Category: Read Run Write

forty two by forty two week seven and eight

Books Read[ing]:
14. The Mercy Journals — Claudia Casper
15. The Hatred of Poetry — Ben Lerner

Kilometres Ran:
week sixteen — 57.1
week seventeen — 43.9

To date: 974 km

I left the house for something other than running and ended up at the Paper Hound bookstore for a poetry reading hosted by Amy De’ath featuring Jeff Derksen, Danielle LaFrance, Juliane Okot Bitek and Tim Atkins, and along with Anne Carson’s behemoth chapbook collection Float and some really fantastic bits and pieces Tim brought from Crater Press I also picked up a cheap copy of The Hatred of Poetry because it was a poetry reading after all. It was also a part of the too short farewell tour for Amy and her partner Sean O’Brien as both prepared to evacuate Vancouver at the end of April. I regret not getting to know both of them better. I knew [of] Amy from publishing her work in The Capilano Review, but I actually met Sean first. He and Amy hosted a lit gathering of sorts one September evening. I remember it well as Colin Smith had just approved the final typesetting and design I’d done for Multiple Bippies and gave to go ahead to send to press. Donato Mancini, CUE Books’ guest editor for the collection, suggested we go celebrate at a friend’s place nearby mine in the West End. Sean answered the door. Donato did his best tidsoptimist impression. A couple years later, and Vancouver’s loss. Such is life.

I’m on the taper according to the schedule and it seems from the people that I follow on Strava that seem to be gearing up for the same event that I am I am the only one. It’s become difficult to trust the training plan but I’m doing my best. And I’ve been trying something new: yoga. Not really yoga. Stretching. I don’t ever stretch but I’ve started so now don’t ever is a lie. I did a Google search for yoga for runners and I found this article 5 Yoga Poses You Should Do After Every Run in Women’s Running and I’m pretty fine with gender neutrality plus I don’t think Utthan Pristhasana knows or cares if between my left and right hip flexors there is lady or dude stuff. Anyway, I like it. It hurts and I am the least flexible but it sure feels good afterwards. I ended my run today near the corner of West Pender and Bute near what will in one week be the finish line of the BMO Marathon. It also feels good. I think I’m ready.

forty two by forty two week six

Books Read[ing]:
14. The Mercy Journals — Claudia Casper

Kilometres Ran:
week fifteen — 84.8

To date: 873 km

I was looking at my bookshelf and I have no idea how this book got there or where it came from or who it came from. Actually now that I think about it I think that Elee gave it to me when she returned some books that I’d lent her and this was not one of them but it ended up with me anyway so if you’re reading this and you are missing your copy of The Mercy Journals and you want it back I might have it. But I need to finish reading it before you can have it. Oh, and wouldn’t you know it, the book is dystopian, post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. I wasn’t even trying. So far it’s okay.

I ran 36.5 kilometres on Sunday and I didn’t die, though I also got a bit bored at the end and ended up running the last couple at a slightly sub 5 minute/kilometre, which is not exactly the goal of an LSD day. I still don’t quite understand the LSD but I’m still trying to follow it. Regardless, at the end of my Easter Sunday LSD I was pretty confident that I could easily do another 6 kilometres and being that according to this schedule I’m following it was my last long run before the marathon May 7 I’m pretty happy with my mental confidence and my physical level. I’m not sure that I’m going to meet my rather lofty goal of finishing in under 210 minutes. I’m okay with that. I think. We’ll see what happens race day.

forty two by forty two week four and five

Books Read[ing]:
11. Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse — Ed. John Joseph Adams
12. Everything is Awful and You’re a Terrible Person — Daniel Zomparelli
13. Ultramarathon Man — Dean Karnazes

Kilometres Ran:
week thirteen — 80.5
week fourteen — 60.2
To date: 788 km

I didn’t want to double up weeks and yet here I am doubling up weeks and I blame my reading or lack there of. I read a story, then put the book down for who knows how long and get distracted, usually by obsessively playing The Division on Xbox. I’m an addict. It’s not my only addiction. I was reading about history of The North Face and Patagonia clothing brands in an article I cannot remember where and somehow, I don’t remember how, Dean Karnazes came up and I thought that he was sort of interesting so I got a copy of his book and read the first half in which he writes about running the Western States ultramarathon. There were bits of his biography that were close to home. For instance, I ran track in high school and then didn’t run again for nearly 20 years. Ran track is not entirely accurate. I attended a small religious private school against my will and in my senior year I decided to “make the most of it” and I signed up for just about everything. Including the basketball team. I was quick, but shot bricks. In no real school would I have had the hopes of making the team, but at ol’ KCS there were barely enough boys in grades 11 and 12 to floor a team, let alone get choosy about who gets to play and who just doesn’t have the skilz. One spring day coach says hey you’re fast do you want to run track? And I say sure and he says well the district finals are tomorrow and if you place top three you can go to provincials. So I went. No coaching or training. I didn’t have a school track suit (there wasn’t one) so I wore my basketball jersey and shorts. Sometimes when I’m out for a run I wonder how much different my life would be if I’d attended a real school with a decent track program. With any track program. I ran the 400 Metre and placed last, and I ran the 200 Metre and placed well enough to make the finals, where I placed fourth.

So I didn’t win. But I am still a winner, as for the second year in a row Air France is covering my entry fee for the BMO Marathon. I like to travel and I get the Air France / KLM / Flying Blue propaganda in my inbox and I’ve grown suspicious that not very many people read through to the bottom of that one Air France email that shows up in March in which they talk about being a sponsor of the BMO Marathon and then somewhere near the bottom there’s a click here to enter to win your entry. Sure, I’d rather a flight to just about anywhere, but I think that a lot more people enter those draws. So I’ve four weeks to go until BMO. My head thinks it’s ready but it’s not so sure about my body. My last LSD is on Easter Sunday (which, if not for Halloween, would be my favourite zombie-related holiday). I’ve mapped out a 36 kilometre route that happens to match the last half of the BMO. Zombie Sunday indeed.