LA Afterthoughts + C4C

I received lots of online and offline congrats and comments about LA! Thank you! One of the things that came back the most was about taking so many pictures yet crushing my goal at the same time.... How did I manage it?

First of all, I don't think my goal was too easy. I think I just had a very rare perfect day. The fact that I was in a timezone 3 hours behind made the 7am start quite a late one for my eastern system and my nutrition was going right on schedule prior to the race, thanks to an All-you-can-eat pasta special for the Marathon at Maria's downtown LA. The weather was gorgeous. Even if it got a bit hot in downtown, once when we started going towards the sea the refreshing breeze came in to cool us down. The course was fabulous with lots of sights to take your mind off the grueling task of putting one foot before another and the community support was outstanding, recharging my batteries at every turn. I can't forget mentionning that my dad was also inspiring me to push the limit of what I knew I could do.

As the picture taking, I think it actually helped make me faster. Marathoners will know that the course can get pretty lonely and boring. It's not unusual to strike up a conversation with fellow runners when breathing is allowing it. Taking our minds off the littles aches that are developing or not thinking about how much fuel is left in the tank versus how many miles are left on the course is paramount to a good performance. Having the camera and thinking about the pictures and the sights that I wanted to bring back to friends and family did just that for me. While the running backwards was a bit dangerous (I almost tripped at least twice!) it also gave my muscles a break in the motion and I think this had a positive effect.

Where do I go from here? I have another marathon scheduled for the end of May, in my hometown with friends and family watching. I'll have to do well! My goal is simply a repeat of my LA performance to confirm that I am strong and can use the summer to get even faster towards that elusive Boston Qualifying time (3:10 for me).

LA Marathon, like most major races, had a bunch of race photographers on site. I never understood the race photography economy. While I do realize they spend tremendous amounts of money to take all these beautiful pictures such as this one:
What I never understood is the market for these pictures. A single picture will cost you $60. Granted they also offer an "economical' download of all the pictures they take of you for a "modest" $80. I can't justify myself paying that much money for pictures. Yes, I want a copy. These are amazing pictures of what is for the most part an extraordinary event, but seriously, $60 per picture? I had a chat with the girl at the counter at the expo about this. She seemed to hold a position of fair responsibility in the company and all she could do to validate that $80 for a download of all the pictures was a fair price was that it was their most popular product. I don't have an MBA in race photography economics, but let's say there are 50 photographers paid a per diem of $2,000 (I think this is generous, especially for LA where every closet paparazzi has good quality photo equipment), that's only $100,000 of fixed cost per event. Add in a generous amortization of $50,000 per race for website and bib recognition software and you only have a fixed cost of $150,000. If you sell a download package to %10 of the field at $80, that's $200k ($50k of profits). If you'd sell the same package for $25, you'd probably get %50 or more of the field buying it, that's over $300k ($150k profit). Maybe I'm wrong and there's already %50 of the field buying the download and I'm totally off the track here with my numbers.

If you are in the race photography business, I think your sweet spot for an almost universal buyin is about %25 of the cost of the race entry fee. For $25 or less, I'd buy the pictures before the race, before I even see them and not ask for a refund if they are no good. Anything over $30, I'll wait to see the results and if they are good I will get them. Anything over $40 I won't even think about it even if the picture is worthy of Time Magazine or National Geographics.

One of the benefits of having gone to LA is that I broke my phone so I got this new one:
It's more like a computer than a phone really and it has a GPS. I've seen lots of software for running and tracking distance, pace, etc and I will be trying them out in the next few weeks to see if there is a possibility of replacing my garmin. Less electronics to carry while I run is better in my books but I think it will be difficult to replace the purpose built Garmin watch with a more general use device like a phone. More on this as I experiment with the various software. If you have any suggestions for a good running software that runs on Android, let me know!

I totally forgot the C4C with the race excitement so I'll use the comments on my race report for the March numbers, so 8 food items will be donated to the Kanata Food Cupboard. Don't think that's enough to feed the needy? Leave your comments here for April's C4C, for every visitor that leaves a comment I'll donate one non-perishable item. If we go over 8 comments, I'll double March's donation!

