Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Inspirational Runners - Tahmina Kohistani Edition

This is the third Olympic-related post in my series of Inspirational Runners. Although the 2012 Games have come to a close, Olympic-fever hasn't quite dwindled just yet. An article about Tahmina Kohistani showed up in my facebook feed today and the first thought that came to my mind was, "I need to blog about her."

Kohistani is a 23-year old university student. She finished last in her 100-metre preliminary race heat with a time of 14.42 seconds. She was the slowest in her event. Rather than rise to medal-induced glory, Kohistani joined the hundreds of non-qualifiers who simply got lost in the crowd.

So what's is so special about her and why is she inspiration-worthy?

Kohistani was the only Afghani woman to compete in London and only the fourth woman from Afghanistan to ever compete in an Olympic Games. If you know anything about gender dynamics in Afghanistan, the fact that Kohistani had to train under protection of a body guard should not surprise you. Her presence at the Games in and of itself is, in fact, quite surprising.

Kohistani aspires to be a teacher. It is her goal to one day open a sports academy for young girls in Kabul. She aspires to encourage young Afghani girls to participate in sports despite the intolerance they will undoubtedly face. Over the long term, Kohistani hopes to affect change in her nation and play a part in moving Afghanistan towards a modern, tolerant mentality.

That is why she is a champion. Olympic medals have nothing to do with it!

Like Kohistani, the students sponsored through WUSC's Student Refugee Program beat incredible odds. They flee war-torn countries, live through the destitution that is a refugee camp, and yet still acquire high enough grades in school to qualify for WUSC's sponsorship program. That is why I am raising money for the program; they, too, are my champions!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Running in Ottawa - WUSC's Leadership Meeting

So I came into work at 8:00 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. today so that I could take lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (a half hour longer than usual). I needed a longer lunch so that I could do the 55 minute run required by my half marathon training schedule at lunch instead of after work like I usually do.

Here's why:

Gemma and I are heading to Winnipeg tonight (a 2-hour drive) to shack up in the Victoria Inn located 1.5K (says Google Maps) from Winnipeg International Airport. Tomorrow morning our flight to Ottawa leaves at 8:50 a.m. We arrive at Ottawa International Airport at 2:09 p.m. At that point we have to find our way either by city transit or taxi to the University of Ottawa's Residence Complex. We're staying in Marchand Residence and then busing to and from l'Universite du Quebec en Outaouais (sorry, I don't know how to get the little accents over the letters) every day for the Leadership Meeting sessions.

I can't wait!

If you haven't noticed, I love all things WUSC. I've attended the International Forum, held in November, three times now, but I have yet to attend a Leadership Meeting. We're going to spend 3 days - Friday, Saturday, Sunday - talking and acting on all things WUSC: campaigns including the Student Refugee Program (that's the campaign that I am running to raise money for - hence the connection to this blog), international volunteering, and taking action to change the world!

In the midst of all of the wonderful WUSCness, I need to fit in some training. Our days are pretty full with sessions scheduled from 8:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. Apparently the Fitness Centre at the UofO is only open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and closed Saturday and Sunday so that is not very helpful. I'm going to have to run outside...now just to find the time. Thursday is supposed to be 45 to 60 minutes of Cross-Training which would normally include an elliptical run, a stationary bike ride, weights, and core exercises. The only thing I'm likely going to be able to do of those things is core...hmm...I shall have to get creative. I'm supposed to do a 60-minute run on Saturday and a 40-minute run on Sunday - those may prove to be a bit more difficult...perhaps I can run around the airport.

I'm pretty sure I won't have time to blog while I am in my nation's capital, but I will fill you all in when I return all pumped up and inspired and ready to keep changing the world. Spending four days (I'm counting Thursday) with people that care as much about international development and specifically WUSC as I do is going to be incredible!

Running Playlist - Go Hard or Go Home

This is #4 in my series of playlist posts - Just Run, Do It Disney, Save a Stationary Bike, Ride a Cowboy, and now...Go Hard or Go Home!

Disclaimer: Many of these songs are NOT for the faint of heart. Some are sexually explicit, most contain profanities, many are both of these things.

Party Up in Here - DMX
Milkshake - Kellis
All Night Long - Buck Cherry
Sound of Madness - Shinedown
Low - Flo Rida
Till I Collapse - Eminem
Porn Star Dancing - My Darkest Days
Whiskey in the Jar - Metallica
Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Deadman
Burn It Down - Linkin Park
S&M - Rhianna
Can't Stop - Tupelo Honey
Ante Up - MOP
Shots - LMFAO
Bitch Please III - Eminem, Xzibit, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, TuPac, Ja Rule, DMX

When I make the final playlist for my half marathon I am going to have to find a way to strategically place songs off of this list so that they come on right when I start to lose hope of ever finishing. There is just something about these songs that gives me that extra push. If I had to choose one, it would, without a doubt, be Till I Collapse by Eminem. Whenever that song comes on my iPod I can magically increase my speed and push myself harder. I am sure it is entirely due to the pace of the song, but the lyrics don't hurt either.

"Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
And just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
And not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse."

Enough said.

Now, go hard and then go home, but before that give me a donation (please).


Monday, August 13, 2012

Running Outside vs. Treadmill

For the past 3 weeks or so I've been running on a treadmill as opposed to outside. I realised that this change was a necessity when the daily temperature hit above 30 degrees Celsius for a number of weeks straight. I have yet to be able to bring myself to be an early morning a.k.a before it gets incredibly hot runner so inside an air-conditioned building I went. Yesterday, it was overcast and still hovering around 20 degrees at 10 a.m. when I decided it was time to do my 50-minute run for the day. I drove my car to the edge of my favorite running path, set the timer on my fancy pedometer watch, and away I went.

Overall, I'd have to say that I prefer running outside to inside. Running and actually getting somewhere as opposed to running and never getting anywhere has its perks especially for sanity's sake. I did, however, find it a lot more difficult to pace myself outside. On a treadmill, I know exactly what speed to set the machine at and I keep that pace the entire time, give or take a few adjustments depending on how I happen to be feeling. The days that I can bring myself to hit the "up" arrow are celebration worthy. The days I have to force myself to hit the "down" arrow are not worthy of discussing here. When I ran outside yesterday, I obviously started out entirely too fast because by the time I was at 30 minutes, I was pretty exhausted. I really had to push myself to make it to 50 minutes without stopping to walk.

Running outside also comes with nature's little blunders. Not once, but twice, I stepped on a massive rock (more likely a pebble) that almost brought me to my knees. That is one of the problems with running in Vibrams; they have very little padding on the soles so that they come as close to bare-foot running as a shoe possibly can. When you step on a rock wearing Vibrams, you feel it!

The other thing about running outside, the half marathon is going to be outside. I think that statement is pretty self-explanatory.

My conclusion is that I need to try to run outside as much as I can. For a few months, that should get a bit easier. It's mid-August which means that temperature is going to start dropping considerably. From now until the snow falls, I'll try and have my feet pounding the pavement as opposed to rubbing against the rubber.

...and now for the absolutely necessary link: DONATIONS

Friday, August 10, 2012

The Hot Guy at the Gym

First, I must enter a disclaimer: I have a boyfriend and he is wonderful. We've only been together for a few short months, but I'm pretty sure I love him. Also, he doesn't ever read my blog for whatever reason so my oogling of said "Hot Guy" should never come to his attention. Joe, if you do read this...you know you rock my world...and you're way hotter than "that guy."

Everyday I go to the gym "Hot Guy" comes in like clockwork about  half way through my workout. He's not a huge beefcake (like some of the guys I glance at). He doesn't have flowing blonde locks (like this other guy I watch from time to time). He's not covered in tattoos (like a few other guys I might happen to notice). He's actually kind of short, has a slender build, and wears glasses. 

So why do I have to keep myself from staring at him constantly?! The minor reason is that his arms are rippled with well-defined muscle and if I had to pick a body part on a man that I loved most, it would have to be arms (keep it clean, folks). Strong, toned arms - yep they do it for me! Also he does these ab exercises. They're kind of like the ones in this video, but with a different machine. The other male body part that really does it for me (get your mind out of the gutter; this blog is PG-13 or maybe 14-A) is abs. On a daily basis I envision myself walking over to "Hot Guy" and asking him to raise his shirt so I can 1) see his abs and 2) touch them. Don't you think that would be fun?! If I was single, I would totally muster up the courage, but as I am happily attached, I shall simply continue to oogle from afar. I'm pretty sure he knows I watch him; in fact, he likely enjoys that I watch him...or maybe I am just a few more stare sessions away from having him ask me what my problem is. I prefer the former state of mind. 

Now you are likely thinking I am just a big ol' creep, but come on, I run for long, L-O-N-G, periods of time. I watch tv, I listen to music, and I stare at the cute boys. If it makes me less creepy, I also watch the women. The ones with the incredibly toned physiques that I am jealous of and wish I looked like. The ones that come to the gym all dolled up to walk on the elliptical trainer or ride the stationary bike for ten minutes. The ones that are skinny like I was when I was 18 and will never be again. I don't spend much time watching those skinny girls though. In all honesty (not just because I am jealous) I wouldn't want to be that skinny again. I prefer to oogle the girls that are toned with a solid core that I can tell have worked damn hard to look the way they do. Damn good!


