Walks: Mon. May 31 & Wed. June 2

Oh, my. Sunday was a perfect day to be at the beach: hot and sunny. But for those doing the Toronto Women's Half, the heat was unrelenting. Here's a report from Barbara:

It was soooo hot. I did not do well, partly because I am recovering from a stomach flu and the intense heat was difficult to manage. I have a time but it's not accurate as I essentially had pulled out.  Cora, Stacey's daughter, ran a great race. She knocked 20 minutes off her time from last year! Libby and Arlene looked really strong but hot. Stacey was happy to finish and Fiona too.  It was wonderful to have Eileen there as a volunteer with her ever-present smile and good cheer.

Well done, everyone. Racing in this heat takes courage. An earlier start probably would have been better – but who would think we'd be this hot in May!

On that topic, after Saturday's walk, we've decided to move our start time to 7:30. I'll remind you later in the week.

Okay, distances for Monday and Wednesday: 6K on Monday and 6K (with hills) on Wednesday.

You'll notice the posted schedule says something different for the Reykjavik Full. As this is the time when the Monday schedule goes over 10K, I'm splitting that walk into two, and adding an extra day of walks for the full marathon schedule, making it four days a week. The 5K on that schedule will be for speed. I won't ask Eva to redo the spreadsheet... just keep it in mind.

Walk: Sat. May 29 @ Tim's

If you only knew how hard we train on certain Wednesday nights! This cross-training exercise is called taking a licking. We're tough, man.

Saturday's distances:

Reykjavik Half: 6K
Chicago Full: 10K
Reykjavik Full: 16K

To beat the heat and still have a chance for coffee with the crew, the 16K group will start at 7 am.

Start time for the rest of the gang remains at 8 am for now. As summer progresses, we usually move our start time up to 7:30, probably in mid-June. Speak up if you want the early time to kick in sooner.

Saturday morning, we'll also be thinking of Niki, who's in Ottawa for her mother's memorial service. Michelle will be there as our Shore Things representative.

Before I go, some information about the garden tour in the Beach. If you recall, Norma arranged tickets for us last year. This year will be a little different. Here's info from Norma:

The Toronto Botanical Garden has chosen the Beach as the focus for their annual Through the Garden Gate tour on Father's Day weekend, June 19 and 20. This means the Beach Garden Society has cancelled their own annual garden tour to allow this to take place.

Tickets can't be purchased through the Beach Garden Society but can be purchased through the Toronto Botanical Gardens or the outlets listed below.

Visit www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca for further information or purchase tickets at number of nearby retail outlets including Bill’s Garden Centre on Pape Avenue.

Strangely, it looks like none of the ticket outlets are actually in the Beach! Odd, if you ask me.

I'll be at a press preview of the gardens on June 1st, so I can tell you all about it. But don't wait too long to get tickets if you're interested, as Through the Garden Gate occasionally sells out.

Walk: Wed. May 27 @ Shoppers

Thanks for your good wishes, everyone. As you can see from the blue skies, the weather for the Halifax Bluenose Half was fair. In fact, it was the event's best weather in seven years! Usually, it r**ns.

The scenic course takes you through the most photogenic parts of the city. Considering I had to make a pit stop, remove a stone from my shoe after the trail section and force Bob to stop while I took pictures, our chip time was a relatively okay 3:07. We had a great visit with our daughter, too.

With the Humidex, Wednesday's weather threatens to be off the charts. Does anyone want to meet in a cooler location for our 5-8K? We could go down into the valley from Shoppers, or we could meet by the lake (in the lower parking lot by Ashbridge's Bay). State your preference in the comments.

Happy birthday to Maria! Hope it was a fun one. And good luck to our hikers this week. Stay cool, gals.

Walks: Sat. May 22 @ Tim's (& Victoria Day Monday)

Both the Reykjavik Full and the Chicago Full have 13K on Saturday's schedule. If nice weather, you might do the Lighthouse route on the Spit, following the outside/eastern path there and back. If that doesn't suit, then 13K takes you to the crosswalk at Queensbury on Kingston Road, east of Fallingbrook.

If you want to save Monday night for fireworks, there's usually a group meeting at 9:30 am at Loblaws on holiday Mondays. If you prefer Monday evening, request company by announcing it in the comments.

Different schedules apply for Monday: 10K for Reykjavik Full; 5K for Reykjavik Half (yes, your schedule has begun!) and Chicago Full. The route to Rosetta McClain might be pleasant. To complete the full 10K, go down to the bluffs' edge at the bottom of Warden, there and back, and walk all the way through the park via the bluffside path. Look at the route through this link.

See you all after the Halifax Bluenose Half.

