Walks: Mon. Aug. 30 & Wed. Sept. 1

We had an Alfred Hitchcock moment out on the Spit early on Saturday. Fortunately, it passed without any incident or cameo appearance by Mr. H.

I hope the Chicago gals all weathered their self-imposed 30Ks both days. The two groups in training (Chicago Full and the KW and Scotia Halfs) both have roughly 8K (with intervals) and 10K distances these weeknights.

Do we trust ourselves to do three long intervals? Here's a route for Monday.

For Wednesday, 10K will take us south of Danforth to Pape and back.

It's easy to cut either of these routes short if you just want to come out for a walk. Feel free to join us.

Pasta dinner for the K-W races in September: We have two options. One is to make use of the kitchenette in the suite at the Waterloo Hotel to DIY with lasagna. Another is to reserve a table at Ennio's Pasta about 2K further along King Street. Have a look and let us know what you think. Bob is coordinating the dinner, so please leave your preference as a comment in the blog.

Shore Things are registered in both the K-W Walking Classic 10K and the Half Marathon – it's the first half marathon for walkers only. If you haven't done so already, Sept. 1st is the last date to save money on registration. Register for your preferred event here.

Walk: Sat. Aug. 28 @ Tim's

Reykjavik wasn't the only place the Shore Things strutted their stuff on August 21st. These three beauties represented our club in style at the Midsummer Night's 15K. Love the hula skirts! Is that magic potion in the water bottles? You'll have to tell all on Saturday.

Speaking of Saturday, the Chicago marathoners are already making plans to meet at 6 am for their 27K. We feel for you, gals!

The KW/Scotia Half distance is a sprightly 11K. That sounds just about right to me. And if anyone's still thinking of training for the Rome marathon in 2011 (Eva and Cheryl?), the distance is a leisurely 5K.

Remember our date at Barbara & Ian's at 6 pm on Saturday to celebrate the marriage of Eileen & John. Check the comments in the previous post for Barbara's navigation tips, especially due to the CNE and Gardiner construction tangles. We're happy to car pool if anyone needs a ride. Just let me know.

It also happens to be Eileen's birthday on Saturday, an honour that she shares each year with Charlotte. Happy birthday to you both!

Walks: Mon. Aug. 23 & Wed. Aug. 25

We're calling this post "A Tale of Two Pools." In the first picture, some of our early-morning walkers toast you with Lou-Ann's great coffee from the Shore Things' adopted swimming pool in Toronto.

In the second, a very happy bunch of Shore Things toasts you with Viking beers from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland after brilliant showings in the Reykjavik Half & Full Marathons. Those missing from this shot are too blissed-out in the extra-hot area of this vast hotspring-fed mineral pool to care about photo opps. It's a tough life, but somebody has to live it.

Highlights in Reykjavik were amazing times for full marathoners Kamiko (5:27), Robert (5:29), Arlene (5:35) and Ruth (5:35). For Miko and Arlene, it was their very first marathon. They kept the mats down, so all our full marathoners came home with official times as well as medals. Yay! In the half, Sharon led the pack with a finish of 3:01. Check all the full marathon results here and the half marathon results here. (As an aside: Together, we have more than 3,000 pictures from Iceland… and counting.)

Chicago marathoners and Scotia/KW half marathoners, you know what your distances are this week. Once I get back to my own broadband service (some of us fly home today), I'll be able to nag you about them specifically. For now, sign in to say if you'll be out Monday or Wednesday night.

Hope you had good fun on Midsummer Night. You're all champions!

Walk: Mon. Aug. 16, Wed. Aug. 18 & Sat. Aug. 21

Panoramic view of Reykjavik from The Pearl.

Greetings from Reykjavik! We're having some email problems here, so sorry if we haven't replied to any questions. No doubt the next wave of Shore Things will be sweeping into the city early tomorrow morning. Looking forward to seeing you! Anyone who wants to have a look at more highlight pictures of our trip can check out my personal Flickr site.

