance to be stupid with us - come along!

Stupid Thing #9 - Tour de Greenbelt

2009-10-03T05:59:00.001-07:00

Our September Stupid Thing was a cycling tour of part of Ontario's Greenbelt. The Greenbelt is a 1.8 million acre protected area that encircles the urbanized Greater Toronto Area, stretching from Niagara Falls to far east of Toronto. The land is preserved for agricultural and recreational use. The Greenbelt Foundation sponsors the Tour de Greenbelt, a series of bike rides through various parts of the Greenbelt. We chose a 23 km ride through bucolic and only-somewhat-suburbanized northern York Region. And maybe because it is our employer, the fine government of Ontario, that created the Greenbelt, several of my friends from work joined us!

Touristes de Greenbelt at the start

There were 23, 50, and 100 km options for the ride. We opted for the 23 km in hopes of enticing more people to ride with us (it worked!). This ride was billed as "mostly flat" and perfect for families and beginners. This assessment was probably made by either someone driving a car or some serious cyclist who is used to riding 100 km up and down the Niagara Escarpment. It was not mostly flat. Ashifa and I had rather stupidly decided to run hill sprints the night before, thinking this ride would not be so hard. Shortly after the ride started, we began a very long, gradual uphill where my quads told me the hill sprints had been a serious mistake. And the hills kept on coming after that. Considering we had completed a 200 km, three-day bike ride about three weeks before (our stupidest thing of the year, which Shif seems to have forgotten to blog about), it was a little embarrassing that I was the one chugging along at the rear of the pack.

David, Ashifa, and Maria at a rest stop

Paul and me, resting and stopping.
The green shirt makes it easy for friends
to locate me should I ride into a ditch.

Most of the ride was through pleasant rural areas, but there was an alarmingly high proportion of the ride on suburban roads that I wouldn't exactly call cycling-friendly, especially since this route was promoted as being great for families. But we all survived and it was actually a nice ride, just challenging enough.

Not-so-scenic Newmarket

The ride began and ended at the Newmarket farmers' market. After the ride, we were treated to a great lunch made with all local food - organic burgers, corn on the cob, fruit, and homemade cookies. And we all did a little grocery shopping at the market before we headed home. Shif and I got the best strawberries we've had all year and I spotted a purple cauliflower in David's bag.

Toronto Island Run

2009-09-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick little report on a 5k we did yesterday. Some of our dragon boat teammates invited us to do the Longboat Toronto Island Run 10K. We aren't quite up for the 10K challenge yet, but the run sounded fun so we opted for the 5K. We took the ferry over to Centre Island, along with a thousand or so other runners and others enjoying a beautiful fall weekend.

Ashifa, Nancy, Nicki, Clare, and Jen before the race
(vintage-looking photo courtesy of us having
our camera improperly set after one of
Shif's artistic missions)

The run was on a beautiful (and beautifully flat) path around the Toronto Islands. For those of you not from Toronto, the islands are a few wee little islands in Toronto's harbour. The islands are car-free and most people get there by ferry. The run featured nice views of downtown Toronto and included a section on the boardwalk facing out onto Lake Ontario. The 10K ventured out to Hanlan's Point, but didn't detour through the famous clothing-optional beach there.

Shif and I both had great races. Shif bettered her 5K personal best by more than a minute and a half and is getting very, very close to her year-end goal of 30 minutes! I improved my 5K time by a minute and 20 seconds despite having only run three times thus far in September. I like this training method - the less I run, the faster I get! Our friends also had good races - Nicki set a PR in the 10K, and Nancy and Clare outran us all.

Shif after the race
(a brush with fame... we realized afterward that the woman
behind her is on the Canadian TV show Metropia)

Our September "stupid thing", the Tour de Greenbelt, is next weekend. We have a fine bunch of urban planners from my work joining us, along with their partners and kids. Should be a great fall ride! Come join us!

Stupid Thing #8 - Sioux Lookout Blueberry Duathlon

2009-08-24T19:29:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately, our August stupid thing required a little modification. Ashifa had a scheduling conflict, so sadly we missed the Flying Chicken Run. :-( I think we'll definitely have to try to do that one next year. So instead, for our August event, we did the Sioux Lookout Blueberry Duathlon.

When we originally made up the list of stupid things, we added this event as a possible bonus "stupid thing" if we happened to possibly maybe be in good enough shape by August. Of course, at the time, we were thinking that meant if we were in good enough shape for each of us to do the whole duathlon (or triathlon) by ourselves. So, uh, yeah.... We have improved a lot since January, but, uh, yeah, not that much. Fortunately, though, you can do the event as a team! So we recruited a third person and - there you go, we were a duathlon team! We had originally thought about doing the triathlon (750 m swim, 20k bike, 5k run) but Shif, the swimmer, thought twice after hearing stories of the chilly summer they've had in Sioux Lookout. In the best of summers, the water there isn't very warm. This summer it's really chilly and there were actually several people that switched from the tri to the du for that very reason.

It was an overcast, chilly holiday Monday morning (Happy Civic Day!) for the race. Perfect weather for a race (seriously - I hate sun)! The event is part of a whole week of Blueberry Festival activities and there was a nice crowd there to cheer us on, despite the dreary weather (and lack of blueberries this year).

I (Jen) started off with the 2.5k running leg, which replaces the swim for the duathlon. The run was a pretty simple out-and-back run on the main street into Sioux Lookout. Out-and-back courses are fun because you can see just how much better real runners are than you. :-) Inspiration, this is called.

Lining up at the start of the duathlon

Me cruising into the transition area to hand of
to Fahreen, our cyclist

Me, sucking wind after my run. Dead last runner, but my
fastest race pace ever! I wonder what this triathlon volunteer
would do if I passed out.

Fahreen heading out on the bike leg, 20k on the road
leading to the Sioux Lookout airport

Shif, keeping a lookout for Fahreen

Fahreen cheerfully heading into the transition area

Fahreen handing off to Ashifa. Shif seems to be
explaining the process of removing the timing
chip from Fahreen's ankle

Our anchor! Shif heads out for the final run.

Up the hill for a tour of Sioux Lookout
(I love the fully slickered family in the foreground)

Team 353 after the race!

