The good news? The 20k run put my total kms for the week at 48. Not bad, but it does make we want to break 50k this week. Which might be difficult, considering my dad is coming to town and book launch season is amping up. I smell some 6am wake-up calls in my future.

Here’s the plan for this week:

Monday: 5k (and attempt to calibrate my Nike+ AGAIN. This sensor hates me.)
Tuesday: 10k
Wednesday: off (two book launches in one night!)
Thursday: 10k
Friday: yoga (yoga didn’t happen last week. I doubt it will happen this week, either.)
Saturday: 8k
Sunday: 20k

This will put me over the 50k mark for the week, a milestone I hope to stick with until it’s time to taper.

This was the first vacation Matt and I have taken since I became a “runner” so I was nervous about how would it all go. Would I find the time to run? The energy? We have a pretty hardcore travel style, where we hit the ground running every morning and see as much as we can until we collapse each night. (We really should plan better, but never think of this until our feet are blistering and I’m so exhausted I can’t keep my eyes open.) But the running and the traveling worked out fine. Better than fine, even. I got three runs run when I had only planned for one. Yay me!

Why it worked: Matt is lazy. Ha! Not really. I just get up hours before he does. Before, this usually meant I checked my email and went for coffee while he roused himself from slumber. This time, I ran. Not far. Just along the lake for about 30 minutes.

Being by the water is key. The closer one can get to water, the better life (and running) will be.

That was my plan on day one. Thanks to our adventures on Thursday, I had a vague idea where the lake was. The plan was to run to run, run for about 20 minutes, then retrace my steps back to the hotel. This turned out to be easier than I thought and I was by the lake near Soldier’s Drive in about ten minutes. I continued south, following the trail (which, weirdly, has no barrier to the lake. What if I tripped and fell? I wouldn’t put it past me.) It was glorious and amazing and for the first time, I got really *got* why people run.

Friday and Saturday were quick 5ks that took me north, along the River Walk, then down State Street back to the hotel. They were solid runs, but nothing like the magic of the first day.

Interestingly, running made our vacation better. It made me want to rent bikes and ride the trail (which we did and it was AMAZING. I am now renting a bike on every vacation I go on forever and ever), and allowed me to figure out where some attractions — the Science and Industry museum, Obama’s house and Navy Pier — were before Matt and I headed their way. Overall, it made my experience in Chicago a better one.

This was something I never expected.

What other cities are great for running? I want to go to there.

This week, it’s about geting back to normal.

Here’s the plan for this week:

Monday: off
Tuesday: 8k
Wednesday: 6k
Thursday: 8k
Friday: yoga
Saturday: 6k
Sunday: 15k

I feel as thought I had a breakthrough in Chicago, but it could just be the vacation high. We will see.

(For the record, I have little faith in myself.)

This is a weird week to kick this off, as Matt and I are headed to Chicago on Wednesday! I am very excited. I have never been and really want to eat some deep dish pizza and cheesecake and, in general, be decadent and debaucherous. So here’s the plan:

Monday: 5k
Tuesday: 8k
Wednesday: off
Thursday: off
Friday: 8k
Saturday: off
Sunday: 5k (if we get home on time and I am not exhausted!)

I hope to move the long run (15k!) to the following Monday night, but that will depend on how exhausted I am when we return. And yes, this means I am looking for a great 8k route in Chicago! Anyone have a suggestion?

All summer, I had been focusing on the Beaches Jazz Tune-Up 10k, and that result I was really happy with. Then, I don’t know. I got cocky or something. I’m also freaking out about the possibility of a serious running injury. Both my running pals Kendal and Meghan have battled big injuries this summer, so now that my left calf tends to get really tight after 5k, my reaction is to freak out and slow down. (Both Kendal and her husband Pierre have been very helpful with stretch suggestions and specialist recommends, so I’m confident I’ll be able to get this sorted out by the time my Scotiabank half rolls around).

15k would be my longest distance since the HM in May. That was dumb. I also ran a tough 8k on Thursday with Dani (if you’re reading this, Dani, you are a much better runner than you give yourself credit for). On Friday, I went to a blistering yoga class. Then on Saturday, I spent the entire race day at BookCamp.

If you add all that up, it’s not the smartest pre-race plan.

I was hoping for 1:35, planning for 1:45. The water stations were 3k apart, so my plan was to reach them in 20 minutes, then walk for a minute, then book the last 3k for a time right around 1:45 (If this plan was executed perfectly, my time would be 1:42ish). This plan worked splendidly for the first 3 water stations. I hit the 3k marker at 20 on the nose (they lied — the first water station was at 3.5k) and crossed the 5k mark at 33:15. Pierre was just past the 5k marker and it as the first time I’ve ever had a cheering squad mid-route. It was a great pick-me-up, so thanks Pierre!

