Category: Read Run Write

Mid Year Check In

Books Read:
20. Same Diff — Donato Mancini
21. Bad Feminist — Roxane Gay

Kilometres Ran:
week twenty six — 54 km

To date: 1,453 km

I’m trying to read 95 books this year and by 95 books what I mean is that I’m trying to read 62 books this year so that I can beat my 61/95 attempt from last year. And I’m not doing so well. At current pace I’m set to get through 42 books. Since this blog is about reading and running and I’ve spent a lot of time writing about running half and full marathons I feel the need to point out that the 2017 on pace to read and read so far numbers are coincidental. Honest. Anyway, at this point last year I had read 40 books, but I also read a lot at the beginning of 2016 and much less so towards the end of the year. So maybe the trend will reverse. It could happen. I didn’t know why it was called Same Diff instead of More Or Less I thought to myself while drinking a pint during Wednesday happy hour at the Three Brits (I’ve no shame) when like a lightening bolt from heaven I got it! and now I cannot remember. Probably because of the pints. Today I sat on a different patio in a different city drinking a different beer and also read Roxane Gay’s excerpt from her new (forthcoming?) book Hunger in the Guardian online and it was really good. I feel like I’m not allowed to read Roxane Gay (or Jessa Crispin or … ) in public for fear that people will think that I’m an MRA looking for ammo. Because I read social media and there are people that do. Both. Anyway, here are some numbers.

Books read: 21
Books needed to beat 2016: 41
Poetry: 2
Non-Fiction: 9
By Not Straight White Dudes: 7
Post-Apocalyptic: 4

I’m trying to run 2,600 kilometres this year, which is 600 km more than last year. I have obviously done better than my reading. At this point last year I had run 917 km, which was a bit behind pace but I had a couple anomalies along the way. I hurt my knee, suffered a bought of macroscopic hematuria (the first time is the most terrifying), and I stupidly neglected to take my running stuff along on my spring sojourn in Spain. This year, knock wood, other than a nasty bought of a terrible chest cold, I’ve been rather footloose. I remember that cold. I’d never had a cold like that. As an ex-smoker I was pretty sure I was going to die. I’ve gotten to that age where every little weird but new problem I immediate think cancer. I blame the internet.

But I digress. So far this year I’ve ran 1,453 km and to be on pace I would need to be at 1,300 km. I’m over 150 km ahead of pace so now I’m contemplating going for 3,000 km. But maybe instead I should read a bit more instead. Numbers!

Runs so far: 109
Average distance: 13.3 km
Runs 21.1 or farther: 17
Birds shat on by: 1
Emergency WC stops sans TP: 1

At the end of last year I set a few other goals to go along with the running and the reading, including exercising above my waist (pretty pathetic), completing six evil needlepoints (to date: zero), and figure out why I’m sick all the time and fix it. I’ve made a lot of progress on that last one since paying attention to (though not strictly following) the FODMAP Food List. So that’s good but I still have work to do on the other two. Back to work.

Scotiabank Scorcher

Books Read:
19. The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements — Sam Kean

Kilometres Ran:
week twenty four — 61.2
week twenty five — 56

To date: 1,399 km

And so continues the ongoing debate I have with myself regarding when reading non-linear non-fiction or essay collections what does read really mean. Such is the case with The Disappearing Spoon, which I did not read cover to cover (which raises another question since I read it on my iPad…). Anyway, I “read” it and enjoyed most of it. I liked Kean’s ability to dumb down hard science without it feeling dumbed down or condescending. From what I can tell there’s some chronology going on in the book with regards to periodic elements’ discovery and I really enjoyed stuff from about 1912 until about 1950 mostly due to my fascination with the science around mechanized warfare. Cheerful, I know. But I like what I like.

What I don’t much like is racing a half-marathon in mid 20 degree weather. But it turned out okay. I recall 2016’s Scotiabank Half Marathon being warm, but 2017’s was a scorcher. My goal was to run sub 1:40, which I was sure was possible but a bit ambitious. Last year’s Scotia Half I ran 1:46:46. Sunday morning was pretty typical pre-run routine except for the near hour long bus ride out to UBC at 6:15 a.m. I considered Car2Go but was worried about finding parking. I arrive and the start area was already full and the line ups for the entirely way too few port-o-lets were absurd. I opted for dehydration rather than excretion. The corral was full when I squeezed into the back at 7:25 to wait for the gun, and then we were off. I turned my Garmin on to indoors since it hasn’t managed to find a GPS signal in a few weeks (and I haven’t gotten around to contacting support). Just before 3 km I passed the 1:45 and 1:40 pacers who where running side-by-side. I don’t know either. I wanted to reach the 10 km marker in 47:30 or quicker, and when I crossed my stopwatch read 47:00*. I was right where I wanted to be, but knew from all my training on this route the next 8 km are the worst. (The hill just past 12 km up to West 4th is the worst-worst.)

I was just under 5 min/km at 17 and 18 but picked it back up going onto Burrard Bridge and then really turned it on just before 20. I crossed the finish at 1:40:26. I gave it everything I had. I think I could have broken 1:40 if the temperature had been cooler, but I’m pretty satisfied with my results: a new personal best, negative split, and 27/229 in my category. I was 397/4253 overall at 10 km and I finished 290 overall. I’ll take it.

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*Sportstats says I crossed 10 km at 48:26. I understand GPS discrepancies, but I was using a stopwatch and it read 47:00. If anyone reading this can explain that to me I’d be happy to read your explanation. Otherwise ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Summer Earworm

Books Read:
17. White Noise — Don Delilo
18. 3 Summers — Lisa Robertson

Kilometres Ran:
week twenty two — 51
week twenty three — 75.7

To date: 1,281 km

I started reading White Noise once a while ago and didn’t get past the first part which is a shame because well no. I wanted to like this book. It’s okay. If you’re trying to decide if it’s okay that I wanted to like this book, or if the book is okay, or if it’s okay that I didn’t like this book, then have fun with that. I picked up 3 Summers and was holding onto it until summer finally arrived and then it got kind of nice so I read it and then it turned awful again so my bad I guess. Kind of like when my landlord turned off the heat in my building and I took that as a sign to take my air conditioner out of storage. Premature. Also, 3 Summers is not nearly as summery as the title claims. But Robertson is a gem and everyone should read everything that she writes, he writes with minimal exaggeration but weirdly in the third person.

I don’t have a photo to go with this entry.

The Scotiabank Half is in two weeks (well two weeks from the date that I’m going to tag this as posted but that’s another story) and I’ve been hitting the last bit of it a couple times which involves a bit of get to the route which involves me running over Burrard Bridge and then along Point Grey Road then up West 4th to Chancellor BLVD to North Marine Drive which is about 11 km from my home and that point is about the 8 km point of the Scotiabank route so I’m doing this and running down Marine to Spanish Banks and PS I don’t run with headphones and just as I’m passing the off leash part an Ice Cream truck meets me and so for the 10 km or so I have It’s A Small World After All It’s A Small Small World stuck in my head on repeat over and over and over and probably now you do too.