Mission accomplished - we finished the race in a respectable fashion. We were the slowest team, but we were all very happy with how we did. Shif set yet another personal best for the 5k! There were lots of snacks afterward and friends there to root us on. Hopefully we can try this one again individually in a year or two!

Stupid Thing #7 - Sweet Corn Challenge

2009-08-09T17:23:00.000-07:00

We've managed to get all of our stupid things in so far this year, with only a slight alteration or two. Our July stupid thing, however, was almost a no-go due to a special guest interruption by Jen's gall bladder! We were driving down to Ohio Friday night when I was beset with intense abdominal pain. We thought it was only reflux resulting from a poor (in hindsight) decision to have nachos for my birthday dinner that night. By 5:00 a.m. I could hardly stand the pain, so Shif drove me to the ER and we spent most of the rest of the day doing a comparison study of the American vs Canadian health care systems. It was a bit surreal because, after hours of intense pain, within an hour of being given some magic pharmaceuticals, I felt completely fine. It looked for a bit like I was going to become a temporary resident of Akron, Ohio, while I had gall bladder surgery, but the doctors determined the evil gall stone had moved and I was fine to head back home and have surgery in the land of socialized medicine.

This put us in a bit of a quandary regarding the July stupid thing, which was the reason we had traveled to Ohio in the first place. I felt fine by bike-ride time Sunday morning and the doctors said I couldn't really make the situation worse by exercising. I was fairly tired from lack of sleep and a wee bit of stress, and more than a little gun-shy about the whole thing, so we decided that we'd skip the hilly 25-mile route we were supposed to do and just do the much more relaxed family 10-mile ride. We even got a police escort.

Us, our friend Missy, and some of her friends before the ride.
They did the serious ride while we were pedaling
with the 6-year-olds. There were four route choices - 10, 25, 50,
and 100 miles. The century ride also featured 'optional
horrendous hills.' I think we made the right choice.

Lining up for the start of the 10-mile ride. We heard that the
Sweet Corn Challenge is the biggest one-day bike ride
in Ohio, with around 2500 riders.

On the road.

The photographer is obviously trying to make another
trip to the emergency room.

Woo hoo!

Some other highlights of the trip. Who says
rural Ohio is all cornfields and white bread? Above, a
Serbian Orthodox monastery. Below, a Sikh temple.

The best part of the Sweet Corn Challenge - lunch! Pulled pork,
fresh sweet corn, and more. And you get more sweet corn
to take home. Sadly, the gall bladder diet meant I
wasn't allowed to eat the cookie and I could only nibble
on the pulled pork.

Thankfully, the gall bladder still hasn't caused any trouble. I probably won't have surgery for a few months yet, but I'm feeling fine. In fact, we've already finished our August stupid thing.... pics soon!

Pride and Remembrance Run

2009-06-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

Finishing up our June festival of 5ks was the Pride Run, which is becoming an annual event for us. We first ran it in 2006, when we were so slow we came in right before the band that was bringing up the rear. Last year, we wimped out and walked the 3k instead of running the 5k as planned. This year, we're happy to report we were even fast enough that the police still had traffic waiting at the cross streets when we passed!

The Pride Run is always a very fun event. There are always people in costume. There have been groups of (male) brides, (male) Dorothys, and cowboys in the past. Several of our friends did the race with us. Missy went as Wonder Woman. Our dragon boat teammates including Ashifa wore rainbow grass skirts. Sadly(?), I got there too late to grab a skirt. We decided to ride our bikes to the run and Missy's bike had a pedal malfunction and I ended up having to wait for the bus with the bike and got to the race just in time (to avoid the skirt).

Ashifa points out our bib numbers and wonders who

the keener was that signed us up so early. I don't know.

David and Paul also did not partake in the grass skirts,

but got into the theme with their Hawaiian shorts. They were

walking, so they offered to be our sherpas and carry

our backpacks so we could avoid the gear check line.

It was a hot day. Unlike most 5ks, the Pride Run starts at the civilized hour of 10 a.m. However, in late June, that usually means it's a little warm. But we managed to do quite well in the race. Shif came in at 32:22, which was exactly one minute faster than her time at the Runway Run two weeks ago! I arrived in 36:05. My goal had been 37 minutes, after my 37:49 finish at the Runway Run, so I was very happy. It was a great way to kick off Pride weekend. We celebrated with the crew at a patio with a pitcher of sangria and breakfast!

Toronto Pearson Runway Run

2009-06-18T16:58:00.000-07:00

There were just too many cool events in June, we couldn't pick just one. So in addition to the Mud Run, last weekend we did the Toronto Pearson Runway Run. They actually close a normally active runway. Runway 06R-24L to be precise. If you're familiar with Toronto, it's the one closest to the 401. Click here for an overhead view.

They had the runners and walkers gather before the race at one of the garages where they house the airport maintenance equipment, so we got to see some of the giant snowplows and other large objects. And lots of orange cones.

Step away from the snowplow!

Security was actually surprisingly low, considering we were about to walk out into an airport. There were police and security scattered around outside. But there was no x-raying or frisking or checking of strollers and water bottles. There was a security pup, but he didn't seem to be taking his job too seriously.

After an "opening ceremony", all of us (1200 runners and 800 walkers) were led out in a group to the runway.

Walking out to the runway. Plane is not moving. :-)

At the starting line.

Probably the world's flattest 5k course.

The race involved... running in straight lines. Run down to the FedEx plane and turn, run past the Air Canada plane and keep going to the end of runway and turn, and come back to the Air Canada plane! Shif had an awesome race and obliterated her previous best 5k time by several minutes. I did pretty well too, 20 seconds faster than my time for the Achilles 5k in March. We're happy to not be at the very back of the pack anymore!

After the race, everyone wanted to pose by the plane and on the runway. It had to be done....

The run was really fun. It was definitely a cool family event, too - there were lots of families with kids doing the 2k walk. Highly recommended to everyone for next year!

A few more pics here.

Stupid Thing #6 – Mud Run

2009-06-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

A series of “stupid things” can’t be complete without spending a Sunday morning rolling around in the mud! And so, we hauled our butts out of bed this past Sunday, and headed out to the Claireville Conservation Area to run in the 5th annual Toronto Mud Run.