Then, just before the 6k mark, my calf began to feel really tight. This is a relatively new phenomenon, the first time it happened was on the 5k PubRuns in High Park, but has made an appearance on every run that 1) involves hills and/or is longer than 5k. On the plus side, my hip felt fine. I pushed myself to the water station and did some (very) quick stretching in hopes to combat it. I came out of that water station at 41:00, which was still on pace. But it wasn’t loosening up, so I slowed down. I found the 1:45 pace fairy around 8k (running and carrying a large sign is impressive. Kudos to all the bunnies and fairies out there) and stuck with them until the 9k water station, did some more stretching and had a quick water break, and passed the 10k marker at 1:09, making the second 5k split 36:00.

10k-12k was the roughest part of the race. I was sore and starving (pre-race food: 2 pb&j sandwiches, a handful of crackers, 4 coffees, 3 apples and 3 ShotBloks. That was it for the day. Another lesson learned!), and rapidly running out of energy. It became painfully obvious I should have added more long runs to the summer training plan.

Once I passed the final water station, I felt the end coming. Only 3k left! That’s nothing! I concentrated on simply getting one foot in front of the other without pain. That worked. When I came around the corner for the final 500 metres, I booked it and passed dozens of people. (Why don’t more people sprint to the finish? It’s right there!) 1:48:23, making the final 5k split 39:00. Ouch.

This result makes me worried for the October HM. But I have 2 months to amp it up. A sub 2:10 HM is within my reach, but I’m going to need to work for it.

First ever 15k race done.

Several lessons learned.

Eat properly.

Rest properly.

Train properly.

Stop being a baby.

Master the racing mind game.

I can definitely do these things next time.

And…I’m happy to say it all worked out. I am now an Island running convert. Anyone looking for a scenic, safe route should try it.

The original plan was to hop off at Hanlan’s Point so we would get to run through the cottages on Ward Island. But after discussing our brunching options, we flipped the run so we turned around at the Hanlan’s Point ferry terminal and finished at the cottages. I’m glad we did: the boardwalk on the south of Ward’s Island makes for one hell of a finishing chute.

The morning ended with brunch at the Rectory Cafe on Ward’s Island. Paninis for all! The waitstaff was amused by our sweaty selves but they were quick with the water, coffee and delicious food. We then took a walk through the cottages and all determined that living there would be pure bliss and we are all entering the lottery. Expect a runners’ commune to pop up there one day soon.

I can’t wait to do it again.

Seriously. Anyone who ever says the city is anonymous and not-friendly needs to move to Ashby Place. There’s a sitcom waiting to happen on my 12-house laneway: the long-time residents deal with the rapid development and gentrification of the area, a young couple buys a house on the road not knowing what they are in for. It would be like Robson Arms. But way better.

Matt and I have lived on Ashby Place for little more than a year and it is awesome. All my wariness about home ownership and city living is completely gone. I love it and I know whoever buys the house next door will too!

One catch. It looks like this:

A Grey Gardens-style house if I’ve ever seen one. There is a raccoon infestation. (I know this because the raccoon entrance is in our backyard.) No plumbing. No installation. Not much of anything. For $340,000.

I think it’s ridiculously overpriced, but it could be worth it for anyone who has a large cash flow and knows someone handy. Our neighbourhood is rapidly changing, for the better. It’s a heritage home in the centre of the city. And how often to you get to make a house exactly what you want? A smart investor could turn this into a gem and make me extremely jealous.

The listing is here. Matt and I have an appointment to see the inside on Friday. I will take pictures. I cannot wait.

I haven’t found that yet. So I got a Passport to Prana.

For those not familiar with Passport to Prana, it’s an annual pass that let’s you try different yoga studios in the city. It’s available in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria, Vancouver, and Winnipeg (in addition to Toronto, of course!) and it’s A STEAL at $30. That’s right: $30 gives you access to what feels like a billion (it’s actually about 70) studios in Toronto, Oakville, Burlington and the surrounding areas. Even if you only go to three classes, it’s totally, completely worth it.

So I decided to try to chronicle my Toronto-yoga journey here. I have 52 weeks and plan to use the pass once a week, trying out as many studios and different kinds of yoga as I can.

