Walk: New Year's Eve or New Year's Day?

It's time to look back at the year and look forward to a new one. Remember Québec? That had to be one of the highlights of 2008. Here is the finish line again, only this time a little cooler. What will our big event be in 2009?

Why don't we make our first 2009 event the Balmy Beach Hair of the Dog at 11:30 am on January 1st? Donna is interested, Bob & I are, too, and others have mentioned their interest. It could replace our walk on Wednesday, which lands on New Year's Eve. Thursday's weather is predicted to be cool but clear. The distance is 9K, and the $20 fee covers a hot lunch. Just download a registration form at the link above.

Speaking of links, please take a little time to acquaint yourself with our web log (AKA blog). Many of you think of these messages only as emails. However, they are really forwarded to you via email every time I create a post on the blog. The web log itself is worth checking regularly, as collects lots of other useful info into one convenient place. You don't have to sign in to benefit from it. So have a look now by clicking on this link. In case you forget, a link to the web log for The Shore Things Walking Club appears at the end of each email reminder message.

See you on Thursday morning, or perhaps at Tim's on Saturday. In the meantime, have a safe and Happy New Year.

Walk: Mon. Dec. 29 @ Loblaws

Photo opp in the Distillery District
Originally uploaded by theshorethings

It looked very much like wind and rain for the Resolution 5K. However, the brave starters (and finishers) shown here were treated to sunshine, from the time our feet left the starting gate till all the door prizes were drawn. Stacey, sporting a day-glow hat, was I think our only prize winner. A great little way to end the racing season.

We'll try for 6K tomorrow evening at Loblaws, weather permitting. I'll send out another post soon about training schedules for the new year.

Nike Women's Half Marathon, October 2009:

FYI, Jan will be submitting the Shore Things into the lottery for this race. If our group is drawn, then any of us who wish to go (and get our names on the list by a certain date) would qualify to enter. The Stellar Runners raved about their experience last year. Unlike the Toronto Women's Half this year, men can participate in the San Francisco race. We'll keep you posted on this.

Post-Turkey Unstuffing (weekend walks)

Dear Weather, I would like you to remember that the song goes, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas... (not a wet one)." For reference, here's how they do it in Québec. Get it? Got it? Good.

Eighteen Shore Things and family are registered for the Resolution 5K on Sunday. Trish has emailed a car-pooling suggestion to everyone on our race list. If we missed you, please contact Trish (or me) for details. I'll leave it to you to decide whether you'll be walking both days -- but I'll be sleeping in on Saturday.

I'm sure that others will be only too eager to burn off some of those mashed potato and gravy calories. The time will be 8 am on Saturday as usual for a distance of your choosing. In January, we begin training in earnest.

Here's wishing a happy belated birthday to Eva, and early birthday wishes to Brette.

Also, happy birthday to the Shore Things blog -- it turned one year old this week.

Holiday Wishes

A client sent me this poem as a greeting for the season. I was touched by it – even more because the poet is Welsh, as my mother was – and I thought it was worth sending on. Hope you enjoy it in this weekend of snows:

SOMETIMES

Sometimes things don't go, after all
from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel
faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,
sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;
elect an honest man; decide they care
enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.
Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go
amiss; sometimes we do as we mean to.
The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow
that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you.

by Sheenagh Pugh, a poet from Wales.

(Interestingly, Pugh hates this poem. For some FAQ side reading, click here.)

Bob and I won't be there for the Monday night walk – hope some of you get together for eggnog antidoting Ks at Loblaws. Then stock up on the rich stuff afterwards.

Our Wednesday walk falls on Christmas Eve. I might be up for a walk on the morning of, rather than in the evening. For an early start on the last-minuteness of it all, I'd suggest 8 am, with a distance of 5-6K. Would there be any takers? I'll check in later to see.

Walk: Sat. Dec. 20 @ Tim's

Props with twinkle lights on to Sheila and Bob for being tonight's only hard-asses! (And I say this from behind a laptop that may soon be permanently grafted to my fingers.)