The run was a 5k trail run through some swampy trails, across some knee-deep rivers, up some steep muddy hills, and through some obstacles, and it ended with a graceful leap into a giant sopping-wet mud pit! The trail was well-primed, as it had rained quite heavily the night before, making the already-muddy route even slicker…which of course made the whole experience all the more worth it!

The route began with a bit of a gravel-road run before heading onto the singletrack wooded trails. The idea (I think) was to get people running a bit so we’d be in order of speed and a bit spread out, thus avoiding a bottleneck situation on the trails and at the obstacles.

Unfortunately, these efforts didn’t pan out so well – as some of the runners (the ones doing the 10k run) took a wrong turn, and ended up getting to the obstacles at the same time as us 5k-ers, which resulted in everyone arriving at the obstacles at the same time. As you can see in the photo below, we had some long waits in the middle of the run as a result. After we waited a few minutes to cross this creek, everyone was struggling to get up a very slippery hill. You can see people already lining up. That wait was almost 10 minutes long!!

The highlight of the route came at the end as we entered the giant mud pit. Prizes were to be awarded for the most creative entrance into the mud pit. We opted for the more traditional option of stepping gingerly into the pit until we gracefully sunk knee-deep in mud, and then did the classic duck waddle trying to get our legs out without losing our shoes.

The run was definitely fun, but nothing to be taken too seriously. We got a good run in for the first half, but the delays the rest of the way meant it was more of a social outing. :-) To give you an idea, our usual pace these days for a kilometer ranges from 7:00 to 7:30, but here are our split times for this "run":

1st km - 8:13

2nd km - 8:04

3rd km - 7:48

4th km - 23:31!!!!

5th km - 10:10

After we had our fill of dirt and mud, we made our way to the outdoor communal showers that were set-up. We washed off some of the mud we were covered in, and opted to change into some fresh clean clothes before getting back into our AutoShare car. I’m guessing that car seats caked in mud would have been grounds for being kicked out of AutoShare!

You can see some more pics here.

Mud Run - it's not too late!

2009-06-04T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Mud Run is Sunday! We are mostly looking forward to it. It's not too late to join us. Registration is still open and you can register at the race.

There's a chance of rain, but it'll be warm rain - perfect for running in the mud. Our primary goals for the race are to have fun and to not get hurt!

Stupid Thing #5 - Canoe the Credit

2009-05-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

This morning we did one of our more low-key stupid things, the Canoe the Credit charity paddling event in Mississauga. The event was designed to raise money for conservation of the Credit River. Brightish and early, we met our friend Steve at Harbourfront, where we picked up Steve's canoe and Ashifa's kayak.

A good use of an AutoShare car

Getting ready at the start, along with 180 or so other paddlers

We chose to do a leisurely 6 km flatwater route. Reading about the event online yesterday, we discovered we'd be doing two laps on a little course between the QEW and Lake Shore Blvd, two of Ontario's busiest roads. This didn't exactly sound like a getaway in nature, but we're always surprised how you can find these little natural spaces even in the middle of hyperurbanity and multi-million dollar mansions. Once we got going, we sailed along reedy marshes, Ashifa spotted a deer, and Steve and I paddled right by some nesting swans. I'm sure the water was disgustingly polluted, but the wildlife was lovely! All the more reason to support conservation efforts!

Getting ready for the start

Queen Victoria blew the starting horn. Later, they had cake for her birthday.

Kayakers on the water

One of the goals of the day, besides the relaxing float along the river, was to do a little cleaning up. Each boat was given a trash bag and we got a raffle entry for each bag full of river crap that we brought back. Most people took a serious paddling lap and then spent the second lap collecting floating garbage.

Steve displaying our collection

As you might be able to guess, the two primary things that filled up our garbage bags were plastic bottles and styrofoam. But we also found a few interesting things - a shoe, two cans of spray paint, a football, three tennis balls, several wine corks, and.... two coconuts:

The event raised over $25,000 for the Conservation Youth Corps program! We had a lot of fun poking around this not-so-urban river and helping to do a little tidying up.

Airport Run - Shif's In!

2009-05-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm excited to report that Ashifa has juggled her work schedule and she's now free to protect me from loose airplanes at the Pearson Runway Run!

Registration for the run closes on June 1, so sign up soon if you want to join us! I'm guessing you won't find a flatter 5k route, so no pesky hills to worry about. And don't forget, there's a 2k walk option.

Ready to be muddy!

2009-05-04T08:35:00.000-07:00

We still have the May stupid thing - Canoe the Credit - ahead of us. That'll be fun. But what we're really looking forward to is the Mud Run June 7! The website for the Mud Run has always been blocked at work for me (Jen), but for some reason is not anymore. So I've just spent a few minutes (yes, on the taxpayers' dime) looking at pictures from the last couple years and it looks so fun! Looks like there are lots of things to climb over, tires to run through, creeks to wade. And, of course, mud to slide through. We have at least one friend joining us and we're currently trying to convince his partner that this will be a worthwhile venture.

Take a look at the pictures.... seriously, how could you not want to do this?? Come with us!

Updated List of 12+ Stupid Things

2009-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

January
Resolution Run - January 1 - Markham, Ontario
5K run or walk
DONE!

February
Salomon Snowshoe Raid - February 21 - Barrie, Ontario
3-hour snowshoe orienteering race; 5K or 10K snowshoe race
DONE!

March
Friends in Motion 10K/3K - March 22 - Toronto, Ontario
10K or 3K - run or walk
DONE!

Achilles St. Patrick's Day 5K - March 15 - Toronto, Ontario
DONE!

April
CN Tower Climb for World Wildlife Fund - April 18 - Toronto, Ontario
Climb the CN Tower
DONE!

May
Canoe the Credit - May 24 - Mississauga, Ontario
3K, 6K, or 12K flatwater or 8K whitewater canoe paddle
DONE!

June .
Toronto Mud Run - June 7 - Toronto, Ontario
5K or 10K run through trails, mud, and obstacles; 1.5K race for kids
DONE!