Kula in the Annex

Class: Wednesday, 8:30pm Hot Hour
Teacher: Leah
Score: Nailing a headstand (with the teacher’s help and wall-support)

This class is a bit of a cheat. I’ve been to Kula before (it’s the home studio of my pal JK) and I love it. The temperature is right, and the teachers offer the right mix of challenges, playfulness and therapy. It can occasionally get too hokey for my tastes (a class I took near Valentine’s Day was love-themed), but overall, it’s my favorite studio I’ve been to so far. It’s just too far from my house to go to regularly. Boo.

Leah was a sub, and she was a new teacher. Her theme for the class was based on a card she got at a fairy reading — something about being playful and seeing things from a new angle. It worked better than some of the other themes I encountered. Leah’s transitions were rocky, but the class was exactly what I needed in the middle of CBC Books Giller madness.

The Yoga Sanctuary: Danforth

Class: Monday, 7:15pm, Yin
Teacher: Sue
Score: Almost falling asleep in savasana

Another cheat. Shhh, don’t tell the yoga studios! Sue’s yin class is the class I go to whenever I need to stretch and don’t want to do other yoga. I’ve been to a handful of yin classes at Moksha, but this one is hands-down my favourite. Sue is very cheerful and explanatory, which I enjoy, but she is repetitive. For example, she explains her theory behind how deer pose got its name in every class. Once a month is all I need here. But the studio is lovely and has the added bonus of being uphill and near a grocery store, so I can grab dinner supplies right after and then soar down Broadview on my way hom. (Okay, I get that this isn’t exactly fair crieria in my judging of yoga classes, but I’m new at this. Give me a break.) This class attracts a lot of newbies, which is great (welcome to yoga!) but it also means that if you look like you know what you are doing, you won’t get a lot of attention. And I like attention. I’m insecure like that.

That’s it. No more cheating. My next class needs to be a studio I’ve never been to before, with a teacher I’ve neve rhad before. I’m scared. And excited.

I just hope by the end of this I’ll be able to do a headstand.

I’ll also take real pictures next time.

There’s an email thread if you want in (Nathan keeps trying to persuade us to join Nike+. Thoughts?), and I’m hoping eventually people will step up to “host” runs in their neighbourhood, so runners can experience a variety of different routes in the city (because, let’s face it, there’s only so many times I can run the length of the Don Valley).

Since yesterday’s run was the very first one, we went easy: 5k in High Park, followed by brunch at Dr. Generosity. We had five runners and four brunchers, which was a great first-time turnout. The run itself wasn’t much of a workout, as we tried to keep together (which meant there was a lot of starts and stops), but it was great to be out running with new faces. Overall, it was a success and I hope PubRuns only grows from here.

The next run is Saturday, August 13 on Toronto Islands. I’ve never run the Islands before, but it’s about 5k from Hanlan’s Point ferry dock to the Ward Island ferry dock, so I’m hoping we can get a good 10k effort in and enjoy the Island views.

I plan to jump in the lake as soon as the run is done.

After that, we don’t have a run scheduled. Perhaps you want to host?

Margaret Atwood as a library-saving superhero seems to have no end. Her Q&A with The Toronto Star’s David Rider only fuels the fire. But Torontoist’s Hamutal Dotan explains why all this talk about libraries could actually be very, very bad for the city.

Some city political fun: @notjoshmatlow is my new favourite Twitter feed.

I don’t even own that much make-up and I want to make this make-up magnet board. [via Home Stories A to Z]

Siri Agrell profiles the people who keep Rob Ford’s customer service promise for the Globe and Mail. It’s a fascinating and complex example of how the mayor has mastered the appearance of transparency and people-first politics without actually offering either. (Also, I couldn’t help but wonder why this staff of 4 is not considered “gravy” as they are essentially conducting the same function as 311.)

Myles McNutt at Cultural Learnings does a great job of explaining why The Glee Project is equal parts the ultimate embodiment of everything right with Glee and everything wrong with Glee, and why it’s must-see TV while not being all that good.

The more I learn about 14-year-old Anika Tabovaradan (the girl who bawled while defending libraries at 2 am in last week’s executive committee council meeting), the more awesome her story becomes. Read Jayme Poisson’s story for The Toronto Star and you’ll see what I mean.

I don’t always agree with Steven Beattie (and let’s face, it sometimes I feel like it’s my job to make him as angry as possible), but his take on the Scotiabank Giller Prize Readers’ Choice (which, in case you don’t know, I am working very closely with this year as part of CBC’s coverage) is thoughtful and worth reading for anyone who spends time thinking about literary awards.