Let's hope we get a better showing for Saturday. That's showing, not snowing. With luck, the predicted weather warnings will have abated. If not, oh, what a perfect weekend for a long drive to Quebec. Know anyone like that?

Here's what EnviroCanada's weather warning says. You can thank me for the paragraph breaks; blame them for the caps. I say nothing of the content:

MOTHER NATURE IS STRIKING SOUTHERN ONTARIO WITH A SERIES OF WINTER STORMS. THE FIRST ONE WAS RELATIVELY TAME: 10 CENTIMETRES LAST NIGHT WITH VERY LITTLE WIND.

ON FRIDAY A FAST-MOVING BUT DYNAMIC STORM WILL HAVE EMERGED FROM COLORADO AND WILL RACE CLOSE TO THE LOWER GREAT LAKES.

HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO THURSDAY NIGHT REACHING THE GREATER TORONTO REGION JUST BEFORE DAWN ON FRIDAY MORNING. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 15 TO 20 CENTIMETRES ARE WIDELY EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE LOWER GREAT LAKES BY FRIDAY EVENING.

STRONG EAST WINDS OF 40 GUSTING AT TIMES TO 60 KM/H WILL DEVELOP THURSDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE ON FRIDAY. THIS WILL COMPOUND THE SEVERITY OF THE STORM GIVING NEAR WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES IN FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW.

Oh, yay. See you 8ish?

Walk: Wed. Dec. 17 @ Shoppers

It was a small but righteous bunch out on Monday night, doing a great impression of Marcel Marceau (walking into the wind). I would have posted a picture, but it blew away in a 56K gust.

Wednesday looks a bit calmer, albeit flurrier. Looks like we might get a White Christmas. Hope to see you out at our usual meeting place for 6-8K.

BTW, as gift-giving season is upon us, have another look at the Walker's Wish List posted back in April. There might be something there for someone you love, like or need to suggest gifts to.

See you soon. I'll be dressed for the season in my twinkling lights.

Walk: Mon. Dec. 15 @ Loblaws

Oh, what a beautiful mor-ning. Oh, what a beautiful day. And, think of it: By the end of this week, the days will begin to lengthen, 3 minutes a day. That's something to warm our thoughts in the dark days of winter.

Monday will be wet and mild -- until exactly the time we head out to walk. That could be both good and not so good. Let's assume that the streets will be walkable, and meet at 7 for 6K.

Looking ahead:

With the excitement around December 25th, don't forget to schedule time to pick up your race kit for the Resolution 5K.

Also, it looks like the Robbie Burns 8K is shaping up to be our first big event of 2009. Thirteen names, as far as I can see. (Please save me having to scroll through the confirmation lists -- fire off an email to me if you've registered for something.)

But let's also keep in mind the Balmy Beach Hair of the Dog 9K on New Year's Day. It leaves the Balmy Beach Clubhouse at 11:30 am, January 1st. No need to preregister, but you can download a registration form through the link on our website. $20 bucks, and it gets you a hot lunch (and I've heard you get Schnapps at the turnaround).

P.S. There's something else niggling at my mind that I was supposed to post, but for the life of me I can't recall it. If you're out there and know what it was, please add it in the comments.

Walk: Sat. Dec. 13 @ Tim's

Join us again this Saturday, same Tim's time, same Tim's channel, for an heroic 8-10K (depending on street conditions).

Whether we use it this weekend or not, here's an approximately 8K circuit that takes us:

- north from Tim's to Queen,
- west on Queen to Broadview,
- north on Broadview to Gerrard,
- east on Gerrard to Coxwell,
- west on Coxwell to Leslie and back to Tim's.

As a side note, if we do the circuit, but turn north at Carlaw rather than Broadview, that's 6K.

The magic of this route is that there's roughly 0.5K between Queen and Gerrard, with lots of north-south streets running between the two. Therefore, you can make the route 1K longer at any time, by going down then up any two of these north-southers. Have a look at this link and I hope you'll see what I mean.