Other stupid things we did in June:
Toronto Pearson Runway Run – June 13 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 2K family walk/run on Runway 06R-24L at Toronto's airport

DONE!

Pride and Remembrance Run – June 27 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 3K walk

DONE!

July

Sweet Corn Challenge - July 26 - Richfield, Ohio
10, 25, 50, or 100 mi bike ride – with optional 'horrendous hills'
DONE!

August .

Blueberry Duathlon - August 3 - Sioux Lookout, Ontario
2.5K run, 20K bike, 5K run

DONE!

September .
Tour de Greenbelt – September 26 - Newmarket and Lake Simcoe, Ontario
Casual bike ride - 23K

DONE!

Other stupid thing we'll be doing in September:
GWN Dragon Boat Challenge - September 12-13 - Toronto, Ontario

DONE!

Longboat Toronto Island Run - September 20 - Toronto, Ontario

10k or 5k run, 5k walk, 1k kids fun run

DONE!

October .
Toronto Marathon 5K – October 18 - Toronto, Ontario
5k, half marathon, or marathon
DONE!

November .
Turkey Trot – November 26 – Miamisburg, Ohio - 5 mile run or walk or 1 mile walk

DONE!

December .
Santa Jingle 5K - December 12 – Burlington, Ontario
5K run

DONE!

Stupid Thing #4 - CN Tower Climb

2009-04-18T14:33:00.001-07:00

Ashifa speculated this morning that the CN Tower Climb might be the stupidest of the stupid things we're doing this year. I don't know, does it seem stupid to want to climb this.....

So, the CN Tower is 553 meters (1815') tall, and for a long time was the widely touted "world's tallest freestanding structure". It has recently been eclipsed by the Burj Dubai skyscraper. We were headed to the observation deck, 447 m (1465') up. A stairway runs the entire way up, presumably for maintenance and to rescue tourists should the many elevators fail. Twice a year, there are charity climbs where thousands of people find it fun to sweat all over these stairs.

So, early this morning (before we could interfere too much with the tourists paying $40 to go up in the elevators), about 5000 people did the climb in support of the World Wildlife Fund-Canada. Ashifa had a class to get to at 9:00, so we intended to get there early. Registration opened at 6 a.m. We were incapable of making it there that early, but we got there about 7:00 and the lines had already started. They've done this event many times, so they're a fairly well-oiled machine, but it still took us about an hour and a half from arrival to starting the climb.

Our cheesy souvenir photo. They took this right before
we started up. We look surprisingly happy and not nervous. :-)

The climb is "hands-free", meaning you can take almost nothing with you - no cameras, no cell phones, no water bottles. So we don't have any pictures of the actual climb. The stairwell is actually fairly roomy - you could get two adults side-by-side easily and there was room at each landing for a few climbers at a time to take a little time-out. The stairwell is separated by mesh from an "atrium" that runs all the way up to the top, so the climb wasn't claustrophic at all. The temperature was also pretty cool, which helped. That's probably the reason these charity climbs are in April and October. There are 144 flights, each with 12 stairs, for a total of 1776 stairs. They had a paramedic stationed every 10 or 12 flights. Most of them were reading or BlackBerrying and looked completely bored. I suppose that's a good thing.

Your reward for completing the climb is a t-shirt on which they write your finishing time. My goal was to have a time that was respectable enough that I could wear the t-shirt in public. :-) I estimated that would be about half an hour, but I could live with 35 minutes. Most of the people we saw carrying around their t-shirts had done it in 20-something minutes (the fastest people do it in 9 or 10!).

Ashifa took off right away and I didn't see her after the first flight. I've found recently that I run much better horizontally than vertically. I can run 5k with no problem, but I still get winded going up the stairs in the subway station! I set off at a reasonable pace (there was not even any pretense that I would "run" - very few people did, actually) and was kind of surprised how fast the flights flew by. They have each flight numbered, which is nice. I spent lots of time occupying my mind doing division to figure out where the quarter-way point, third-way point, etc. were. For awhile I was trying to determine the pattern of paramedic spacing. But it seemed completely random, though, so I gave up. They had posters at each landing drawn by local school kids that combined wildlife artwork and cheerful "keep climbing" slogans. I'm sure someone thought they were funny when they put one that said "Almost There!" on the first landing.

I had to stop about every 10 or 12 landings for a quick stretch and to try to remember how to breathe. Somewhere around two-thirds of the way up, I thought it would be fun to try to determine my heart rate. I tried to take my pulse, but it was too fast to count! Up toward the top, I realized that the longer I stopped, the more nauseous I felt. I had done the first half in right around 15 minutes, so I think I pushed a little too hard to try to get done in 30 minutes. So I decided just to slow down and keep moving, and I did the last 25 flights or so without stopping. After you punch your timecard at the end of the official 144 flights, there are a few bonus flights to get you up to the observation deck, but at that point you're just happy you're done. I arrived to a cheering crowd, including an already-well-rested Ashifa, who had finished a studly 9 minutes earlier!

We spent a little bit of time looking around the observation deck at the Toronto morning and walking on the surprisingly scary glass floor, then headed down in the elevator to get our t-shirts and get Ashifa to class (an hour late).

I ended up finishing in exactly 33 minutes and Ashifa did it in 24:30. Not bad for a couple first-timers! The climb is actually really fun. It's definitely a challenge, but not nearly as bad as you'd expect. We may do the United Way climb in October with my work colleagues. We should be able to do a little better by then!

Stupid Thing #3 - Friends in Motion 3K

2009-03-22T12:55:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-17T08:20:00.001-07:00

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

2009-03-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-06T08:41:00.000-08:00

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

Airport Runway Run registration is open!

2009-03-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

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

2009-03-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

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.

Stupid Thing #2 - Salomon Snowshoe Raid

2009-02-27T18:39:00.001-08:00

Well folks, “Stupid Thing” number 2 is firmly behind us, and we’re gearing up to get ready for the next one!!

The Snowshoe Raid took place under sunny skies and crisp air on February 21 at Horseshoe Valley Resort in Barrie, Ontario. Ten of us entered - five teams of two: Team Trip and Stumble, Team NOKNEES, Team C&N Express, Team Icescream, and Team Ediwa. We even had two friends who came along to cheer us on.