Olympic torch + Long run

On Saturday night, there was a big party on Parliament Hill to celebrate the Olympic Torch at the same time as the lighting of the holiday decorations. A lot of people made it. Much more than I've seen in previous years for the lighting ceremony alone. Athletes were offering autographs and pictures and even one of the torch bearer was there with his torch, graciously offering pictures to anyone interested. Cool!
Sponsors were out in full force dispensing with knick-knacks, product samples and talking about their special offers. I didn't stick around too much and went back to the hill to see the show. After Gregory Charles was done with a nice performance of singing with a choir and the crowd, the ceremony started to drag on with CEOs and presidents of Vancouver Olympic Committee and other government agencies. Even the PM made an appearance. Finally the flame arrived. It was tough to see it through the thick crowds, but easy enough to spot on the super size screens on both sides of the stage. Yay for technology.
After the torch had arrived, the program turned into an anti-climactic interviews of youths from up north. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy these kids are living a once in a lifetime experience but I don't think they should have been put on the stage like that, they looked shy and afraid. The fireworks that celebrated the holiday lights were really neat with amazing sync to the music. The lights themselves were a bit of a let down but probably because the stage was hiding them, I'll try to go back once they packed up the stage and left because usually the hill is a beautiful sight around the holidays. I left as the rock show started.

Since I didn't get to see the flame up close and personal, I followed on my plan to see it again on Sunday. I planned my long run so I could follow the flame on its journey. Exciting stuff I tell you! When I got to the intersection where the relay started for that day, I was surprised to see so many people. When the flame made its appearance, the crowd roared. It was pretty electrifying. I'm sure Canada's athletes can feel our support and they know they'll make us proud!
The flame relay runners were not all as speedy as I expected. Some took the moment in and allowed for lots of picture taking :) This one was pretty quick!
The coolest moment for me is when they light each other's flame and really "relaying" the flame from one torch to the other. Very moving!
I really liked the parts on the quieter streets such as Palladium drive. The lack of crowd allowed me to run in parallel with the flame. I still had to keep my distance, the flame bodyguards were out in full force.
A very inspiring start to my morning run. I thought I could run along with the flame for the 20 or so km I had planned for the morning. Unfortunately that is not what happenned...

[Rant]
Once the flame got to ScotiaBank place, it was quickly tucked away in a truck and driven away. I thought of treason or high stakes robbery but the police and officials were not reacting. I found someone who looked like he was in the know and asked about what had just happened. He was quick to calmly explain to me that the flame was now in "convoy mode", doublespeak for cheating! The flame had to cover 300km today, possibly to make up for staying in the nation's capital for 4 days.

I don't mean to rain on the "relay" parade but I'm pretty sure tradition doesn't involve relaying the flame on horses or carriages. We're boasting that this will be the longest relay in Olympic history but that means very little to me if this is what a relay looks like:
Okay, my angle is that of someone who wanted to carry the torch and wasn't chosen. I would have happily carried the torch from Parliament Hill last night to the starting point this morning. When I submitted my name, I purposely picked communities that were a bit remote because I knew they may not have lots of volunteers there. Unfortunately, the relay seems to be more of a marketing / photo op exercise and the towns where I volunteered for are probably covered with the flame in "convoy mode".

The official seemed to think that covering 4500km in 100 days is impossible if not using motor vehicles. I look at people like Ray Zahab and Terry Fox. They are Canadian inspirations and they covered more than the 45km a day, day in and day out, on their own. Having a real honest relay would have been possible and it would have given more opportunities for people that wanted to be torch bearers.
[/Rant]

So with the flame disappearing away at high speeds, I decided to finish my 20k workout by going around in circles at the palladium auto park. It was very quiet on Sunday morning so I could use the street when the sidewalk wasn't quite clear.
The workout lasted a precise 2 hours. Not bad for 20km, especially since I stopped and slowed down quite a bit to see / take pictures of the flame.

Serial Killaz again (over and over) in the mix today as my music player was stuck in repeat and I couldn't play with the buttons since I tucked it inside my jacket!

Early failure + C4C

My schedule is getting really busy so it was with the best intentions that I set my alarm at 4:30am this morning so I could get my run in before I go to work. I even actually woke up in time and looked outside to convince my sleepy self that it would be dangerous to run that early in the darker than dark streets. To be fair, the area I live in is somewhat remote and any 5km or longer workout would need to include at least 1 or 2 km on a dark road with no sidewalks or lighting. So I went back to bed and enjoyed the extra hour and half before it was time to get ready for work. Hopefully I can squeeze in a run at lunch time (not very probable with my crazy schedule today) or after work if I still have the energy for it.

Today is Cans for Comments day (C4C). For every visitor that posts a comment on this entry, I will donate one can of food to the Stittsville Food Bank.

House always win + Rant!