I know people like variety, and this route has potential for that. One to keep in mind.

Healing thoughts go out to those of you with parents in stages of recovery, including Karin and Rainer. Hope they're feeling stronger.

See you at 8 am, everyone, dressed for the weather.

Walk: Wed. Dec. 10 @ Shoppers

Santa Shuffle Gang!
Originally uploaded by theshorethings

If only we could be in two places at once! Then I'd be able to lounge on a sunny beach at the same time as I cook the Christmas turkey in Toronto -- or I could be at our walk on Wednesday at the same time as seeing a film at Hot Docs (along with 6-7 of our Wed. regulars).

For everyone else, please have a safe walk on Wednesday. A 6K route will take you west to Greenwood, south to Danforth, and back.

YakTrax are beginning to appear in stores. Snap up a pair for just in case, or put them on your Santa list.

Speaking of which, congratulations to our festive Santa Shufflers here, including Denise in her very first 5K event. A star in the making!

And very belated happy birthday to Barb S. I really need to read my own calendar sometimes!

Walk: Mon. Dec. 8 @ Loblaws

Our own form of tune-up
Originally uploaded by theshorethings

It was a fine walk for a grey day, and our 10K went quickly. Hope the Santa Shufflers had fun, too.

Schedules are now posted on the blog for four spring races. In case you noticed these earlier, two were revised just this morning, as I realized I'd somehow skipped two weeks over Christmas. Strange how that can happen. Do have a look, and print the one(s) that apply.

I also have calendars and books to give out, which I'd like to clear off my credit card before the holiday madness kicks in. Please contact me if you'd prefer to arrange a pick-up on non-walk days.

There's a winter storm abrewin' early next week, apparently, but I think we'll avoid the worst of it on Monday night. See you at 7 for 6-8K.

Walk: Sat. Dec. 6 @ Tim's

There's something about those grey skies that makes red particularly welcome in our northern climes. Perhaps that's why Santa wears a red suit? Here, you get a vanishing perspective of reds, from our good-looking gals to Canadian Tire. But, contrary to what that road sign says, this way back to Tim's is definitely the "right way."

Good luck to all the Santa Shufflers on Saturday. For everyone else, please join me at Tim's for a bracing 10K.

FYI, I'll soon be posting four race-specific schedules to the blog. Any Peterborough Half and Chilly Half participants need to start training over the holidays. Training for our Shore Things 10-Miler begins in earnest in the new year. At the beginning of February, we'll start the schedule for the Toronto Women's Half, though we'll have to adjust it for those also doing our home-grown race. Those looking to do other races, please let me know soon.

Please read the fine print:

Trish and I plan to develop a set of four routes from Tim's, one for each direction, with text instructions and marked turnaround points. (You knew that, didn't you, Trish?) Please print up all four, and carry them in your pouch. As some of you will be doing different events, I'm asking you each to be responsible for knowing your distance, using your schedule -- and your own turnarounds, using your map.

This will help me immensely, so thanks in advance. See you soon.

Walk: Wed. Dec. 3 @ Shoppers

Maybe it is a little early for this guy. And, no, it isn't Neil Diamond -- though that's who many of our Wednesday walkers have a date with this week. For the rest of us, let's go for 8K. We can sing Neil Diamond songs for an aerobic workout. See you at 7 pm.

On the other hand, or foot, I'm highlighting Santa here because there are now eight of our gang signed up for the Santa Shuffle on Saturday. Trish tells me she might have room for one more in her family group. Email her if you'd like to be part of it.

Kelly Arnott (she of the Chilly and other races) also writes that there are still 150 Santa Suits left for the race in Burlington the following Saturday, Dec. 13th. This race benefits the St. John's Ambulance. Want to join a phalanx of 1,500 briskly moving Santas?

See. We had lots to say about the Jolly Old Fellow.