Armed with our topographical maps, our shiny new compasses that we didn’t really know how to use yet, and our sense of adventure, we headed off into the mayhem. When we arrived at the registration center, we were met with intimidating swaths of spandex-clad marathon-running types (150 of them to be exact) who were intensely conferencing with their teammates about their chosen routes. Grabbing our packages and maps, we too quickly set about planning our *much* less ambitious routes and trying to figure out what the red needle on our compass meant (ok, I’m exaggerating a bit).

Racers getting ready

The deal was this: 1) you get a topo map of a 16 square km region of woods, 2) there are 45 checkpoints within this space – 43 are marked on the map, 3) you have three hours to find as many as you can and return to the finish line, using only your compass and your wits.

Four of our teams at the start

Finding all 45 was out of the question for all us, so we each set our sights on a few checkpoints that we thought were achievable and set out from there. Interestingly, all 5 of our teams took completely different routes! Team C&N Express decided to take their fitness and their buns of steel and put them to the test - running up and down steep hills in the "matrix" region, scoring on many high-scoring checkpoints! Team NOKNEES got bored of finding the easy checkpoints and decided to challenge themselves with one of the steepest hills in the park – and found the checkpoint at the top of that hill! (legs hurting the next day, I’d imagine, ladies!). Team Trip and Stumble covered the greatest distance of us all – getting up to the far corner of the map and finding many checkpoints! Team Icescream (who we think win the contest for best team name) have interesting stories to tell – ask them, and maybe they’ll share!!

Shif breaking trail

Jen and I started with some easy checkpoints, and then decided to get waaay off the trails and trust in our compass – it was fun, and we managed to find 11 checkpoints without getting lost! As an added bonus, at one point our adventures found us sliding down a steep tree-covered hill on our butts – seemed the most efficient way to get down, and it certainly was the most fun (except for occasional collisions with large trees)!

Checkpoint!

Jen at the finish

A fun time was had by all, and I think I can safely say that we all exceeded our goals and expectations of ourselves! I think that this was truly the most fun I’ve ever had at an organized sporting event (sorry, Nancy – dragon boat is fun too)!! It was truly exhilarating to be off in the woods, trusting in your compass and map, pushing your body’s endurance, and seeking out these little red flag-boxes tied to trees. The glow inside me lasted for days!

Survivors - four teams and two cheerleaders in the chalet

Here are lots more pictures from the organizers of the race.

Updated List

2009-02-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

May
.
Canoe the Credit - May 24 - Mississauga, Ontario
3K, 6K, or 12K flatwater or 8K whitewater canoe paddle
A non-competitive canoe paddle down the Credit River, ending at the mouth of the river at Lake Ontario. We might try the whitewater route. There's also 3 flatwater routes. Here's a video showing last year's event. Registration is open and they expect it to fill up pretty quickly, so if you're really interested, you might want to keep checking in.

Charity: Conservation Youth Corp

June
.
Toronto Mud Run - June 7 - Toronto, Ontario
5K or 10K run through trails, mud, and obstacles; 1.5K race for kids
The ultimate in stupid fun! A fun little trail run at Claireville Conservation Area in Toronto. There are hills, river crossings, climbing walls, tunnel crawls, hay bales, obstacles, and lots of mud. The race finishes in a giant mud pit. Free t-shirts, snacks, and outdoor showers!

Registration is open! We already have at least one muddy buddy joining us!

Other stupid things we are doing in June:
Toronto Pearson Runway Run – June 13 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 2K family walk/run on Runway 06R-24L at Toronto's airport (closed for the race, hopefully). Registration is open and this fills up fast.
Charity: Credit Valley Hospital Foundation

Pride and Remembrance Run – June 27 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 3K walk – part of Toronto's Pride celebration. This is becoming an annual event for us and a few friends – come join Team 12 Stupid Things! We're going to try to hold a certain friend to her promise to run in a Wonder Woman costume. Registration is open!
Charity: Casey House and Black CAP

July
.
Sweet Corn Challenge - July 26 - Richfield, Ohio
10, 25, 50, or 100 mi bike ride – with optional 'horrendous hills'
12 Stupid Things heads south of the border for a nice little bike ride through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the rolling hills and farmland of northern Ohio, Jen's old pedaling grounds. After the ride, there's a pulled pork (or veggie burger for the Shifs of the world) and corn-on-the-cob dinner, a band, and cheap massages. And you get sweet corn to take home. Registration is open.

August
.
Flying Chicken Run - August 15 - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
5K or 10K run, 5K walk, or Little Chick Fun Run for kids under 6
Dress up as a chicken (OPTIONAL!) and run or walk through cutesy Niagara-on-the-Lake! You could step it up a notch by making chicken sounds as you run. There are prizes for the best chicken costume, and there's lots of food and a barn dance following the run. Shif and at least two of our friends have promised to run in costume! Jen is opting out, using the excuse that she plans to use this occasion to run her first 10K.

Registration is open and is limited to 500 people. Full buffet dinner is optional.

September
.
Tour de Greenbelt – September 26 - Lake Simcoe, Ontario
Casual bike ride - 25K, 50K, or 100K
A series of non-competitive bike rides through the greenbelt that surrounds the Greater Toronto Area. Get out of the city and see a bit of the beautiful Ontario countryside. All routes have rest stations along the way with porta-potties, snacks, and beverages, and the day ends with a BBQ of fresh, local food. For those of us without cars, all routes are transit-accessible or shuttle service is provided.

Dates have been announced, but there are no other details yet. We're going to do the ride on September 26 in the Lake Simcoe area. There are also rides on September 12 (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 13 (Burlington), and 27 (Durham). Registration is open!

Charity: local cycling organizations

Another stupid thing we'll be doing in September:
GWN Dragon Boat Challenge - September 12-13 - Toronto, Ontario
We'll be paddling with our team, the Flaming Dragons, in our second dragon boat regatta. Any women in the Toronto area who are interested in dragon boating can talk to us about possibly joining the team!
Charity: Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto

October
.
Trek or Treat – October 23 - Vaughan, Ontario
Night-time trail run - 5K, 10K, or family "creepy mile"
Running through a "haunted" wooded trail at night around Halloween – this might even be stupider than the snowshoe race! Costumes are optional, but not laughed at. Lots of families do this event together. Headlamps are available for rent.