Just like when you are playing the crazy odds at the casino, the house always end up winning eventually no matter how long you can keep a winning streak going. Today, I dared the weather again and it didn't respond on my way to work, but on the commute home, it decided to rain a bit on me. It wasn't bad really, a bit of a refreshing drizzle is a better description. It wasn't even for the whole commute, maybe about 10 minutes. My shirt was dry by the time I got home. I'm taking it as a sign of things to come tomorrow.
I thought I was pretty fast this morning, but I guess I didn't break the average 30km/h mark, coming a bit short at 29.5. Still, that's nothing to complain about. I could definitively try to game the system by choosing where I stop my watch to get better results but I'm pretty happy with a 55 minute commute. The ride home was pretty much the same.

Now, something happened to me today that warrants a rant. Skip to the end if you don't want to hear it. On my way to work, one of the friendly motorist rolled down his window, slowed down and yelled a very inspired "GET OFF THE ROAD" at me. He sped up in time to catch the red light at which point I stopped by his car and listened as he told me I was slowing down traffic and I should get off the road. I tried to remind him about the laws in Ontario allowing me to use the road just as much as a motorized vehicle but his answer was that I should be using the "bike paths". The setting wasn't conducive to a real exchange as he sped up when the light turned green, but if he had time to listen to me, I would have explained that in Ottawa, the "bike paths" are not really bike paths at all. Most of what people refer to as "bike paths" are really NCC owned multi-use pathways. These pathways are regulated by a set of rules to ensure everyone's safety. I agree wholeheartedly with those rules that will ensure the safety of all, including grandma with her walker, the kids on their tricycles and little Trisha walking her down with a retractable leash. Unfortunately, the multi-use nature of the pathways ensure that bikers get only left overs. We don't get priority, having to yield for just about anything bigger than a squirrel and we have to respect the 20km/h speed limit. This is why I do not use the "bike paths".

Now, everyone I sat down with and explained my reasoning for using the road eventually comes around and understands that I am not crazy, I am not using the roads to be in the ways of cars and I do not have a deathwish. Please, friendly motorists, consider this when you pass me on the road. I always stay as close to the edge of the road as I safely can and on days like today, unfortunately, the road is not wide enough to pass since they are doing some roadwork. Rest assured that I will try to find an alternate route to work, but unfortunately, all the routes I know seem to share the same fate with regards to narrowing because of constructions, you can blame the economic stimulus package if you wish.

Thank you!

Oh, and today, the day after Canada's birthday, the playlist included only Canadian (Quebec-based even) artists: Arianne Moffat with her beautiful Aquanaute and Synthesthesia with a driven Akathisia.

The Suburbs are making people fat?

Are Suburbs making us fat? I moved to the suburbs about a year ago and while there are pros and cons to living in the suburbs, one of my main gripes always has been that there is nowhere to walk to. Every little daily errand turns into a chore that requires a car trip.

This interesting article in today's Ottawa Citizen reinforces what I have been saying all along. Add in the warlike supply storing and the missing time from all those errands and you will realize that there is precious little time left over at the end of the day to exercise or spend some quality time with your loved ones. I wonder if the study looked into the ratio of home baked with fresh ingredients vs frozen / prepared meals. I sure know that my diet now includes much more frozen pizzas and chicken sticks with fries than it did when I lived right next door to grocery stores and farmer's markets.

Today is most probably an off day. I may squeeze in some indoor cycling if I get home early enough.

Off Day

My bike was at my friendly local bike shop for a spring tuneup yesterday. I was hoping I could pick it up on my way home so I didn't go for a run at lunch time. Unfortunately it wasn't ready when I left work (turns out they got it ready just as I got home after a rather trying bus commute). I was too tired to try the pool at 8:30pm so I decided to call it an off day.

I have to use this space for a rant at my local bus company OC Transpo. They claim that all bus service is now back, however they have removed the bus I regularly take. I don't know how many other people are affected by choices like this but I face a decision of leaving home 30 minutes early in the morning to catch the bus or changing my work schedule or leaving later and eating away at the little "us" time we have at night with my better half. Thanks OC Transpo.

I guess that bodes well for my resolve in biking to work everyday this spring, rain, shine, freeze or else. I should have legs as big as tree trunks by the time summer rolls around. I'm already way ahead of my usual easter start date for biking so I'm happy.

Also, I just found out that the previous title sponsor of the may marathon in Ottawa pulled out. So I guess it's only the Ottawa Marathon this year. Organizers say its too late for this year, however judging by the new color scheme, I think I know who will be sponsoring next year and I welcome our new sponsoring overlords.