General

Run 873: This time I beat the tree root

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run.

Whoops, it’s 11 days later and I’m finally running again. This was not my plan.

But a toothache and other things got in the way. On the plus side, this meant I avoided running in what will likely have been the hottest stretch of summer.

My goal today was to do a 5K, whatever the pace, and emerge intact. Success! Though there was a moment where the intact part came into question.

I had planned to run counter-clockwise, but when I got to the lake I realized I’d done that the last few times, so it was time to mix things up and be crazy by running clockwise. I started off near the dam and though my first km was a slow 5:55/km, I was pleased when the second km came in at exactly the same pace. That didn’t last, though, and by the fourth km I’d slipped all the way to 6:15/km. I picked up the pace a little and shaved an impressive 10 seconds off the last lap, bringing my overall average to 6:05/km. I really can’t expect better with so little running and so much time between runs.

On the plus side, I felt fine. I knew UI was slow, but it wasn’t an agonizing, “When will this end?!” slow, it was just a moderate pace. It was warm, but a breeze helped, so conditions were also fine. Fine all around!

But…at around the 1.8 km mark, I was running along a shaded section of trail when my right toe hit something very firm. I can’t absolutely say it was a tree root, but I’m pretty sure it was a tree root (I will confirm later). As my foot got snagged, momentum began carrying the rest of my body forward. Fortunately, the root must have been small, because almost as quickly, my toe popped over it and I was able to pull myself upright and keep running, instead of splatting, like I did in August 2016.

Knowing what happened eight years ago, I felt an especially appreciative moment in not falling. The mind is a strange thing, though, and I continued on the rest of the run unconcerned about any other tree roots.

Hopefully the next run will be on a more regular schedule and not just whenever. Also, hopefully no more tree roots. Or rocks. Or ninjas. Or anything that will snag my feet.

Still Creek, post-run.

Stats:

Run 873
Average pace: 6:05/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 11:12 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 30:37
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 20-21°C
Humidity: 59-58%
Wind: light
BPM: 156
Weight: 167.1
Total distance to date: 6,225 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: HOKA Speedgoat 6 (10/26/36)

Save, don’t update

In WordPress, if you publish a post and later make changes to it, the Publish button changes to Update, to let you know that you’re, well, updating the post.

But in version 6.6, just released, that Update button now says Save, which is more old school, but actually makes less sense in terms of publishing something (as opposed to saving a file like a word processing document). I don’t hate the change, but it seems a bit weird and doesn’t really improve anything.

However, they haven’t made anything else objectively worse with this update (that I’ve found), so kudos for that!

Also, yes, I’ve kind of stopped looking for other alternatives to WordPress since finally committing to my site redesign. I still might resume that search, but it’s on the back burner again for now. Apologies to anyone waiting for me to render a verdict!

Sometimes when I think

Sometimes I get a jolt of self-awareness, except it’s not really a jolt, it’s more something that gently pops to the fore of my thinking and I ponder it for a moment.

For example, yesterday after finishing my shortened run, I was walking along the top of the Cariboo Dam, which has railings on both sides and is fairly narrow, except for an expanded middle section where one can stand and look for herons. As I began walking across, I noticed a jogger coming down the path from the entrance to the park. The jogger might go straight and head counter-clockwise down the lake trail, or they might hook left, cross the dam and go clockwise instead. I wasn’t sure, but I figured I’d play it safe and paused in the enlarged area midway across the dam, so the runner could easily pass.

The runner did indeed ascend the stairs and ran across the top of the dam. Once she passed, I resumed my walk out of the park.

A simple thing, but it required me to observe what was happening and then change what I was doing for a few moments, to make things a little easier for someone else, in this case a person I did not know and would likely never see again. Am I patting myself metaphorically on the back for being a nice person?

Yes.

Am I doing it to puff up my own ego? No.

I point it out because this thought process occurs automatically to me. Did I inherit it from my parents? To a degree, I’d say yes. They were both kind and thoughtful people who helped others, so I am, in a way, carrying that forward.

But I also think this is how I’m wired. While there are people out there who might clear the way for the jogger, I wonder how many would see the jogger and calculate the possible results and, in a way, pre-accommodate her by moving out of the way before it was known if it would even be needed? Kind of like being pre-nice. Not many is my hunch, but it is just a hunch.

I wish more people could look at situations like this and react the same way I did. I’m an imperfect mess, but I try to pay attention and I always try to be kind to others. And as the last few days have underscored to me, there are people out there that calculatedly do the opposite, who seem to enjoy architecting misery in others in order to preserve what they’ve got. It makes me sad. It makes me a little angry, too, but mostly just sad.

Try to be thoughtful, try to be kind.

Remembering mom

My mom died last night (June 22) at the age of 89. That’s a pretty good run. The last few years of her life were rough–she suffered numerous ailments and had early-onset Alzheimer’s on top of that. I last spoke to her a few weeks ago, and her memory was reduced to things from the distant past. But she seemed to still recognize my voice, and she laughed at my dumb jokes. When she laughed, she sounded the same as she ever did.

She was kind, generous and patient (five kids probably instills a lot of patience). She could also be a bit of a rascal, but was very sneaky about it. No matter how I try, I really can’t think of anything negative to say about her. She was a great person and the world is diminished by her passing. I don’t believe in Heaven or anything, but I do think there is the possibility that something non-physical survives our lumpy old bodies. If that’s the case, I’m sure her soul or whatever it might be is out there is having a good ol’ time wherever it is that souls (or whatever they might be) gather.

I don’t have many photos of her here (she kept most of the family albums), but I was also a bit of a rascal, and loved taking “candid” shots. One I do have is below. It’s a petting zoo, possibly at Knott’s Berry Farm, circa 1974 or 1975. I’m not sure what the goat was doing, but she clearly did not like it.

Complete with rounded corners, which was the style at the time.

Thanks for everything, mom. You were the best.

It’s the first day of summer (2024) as we know it (and I feel adequate)

Good news: My favourite season has arrived. Yay! Yes yes, climate change, heat domes, etc. I don’t care, summer is still my favourite season.

Bad news: I am still sick, though improved. I was able to go out and aboot without any issue. At home, I was coughing occasionally, mostly when sitting in certain specific positions that told my body, “Now is the time to cough.” They were all the most comfortable positions, too. 🙁

Neither good nor bad news: The weather today was very summer-like, with a high temperature of 28°C and “felt like 32”. It was pretty warm compared to what we’ve been getting. We’ll get one more day of sun before YMS (Yet More Showers). I don’t think I’ve ever seen grass so lush and green on June 20th before.

Anyway, here is another shot of Hume Park, this time the lower part.

It’s the last day of spring (2024) as we know it (and I don’t feel fine)

It was actually a pleasantly sunny day for the last day of Spring 2024, with a high of 26°C (not a record). The not-fine part is related to the allergies/cold/flu/alien incubation I currently have. I slept horribly last night, but I think I am on the mend now and will hopefully at least be back to somewhat normal by tomorrow, the first day of summer.

I will frolic about if that’s the case.

In the meantime, here is a wide-angle photo of Hume Park, with the grass unusually green for mid-June:

I need a fancy new logo

With the site redesign mostly complete, I think I need a new logo, something that isn’t just literally the name of the site. Yes, I know it’s clean and efficient, but it’s also sterile and blah.

I still want something sleek and uncluttered. I will ponder.

When I tinkered around in Canva, I ended up with this:

It both does and doesn’t speak to me. It’s also full of hidden meaning that no one else would ever figure out.

But the actual logo will probably not feature a jar of pickles.