Registration is open! Space is limited, so if you're really keen on this one, sign up fast! First 100 to register get a pumpkin. Check out some pictures from last year.

Other stupid things we might do in October:
Run for the Cure - October 4 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run/walk in support of a cure for breast cancer. Jen did this event a couple times in Denver and it is one of the most touching, amazing, inspiring things she's been part of. Here are some pictures from last year's run. Registration is open.
Charity: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

CN Tower Climb for United Way - October 25 - Toronto, Ontario
If you missed the chance to climb the CN Tower in April, you get to try again with Jen and her work colleagues! We'll see if we can improve our times. Registration opens in August.
Charity: United Way

November
.
Turkey Trot – November 26 – Miamisburg, Ohio
5 mile run or 1 mile walk

1 00th Annual Thanksgiving Day 10K - November 26 - Cincinnati, Ohio

10k run or walk

12 Stupid Things goes back to the US while we're in Ohio for American Thanksgiving. We'll do one of these events - which depends on which Ohioans we can rope into doing it with us. If we run 5 miles Thanksgiving morning, how much pumpkin pie can we eat later in the day??

December
.
Santa Jingle 5K - December 12 – Burlington, Ontario
5K run

To top off our series of stupid things, we'll be running a 5K dressed as Santa! There may be kids looking for gifts trying to chase us down, so we'll need to train so we can outrun the little buggers! Registration gets you a free Santa suit. And you'll need it, because all runners in the race have to wear one! We are giddy about this one, and it seems like a very cool way to finish the year. Here are a few pictures and a great video of the 2009 race.

Date and Registration Updates

2009-01-21T19:54:00.000-08:00

A few updates on some of the Stupid Things.....

Salomon Snowshoe Raid - February 21 - Registration is open (last day to register is February 18). We have 5 teams already signed up!

CN Tower Climb - The date has been announced - Saturday, April 18, and registration is open. We're probably going to have to do it early in the morning because Ashifa has a class that day. Check-in starts at the ridiculous hour of 6 a.m. Something tells me we won't be there quite that early, though.

Toronto Mud Run - June 7 - registration is open! We already have one muddy buddy committed to joining us - you should come too!

Flying Chicken Run - The date has been announced - Saturday, August 15. Registration is open and is limited to 500 people. There will be 5k and 10k run options, plus a 5k walk, and a Little Chick Fun Run for kids under 6. Full buffet dinner is optional.

Tour de Greenbelt - Dates have been announced, but there are no other details yet. We'll probably be doing a ride on either September 26 or 27. There are also rides on September 12 and 13, but we'll be dragon boating that weekend!

We don't suck as badly as we thought!!

2009-01-11T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ashifa here..... So, we have learned some interesting news...the Markham resolution run route was actually 5.2km rather than 5.0km. Sooo...assuming all other things equal, our 5k times were actually 43 minutes and 46 minutes...still pretty sucky...but just that little bit less embarrassing!

We are both currently working on making improvements to this time, and our goal for the end of 2009 is being able to run a 5k in 30 minutes. Yesterday I ran a 4k on the treadmill in 34 minutes - so hopefully it's not too unrealistic of a goal!

We wanted to also share a couple of links for those of you training for upcoming stupid things. A handy tool to calculate distance run is google pedometer: www.gmap-pedometer.com - we've found it very useful it logging our mileage no matter what town or city we might find ourselves in.

We also wanted to share an upper-body challenge that we'd invite anyone interested to join in on! It's a 6-week training program that should enable you to do 100 consecutive push-ups at the end of 6 weeks. Check it out at: http://www.hundredpushups.com/ We're both working on it, and have gotten various friends/family members on board as well!

Happy training! :-)

Stupid Thing #1 - the Resolution Run

2009-01-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

While most people were sleeping off their hangovers, a few of us decided to do our first "stupid thing" of the new year - run a 5K at -9°, over snow, ice, and occasional boulders of snow..... How does it turn out? Not so bad, actually. Shif and I were joined by our friend Missy, along with 50 or so other post-NYE celebrants, for the Resolution Run 5K on January 1 at the Running Room in Markham. The run was a pretty low-key event - there was no official timing, we ran on the sidewalk, and they hadn't bothered to ensure that the route was snow/ice-free. But, the good news - we all managed to run the entire 5K, despite our various respiratory conditions and illnesses (Missy and I had a flu, and Shif is just generally snarfy and congested at the best of times).

We didn't have to worry about running with any pesky hangovers. We had a pretty mild New Years Eve with Ashifa's family in Markham. We all barely managed to be awake at midnight. We woke up to a bright, sunny, and freaking cold New Years Day. It was about -9°C (16°F).

It's amazing how warm -9° can be, though, when you're running. :-) We went through lengthy decision-making processes before the race on how many layers to wear - Shif is often a 3-layer girl, me usually one or two. By the first kilometre of the race, I think all three of us had each pulled off an accessory or two - I carried my gloves and gaiter most of the way. The route was through a neighbourhood and around the Markville Mall, and large portions of the sidewalks that we ran on weren't cleared of snow, so it was sort of like running on a (slippery) beach in places. The sprint to the finish line was actually completely ice-covered and featured the debris of a parking lot plowing avalanche - snow "boulders" scattered on the sidewalk, and a rusted shopping cart buried within. The route also had a lot of long, gradual climbs. Since we live and run in one of the flattest neighbourhoods in Toronto, we haven't exactly done a lot of hill training.

So, given all this, we weren't exactly expecting stellar times, and we didn't get them, but I think the goal for each of the three of us was just to finish, to try to go the whole way without walking, to not be last, and to set personal benchmarks for the rest of the year. And we managed to do all of those things. Shif and Missy had done a bit more running than I had in the lead-up to the race, especially continuous running. I was still doing run/walk training and hadn't done much beyond alternating 7 minutes run/1 minute walk, so I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to run the whole way, especially when the race started with a long uphill. Ashifa and I had planned to try to run together so she could pull me along, but I told her to leave me behind pretty soon after the start because I was slower. She ended up finishing best of the three of us. But I kept plugging along, at a pretty slow pace. I'd had a cold for a couple of days, which didn't help. -9° air on a sore throat is not so nice.