What is perhaps the worst part of the fact that I people-watch, is the accompanying fact that wish I was invisible at the gym. I am quite self-conscious of my lack of physical fitness. The sweat spots I accumulate in unsightly places, my inability to adjust the weight machines properly, the wonderment at whether or not I am maintaining the proper workout form; it all makes me wish I had the gym totally to myself. The reality is likely that no one is watching me at all and I am just an over-anxious, crazy person. But, hey, I'm raising money for a good cause so that makes it all a-ok!

 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Inspirational Runners - Oscar Pistorius Edition

If you are watching the Olympics at all, you will have heard this man's name. Oscar Pistorius is the first Paralympian ever to compete in the Olympics. Did you catch that?! EVER! Pistorius competed in the Men's 400m and the 4x400m Relay for his home nation of South Africa. In the 400m he made it all the way to the semi-finals and while he came just short of making the finals, he is no less a champion. In a moment that demonstrates the true spirit of the Olympics, winner of the semi-final heat, Kirani James asked Pistorius to trade bib numbers with him in the finishing area of the track.

Pistorius is a 4-time Paralymic gold medalist and dons the nickname Blade Runner thanks to his carbon-fibre prosthetics. Following his Olympic debut, Pistorius has now adopted another nickname, The People's Champion. Both of his legs were amputated just below the knee when Pistorius was 11-months old. He attended his first sprint session in January of 2004 and won his first Paralymic gold in September of that same year. O ya, he also set the Paralympic record too. NBD!

Now here's something that really pisses me off. Critics of Pistorius (ya, I have no idea how this man has critics, but he does) say that his carbon-fibre prothetics give him unfair advantage in competitions. I'm not even going to acknowledge that process with any more commentary.

Some wise words from Oscar Pistorius: "You are not disabled by the disabilities you have; you are able by the abilities you have."

This guy is simply amazing and you know what else would be amazing?! A donation to the cause I am running for - I run because they (refugees) have to.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Running Playlist - Save a Stationary Bike, Ride a Cowboy!

This is installment #3 of my Running Playlist blog posts. #1 Just Run! #2 Do It Disney! I'm trying to come up with a diverse array of tunes because I get bored so quickly. The new iPod Shuffle I had to buy because I misplaced my other one has room for 2GB of music. 2GB is a lot. 2GB is about 500 songs. 2GB is about 37.5 hours of music. I sure as shit better finish my half marathon in that amount of time - about a tenth of that would be satisfying, but I'm hoping for less than that. What's really fun about having that much space for music on such an itty bitty device is that I can load all of my awesome playlists and listen to whichever ones I want. Shuffles are very basic though, so switching playlists requires a lot of skipping through individual songs, but I don't have much else to do while running anyway so $50 for 37.5 hours of music sounds good to me.

Ok, now to the playlist. I grew up in a very small town - shout out to Gilbert Plains, Manitoba (if you're lucky, you'll be able to find it on a map). In actuality, I didn't grow up in the town; I grew up on the farm and that's where my enjoyment of country music and this playlist comes from: Save a Stationary Bike, Ride a Cowboy!


  • Back Where I Come From - Kenny Chesney
  • High Maintenance Woman - Toby Keith
  • Blame It On Your Heart - Patty Loveless
  • Chicks Dig It - Chris Cagle
  • Cotton Eye Joe - Rednex
  • Last Name - Carrie Underwood
  • Pick Up Man - Joe Diffie
  • Watermelon Crawl - Tracy Byrd
  • Better Things To Do - Terry Clark
  • Kick A Little - Little Texas
  • Boot Scootin Boogie - Brooks & Dunn
  • Up - Shania Twain
  • These Are My People - Rodney Atkins
  • I Like It, I Love It - Tim McGraw
  • You Can't Lose Me - Faith Hill
  • Kiss This - Aaron Tippin
  • Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy - Big & Rich

Clearly the title of this playlist is inspired by the last song on the list. I don't care how you do it, just sweat a little from time-to-time! I only included one song from each artist on the list, but if I had to pick just one country music artist to run to, I'd pick Toby Keith. He's got a bunch of upbeat songs perfect for working out. A few others I enjoy are: How Do Like Me Now, Shoulda Been a Cowboy, Beer For My Horses (Willie can rock!), Red Solo Cup, and I Love This Bar. I Love This Bar is kind of slow, but it was huge when I was in college and it brings back some of the best memories I have from those two years of my life. Sometimes a song doesn't have to be upbeat to give you that extra get-up-and-go; it just needs to make you feel good. 

You know what else makes me feel good? DONATIONS :)