Category Archives: Fitness

There with bells on! Jolly Jaunt 5K, Boston

Posted on December 3, 2011 | 1 comment

I turned up to the Jolly Jaunt 5K in Boston wearing a pink beanie. This may have been a mistake. In a sea of festive red and green, I stood out like, well, someone wearing a pink beanie.

Jolly Jaunt 5K

The red green show. (One for the Canadians.)

While it may have appeared as though I didn’t get the message about the dress code, my headgear had more to do with the fact that I didn’t fancy riding the train alone looking like an elf (this 5K was a solo affair, as Hubby was off Guarding). I assume the woman who turned up as a Christmas tree didn’t have to subject herself to the indignities of public transport. Or maybe she just has more balls. (Balls, get it? She’s a Christmas tree! Oh dear.)

Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Fitness, Humor, Running

Tagged , , , ,

My own private Everest: Pentucket Pride 5K

Posted on November 28, 2011 | 2 comments

After the massive crowd and silly millinery of the Feaster Five, the Pentucket Pride 5K, at Pentucket Regional High School, in West Newbury, MA, was a laid-back affair, with 223 runners gathering on a foggy morning to support the high school’s athletic programs.

Pentucket Pride 5K

Runners at the foggy start of the Pentucket Pride 5K.

The course had been described as “challenging,” which, as my avid readers (!) know, puts the fear into me. In road race language, “challenging” always means “hilly.” Just once I’d like there to be a water hazard or something. You know, to shake it up a bit.

This helpful poster at the entrance to the high school cafeteria, where we gathered pre-race, did little to comfort me …

Pentucket Pride 5K

I may have peaked.

Sure, it may not seem so steep if you look at the numbers, but trust me, on a damp and chilly day, it was basically Everest.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Humor, Running

Tagged , , , ,

Will run for pie: Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race

Posted on November 25, 2011 | 8 comments

This was a momentous Turkey Day – for reasons that had nothing to do with Pilgrims and very little to do with turkey. Rather, Thanksgiving 2011 occasioned my running the Feaster Five in Andover, Massachusetts, which was not only my first 5K since early October but my inaugural attempt to run in the big chill. It was also my first time playing human dodgem.

This was a big run.

Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Race

The start of the Feaster Five. At this point, half the runners had already crossed the start line (the banner in the distance). It took me a full six minutes to get there.

For a novice like me who has thus far dabbled in warm-weather races of a few hundred people, it was quite something to be among the 10,000 or so folks – clad in sweaters, gloves, beanies and, in some cases, hats shaped like turkeys (disturbing) – who had gathered on this gorgeous but frigid morning.

I was nervous about the cold. Though my hatred of heat is well documented, the chilly air has been known to wreak havoc on my asthmatic lungs (which of course is why I choose to live in New England).

Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Humor, Running

Tagged , , ,

These tights are hard core. Unlike me

Posted on November 23, 2011 | 11 comments

CW-X Expert Insulator TightsWhen you live in Freezingtown, USA (also known as Boston), running outdoors takes on a whole new chilly, windy, frostbitery dimension – one I was quite unprepared for in the apparel department.

Apparently, I needed fancy new tights.

We’re definitely not talking your average, everyday gym leggings here. The stretchy marvels that were delivered to my abode yesterday, made by CW-X (the company also does compression socks – which still give me the fear), are from another universe™. They insulate, you see, with “WarmStretch™ temperature-regulation fabric to maintain a constant comfortable surface temperature in a variety of conditions – perfect for the cold weather athlete” (um, that’s me!) –  according to the CW-X website. They also feature Support Web™, which uses “kinesiology-taping technology to create an exoskeletal support system” (well, I do need all the support I can get).

The thing is, these tights are just so full of awesome, there’s no way I can possibly live up to them. (Did I mention that mine are called Insulator Expert Tights? That’s right, EXPERT.) I put them on and immediately feel like a fraud. They’re for marathon runners for whom a 5K is a casual jog around the block; not for me, who breaks into a lavish sweat after half a mile and still hasn’t managed to go 5K without walking.

They scream hard core where I scream: “Where’s the couch?”

Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Humor, Reviews, Running

Tagged

Mamma Chia: Can I resist ya?

Posted on November 17, 2011 | 5 comments

Mamma Chia Rasperry PassionUntil recently, my only exposure to chia was in the form of those hairy Pets that were big in the ’90s (they also now come in the form of a chia George Washington and a chia Abraham Lincoln, which is just wrong).

But I learned via Hubby, who brought home a packet of chia seeds and implored me to make a pudding out of them (I haven’t yet), that chia is known as “the running food.” As lore has it, the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas could run all day  powered by these tiny seeds.

To test the theory, I warily consented to try Mamma Chia (also procured by Hubby, who seems to be on the payroll of Big Chia). This “vitality beverage” – which is apparently loaded with omega-3, antioxidants and other healthful ingredients du jour – claims to be “fun for your mouth – great for your body.” I was dubious.

However, as Australia is the world’s biggest producer of chia, I decided to give Mamma Chia a go – in the interests of national pride, of course.

Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Fitness, Reviews, Running, Sports

Tagged ,