Somewhere around the middle of the race, I realized that my lungs or my legs weren't going to stop me - so the only thing that would stop me would be my brain, deciding it would like to walk now; I had a very sweet and surprising realization that I could actually run the whole thing. The race also had a 5K walk option and there were a few walkers there. I could hear the lead walker coming up behind me on the last hill, around the 3 km mark, and my ego insisted that I try to hold her off, but it wasn't going to happen. She finally caught me at about 3.5 km. However, I had my moment of glory when we made the final turn onto Highway 7, the last half-kilometre - it was DOWNHILL! - and I zoomed (relatively speaking, when you're talking about passing someone who's walking) past her. The ice and avalanche on the sidewalk in the last stretch precluded what I'm sure would have been an amazing sprint to the finish, but I did manage to coast in nicely. ;-) Shif had finished a couple minutes before me, and she jogged back to run the final bit with me, then the two of us waited to cheer the sickly but studly Missy into the finish. Our flu-ridden friend managed to run the entire race - it was quite impressive.

Two years ago, Ashifa and I both ran our first 5K at the Pride and Remembrance Run. We managed to run that entire 5K, which was a pretty good achievement at the time, but I joked that the times we recorded (around 42 minutes) were probably the slowest possible for a human being to run for an entire 5 kilometres. Well, I was wrong. Hills, cold, snow, and cold and flu season gave us Resolution Run times of 45 (Shif) and 48 (Jen) minutes. But, we have our benchmarks and we look forward to improving over the course of the year. By the time we're running in Santa suits in December, we should have shaved off many minutes.

A good time was had by all, we got some sassy new running jackets, ate some post-race chocolate chip cookies and hummus, and Shif and I both won prizes in a raffle. Ready for Stupid Thing #2!

New Snowshoe Options - No Navigation!

2008-12-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

There are some new options for the February stupid thing, the Salomon Snowshoe Raid. In addition to the 3-hr snowshoe orienteering competition, they've added 5k and 10k snowshoe races. So for those of you who aren't interested in doing the map and compass thing, you can follow a marked trail. You can also do the 5k and 10k solo; the orienteering race is done in teams of two.

We're still planning to do the orienteering. Although I just discovered yesterday that Ashifa has never used a topo map before, so we're going to have to do a little practicing!

Here's the site for the Snowshoe Raid.

Snowshoe!

2008-12-01T11:59:00.000-08:00

Registration for the Salomon Snowshoe Raid, February's stupid thing, is now open. Early registration until December 31 is $100 per team of two. We've heard from several people who are interested in doing this event. If you're interested but haven't been able to convince someone else to run around in the snow with you, let us know; we can connect the partnerless. If you don't have snowshoes, they list a few options on the website for renting them.

Here are a race report and some pictures from last year's race.

If you need to brush up on your orienteering skills (which might be a good idea - notice that you're required to carry survival gear during the race!), here are some links to try:

The Snowshoe Raid website has a lot of details about the race and includes the maps used for last year's race.

Very tall

2008-11-24T16:40:00.000-08:00

We spent some time near the CN Tower this weekend and every time I walked under the tower, I looked up and thought how incredibly large it is. We did run into some friends who've done the climb, though, and they assured us that's not difficult at all. Really. They did give some advice - wear gloves. Apparently by the time you get to the top after all those who've gone before you, the banister is a bit.... wet.

We've collected a few more teammates for the first couple events. A lot of people seem to be interested in the snowshoe race, including a few who've never snowshoed. One speculated that it's pretty much like walking around in the snow in big clown shoes. Yep, pretty much. We also have a couple people willing to do the Resolution Run on New Years Day, including one coming all the way from Ohio.

Registration for the snowshoe race will be opening soon. Resolution Run registration is open now. The number of runners is limited (apparently there are lots of other who think this is a fun thing to do), so don't wait too long. Let us know once you've signed up and we'll figure out a time and place for us all to meet.

The response

2008-11-17T19:43:00.000-08:00

We've had a pretty good response so far to the stupid things idea. We've got several potential teammates - including someone who wants to do as many events as she can, a potential teammate for the two Ohio-based stupid things, someone who is as excited about the Mud Run as I am, someone who is all for the beer at the end of the St. Patrick's Day run, and someone who has no interest in running but suggested he could cook for us after all the running!

Ashifa was miffed that I had added, after her edits, the comment about us leaving our chicken suits at home for the Flying Chicken Run. She was all excited about wearing some sort of chicken attire. And now we have two friends who apparently would be happy to dress as chickens with her. We have also, as expected, encountered the friends who think we are literally stupid for doing this.

The idea that committing to this will force us to actually do something also seems to be working. Tonight it was -3° C and there was frost on the ground. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to not go running, but I went anyway - 3.8 k of run/walk!

The 12 Stupid Things

2008-11-08T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here are the 12 Stupid Things planned for 2009 (plus a few others). Most of these events are confirmed, though some dates are not available yet. We'll keep this list updated.

January
.
Resolution Run - January 1 - Markham, Ontario
5K run or walk
What better way to start the year than running a 5K in the snow and ice - the morning after New Years Eve? What could be stupider than that? Work off that hangover with an invigorating run with friends! As a gift for your stupidity, you'll get a free running jacket. Register early - it fills up fast.

February
.
Salomon Snowshoe Raid - February 21 - Barrie, Ontario
3-hour snowshoe orienteering race, 5K snowshoe race, or 10K snowshoe race
Nothing's stupider than strapping big pieces of metal and nylon to your boots and walking through the woods hoping not to get lost in the middle of winter! This is a snowshoe race combined with navigation by map and compass - teams of two have three hours to locate as many checkpoints as they can. We're very excited about this one - we think... No matter how bad it is, it'll be over in three hours. There are also 5K and 10K races on marked trails, for those who don't want to find their own way. You can rent snowshoes at the race, and there's a free post-race meal.