Walks: Mon. May 17 & Wed. May 19

We are mighty! Or Sharon, Susan and Miko are mighty, after finishing the Mississauga Half on this sunny Sunday. Great times, gals, (a squeak away from a sub-3 race for S & S and 2:15 for Miko, our honorary runner) and it looks like you were having a great time, too.

Most of us have a fallback or recovery this week, with distances of 6K and 5K. Let's make it a social week, with short distances and an easy pace.

Technique tips: Do your shoelaces keep coming undone? Maybe you need to relearn how to tie your laces. That last movement is the key. (It seems I've been doing mine incorrectly all these years.) Here's a how-to article from Runner's World. Plus, here's the article that ran a few years ago about ways to lace up to relieve foot pain. Worth a peek. Small details that can make a big difference.

Walk: Sat. May 15 @ Tim's

This is early last Saturday, as the sun pressed through the clouds. This Saturday, the sun should be full-strength.

Time to look for your sunscreens. Here's a repost of recommendations that Ruth received from a dermatologist (I've been using Neutrogena Ultra Sheer and find it great):

To get protection against both UVB rays and UVA rays, look for a product that contains mexoryl, helioplex, or parsol 1786. If you blank out when it comes to remembering chemical names, any product that carries the seal of the Canadian Dermatology Association will provide good broad spectrum protection. There is a list at the web site below.

http://www.dermatology.ca/patients_public/info_patients/sun_safety/recognized_sunscreens.html

The dermatologist's particular recommendations were:
La Roche Anthelios
Vichy
Neutrogena Ultra Sheer

These recommendations are based on finding a product that feels nice on your skin, so that you won’t mind using it. The most important thing is to find something you like, so that you’ll use it.

Here are our distances this week:

Halifax Half: 8K
Chicago Full: 11K
Reykjavik Full: 16K
Toronto Women's Half: 18K

The 18K group has told me they're starting at 7 am, so perhaps the Reykjavik gang will want to join them. Sign in to let people know you're coming. Everyone else, see you at 8 am.

Lots of best wishes this weekend. Congratulations in advance to Eva on reaching the milestone of Mother-in-Lawness -- not Mother-in-Lawlessness, mind. Bon voyage to Jan and Ray for your well-deserved Olé in España. And good luck to the Mississauga Half racers on Sunday. My the sun shine on all of you.

Walks: Mon. May 10 & Wed. May 12

We dodged the rain on Saturday, and it actually turned into a beautiful albeit windy morning before the deluge came as we were driving home. So you never know...

And, last Monday, look at the lovely strangers we met on our walk: Brette and David, looking happy, relaxed, and pretty good in that t-shirt, Brette.


As just about all the racers have 10K on their schedules for both walks, let's reprise last week's routes.

So Monday, we'll walk to Rosetta McClain Gardens, with one small change. If we go to the bottom of Warden, we won't need to do extra bit past the park.

Wednesday, we'll follow the route I posted last week, including hills for those who want them, and a shorter route for those who don't. I'll bring some detail maps of the hills section.

Thursday, we wish happy birthday to new Shore Thing, Janet. Have a great day, girl.


P.S. Vests again. I now have orders for nine vests (don't forget to email me with your size if you gave me verbal orders on Saturday). If we can get at least three more, we can place an order now, rather than waiting for fall. Mine was certainly welcome today. But please don't wait too long. The suspense is killing me.

Walk: Sat. May 8 @ Tim's

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all those who are mums or who have mums or who have friends who are mums.

Let's join together to walk during the window of opportunity between rain clouds. Here are our distances:

Mississauga Half: 8K
Chicago Full: 10K
Reykjavik Full: 14K
Halifax Half: 18K
Full Cup of Life (that's likely you): Any K you like.

Have I missed anyone? I believe that Bob & I are the only ones doing the long distance, and haven't decided whether to go for that hour of sleep, or to start early. Everyone else, it's an 8 am start (unless you post requests in the comments).

Walks: Mon. May 3 & Wed. May 5

Six Shore Things completed the Sporting Life 10K on Sunday – congratulations, guys, I hear you dodged the rain.

And four Shore Things volunteered as race marshals, which gave us a new appreciation of what goes into the management of a race. Each of us would do it again, despite the ungodly wake-up time. There'll be another chance to volunteer in July. If we can get a larger group out, it could be a big advantage for the Shore Things.

This week, both Monday and Wednesday have 10K distances, but there will be shorter options.

Monday, we'll walk a flat route, to just past Rosetta McClain Gardens (Fishleigh at Lakewood Ave). Wednesday will have a few hills in it, but you can loop back sooner if you'd prefer not to take them. Follow this link to a map, so you'll be familiar with the route. See you at 7 pm and 7 pm.

Happy birthday this week to MIA Shore Thing, Milka. Wherever you are, girl, have a happy one!