This week's distances are posted on the blog. Yes, I'm going to make you look it up yourselves! (The schedule isn't showing up properly for me; probably related to the email problem.) Sign in to say where and when you'll be, and for how far.

Just want to remind the Reykjavik crew that Saturday's a loooooooooooooooooong walk. But then, you probably knew that.

Good luck to the gang at the Midsummer Night's 15K, too. Hope your walk is a dream.

Walks: Mon. Aug. 9 & Wed. Aug. 11 & Sat. Aug. 14

Surprise! It was birthday cakes (plural!) for Norma and Sharon at the Welcome Back, Trish pool party, graciously hosted by Lou-Ann and Paul. Great weather, great food and great company = great fun. 

This week, our Reykjavik crew takes off in dribs and drabs (thanks, everyone, for your good wishes), and Chicago starts to kick up the distances. Here they are for this week – including Saturday, in case I can't publish in time:

KW & Scotia Halfs: 6K & 8K (& 13K on Saturday)
Reykjavik Half: 10K & 10K (& 8K on Saturday)

Chicago Full: 13K & 8K (& 24K on Saturday)
Reykjavik Full: 16K & 6K (& 13K on Saturday)

Remember to do some interval training. It's so important to your overall performance! Sign in to let people know where you'll be and when.

A few Shore Things have also signed up for the Midsummer Night's 15K on August 21st – same day as the Reykjavik events. It's a fun evening race (complete with a pub afterwards), and always more fun in numbers. So give it a thought.

This week's birthday girl is Jeannette – girl, you need to get out more! C'mon down.

Walk: Sat. Aug. 7 @ Tim's

The evidence is in: Trish is back! We're invited to make her return a big splash at Lou-Ann and Paul's Pool Party on Saturday afternoon. Pot luck, starting at 2 pm. See you there.

Our Saturday walks include a 21K for both full-marathon groups. We recommend the 6:30 am start. You'll be happy you did once it's over.

Official summer start time remains 7 am, but sign in if you'll be there earlier (or later, for that matter).

The distances this weekend:

KW & Scotia Halfs: 10K
Reykjavik Half: 18K
Chicago & Reykjavik Full: 21K

Here's a suggested route for the long distances, broken into two chunks. We found this chunking strategy helped mitigate the length of the walk (or the sense that it was soooooooo looooooooooong) last week on our 35K walk:

- from Tim's, take the straight/bridge path along the Spit
- turnaround at the Rocks (before the bridge) for the 18K, OR at the end of the asphalt (just before the lighthouse) for the 21K – that's 8K and 11K respectively
- then take the boardwalk route to Queen and to the end of Neville Park for the turnaround – that's 10K
- back to Tim's for well-deserved coffee

This weekend's birthday girl is Norma, and we wish for a happy one. Cheers, everyone. Next time I write to you, I'll be packing for Reykjavik.

Walks: Mon. Aug. 2 and Wed. Aug. 4

Look at that glasslike lake. Wasn't it worth setting the alarm at 4:45 am on a Saturday?

The 35K (34K for some of us) crew had a lovely day for a walk. Yes, it was long, but now we know we can do it. We've done the training and nothing can stop us now. Keep that in mind, Chicago marathoners, because the same applies. Everyone liked the route, which I'll post on the blog for you to use in September.

This holiday Monday, there's a movement afoot to meet in the morning at Tim's, 8 am, rather than at Loblaws in the evening. If you prefer our usual evening walk, please sign in.

Our current weeknight schedules:

KW & Scotia Half: 8K & 6K
Reykjavik Half: 10K & 10K
Chicago Full: 11K & 8K
Reykjavik Full: 14K (or two installments on two days) and 8K

Why don't we do 8-10K on Monday? For example, the Reykjavik Full team can do 10K for endurance and a very fast 4K later in the week for speed.

Karen-Lee, if you're out there, we're wishing you a happy birthday! Sharon, birthday wishes in advance. Have a splendid day.

For those with a few spare minutes, take a look at this video of Iceland to see what the Reykja-trekkers will be enjoying soon. Note, despite appearances, that is not Bob & I you can see in the mud bath.