March
.
Unlock the City - March 28 – Toronto, Ontario
10K Amazing Race-type scavenger hunt
Ever seen those people in their matching t-shirts and clipboards running around Toronto and taking over the subway system? They look pretty stupid, don't they? Well, you can be that stupid too! Actually, more stupid – in this race, you aren't allowed to use the subway – you have to travel on foot. Teams of three have 3½ hours to use clues to find 12 secret locations around Toronto. Depending on how many people are doing this with us, we could have multiple teams. Let us know in advance!

Other stupid things we might do in March:
Achilles St. Patrick's Day 5K - March 15 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or walk or wheelchair through downtown Toronto, ending at the Steamwhistle Brewery, where we'll be treated to Irish stew and beer.
Charity: Achilles Canada

April
.
CN Tower Climb for World Wildlife Fund - April 18 - Toronto, Ontario
Climb the CN Tower
Yes, we're talking about climbing the former world's tallest freestanding structure – 144 flights of stairs and a nice view of Toronto at the top. We definitely think that this classifies as a stupid endeavour! Climbing a thousand stairs when you could just take the elevator! Believe it or not, it can actually be done in 10 minutes; they say the average person can do it in 30 or 40 minutes. We'll see how average we are. Kids can participate if they're over 42 inches tall.
Charity: World Wildlife Fund-Canada

May
.
Canoe the Credit - May 24 - Mississauga, Ontario
5K, 18K, or 25K canoe paddle
A non-competitive canoe paddle down the Credit River, ending at the mouth of the river at Lake Ontario. We'll try the fast-water routes - probably somewhere around 20 kilometres. There's also a flat-water route.
Charity: Conservation Youth Corp

June
.
Toronto Mud Run - June 7 - Toronto, Ontario
5K or 10K run through trails, mud, and obstacles
The ultimate in stupid fun! A fun little trail run at Claireville Conservation Area in Toronto. There are hills, river crossings, climbing walls, tunnel crawls, hay bales, obstacles, and lots of mud. The race finishes in a giant mud pit. Free t-shirts, snacks, and outdoor showers!

Other stupid things we might do in June:
Toronto Pearson Runway Run – June 13 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 2K family walk/run on Runway 06R-24L at Toronto's airport (closed for the race, hopefully).
Charity: Etobicoke General Hospital

Pride and Remembrance Run – June 27 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run or 3K walk – part of Toronto's Pride celebration. This is becoming an annual event for us and a few friends – come join Team 12 Stupid Things! We're going to try to hold a certain friend to her promise to run in a Wonder Woman costume.
Charity: TBA

July
.
Sweet Corn Challenge - July 26 - Richfield, Ohio
10, 25, 50, or 100 mi bike ride – with optional 'horrendous hills'
12 Stupid Things heads south of the border for a nice little bike ride through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the rolling hills and farmland of northern Ohio. After the ride, there's a BBQ chicken and corn-on-the-cob dinner, a band, and cheap massages. And you get sweet corn to take home.

August
.
Flying Chicken Run - August 15 - Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
5K or 10K run, 5K walk, or Little Chick Fun Run for kids under 6
Dress up as a chicken and run 5 km! You could step it up a notch by making chicken sounds as you run. Run or walk through cutesy Niagara-on-the-Lake. Apparently there are prizes for the best chicken costume, and there's lots of food and a barn dance following the run. We will be leaving our chicken costumes at home, but Shif is likely to cluck a bit.

Depending on how we're doing by August, we might try one of these even stupider things, too:
National Capital Triathlon - August 1 - Ottawa, Ontario
Various triathlon and duathlon options. Shif would try the Try-a-Tri (200M swim, 20K bike, 3K run) and Jen would aim for the kayak triathlon (4K paddle, 20K bike, 5K run), unless she can learn to swim by August.
Charity: Camp Quality Eastern Ontario

Blueberry Triathlon - August 3 - Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Triathlon (750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run), duathlon (2.5K run, 20K bike, 5K run), or Kids of Steel Triathlon - Part of Sioux Lookout's Blueberry Festival. Swim in the sauna-like waters of northern Ontario…. or do the duathlon where no swimming is required. Both races can also be done as a relay, with a different team member doing each section.

September
.
Tour de Greenbelt – September 26 or 27 - around Toronto, Ontario
Bike rides from 25K to 65K
A series of non-competitive bike rides through the greenbelt that surrounds the Greater Toronto Area. Get out of the city and see a bit of the beautiful Ontario countryside. All routes have rest stations along the way with porta-potties, snacks, and beverages, and the day ends with a BBQ with fresh, local food. For those of us without cars, all routes are transit-accessible or shuttle service is provided.
Charity: local cycling organizations

Other stupid things we might do in August:
GWN Dragon Boat Challenge - September 12-13 - Toronto, Ontario
We'll be paddling with our team, the Flaming Dragons, in our second dragon boat regatta.
Charity: Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto

October
.
Trek or Treat – October 16 or 23 - Oakville or Vaughan, Ontario
Night-time trail run - 5K, 10K, or family "creepy mile"
Running through a wooded trail at night around Halloween – this might even be stupider than the snowshoe race! Costumes are optional, but not laughed at. Free pumpkins! Headlamps are available for rent.

Other stupid things we might do in October:
Run for the Cure - October 4 - Toronto, Ontario
5K run/walk in support of a cure for breast cancer. Jen did this event a couple times in Denver and it is one of the most touching, amazing, inspiring things she's been part of.
Charity: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation

CN Tower Climb for United Way - October 25 - Toronto, Ontario
If you missed the chance to climb the CN Tower in April, you get to try again with Jen and her work colleagues!
Charity: United Way

November
.
Turkey Trot – November 26 – Miamisburg, Ohio
5 mile run or 1 mile walk
12 Stupid Things goes back to the US while we're in Ohio for American Thanksgiving. If we run 5 miles Thanksgiving morning, how much pumpkin pie can we eat later?

December
.
Santa Jingle 5K - December 12 – Burlington, Ontario
5K run
To top of our series of stupid things, we will be running a 5K dressed as Santa! There may be kids looking for gifts trying to chase us down, so we'll need to train so we can outrun the little buggers! Registration gets you a free Santa suit. And you'll need it, because all runners in the race have to wear one! We are giddy about this one, and it seems like a very cool way to finish the year.