running cautious

This morning, my brother-in-law Kaarel asked me if I had seen this article about a female jogger who was attacked Sunday morning along the waterfront, and asked me to be careful.

As I read through the article, a surreal feeling washed through me as I realized: This could have been me.

The woman was jogging around the same time that I sometimes jog, and in the same area that I do my running. I didn't go running this past weekend because I was up north with my sister and her family. According to the article, she was beaten, sexually assaulted, and robbed. Her attacker has not been caught.

What do I feel? Fear. Anger. And a determination that I'm not going to let this stop me from running outside. Many thanks to Kaarel for alerting me to the article, because it was the wake-up call I needed to smarten up re: certain safety issues.

What I'm going to do from now on:

- Not run along the boardwalk until it gets warmer, and more people are around.

- Not wear headphones. I wasn't wearing headphones during the winter anyway because of my hat, but I've decided that I probably shouldn't during warmer weather either, despite the enjoyment and motivation I get from listening to music while I run. Without headphones, I'll be more aware of my surroundings.

- Not run on the same routes or same schedule all the time. Sometimes I'll work out at the gym instead.

- Stick to routes where there are people.

- Check out the Running Room clinics and groups. I recall that the store chain organizes regular morning runs. Maybe I should give group running a shot. I'd rather run with a group outdoors than inside on a treadmill.

- Take a self-defense course. I've been meaning to do this for several years now. I'm adding this to my list of New Year's Resolutions!

Do any of you live in neighbourhoods where safety is an issue? Are you aware of taking precautions like the above (perhaps not for running, but for other outdoor activities)?

Blatherpic:

Annie, Jeff and Sara this past weekend.

Feb/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

tubing

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Today's photos are from our weekend at Deerhurst. Sara's tubing with Jeff in the top picture, Annie's taking a rest of Jeff's chest in the bottom picture. I went tubing, too, and screamed allllll the way down every time. I went down with Ruth a couple times, which was fun since we both screamed.

Poll: Do you like tobogganing? When's the last time you went tobogganing? Do you scream? I'm definitely a screamer. More fun that way.

Other activities included skating, skiing, pingpong, badminton, foozeball, swimming, inside games (Carcasson, Jenga, Labyrinth), watching part of the special extended Lord of the Rings DVD. Sara can recite the entire prologue section narrated in the movie by Cate Blanchett, complete with sound effects. Jeff and I were very impressed.

Jeff's birthday present: a comic book adaptation of Lord of the Rings. Ruth, Sara and Annie all contributed artwork, and it was a project done over several months. Sara's and Annie's guinea pigs starred as Frodo and Sam (drawn by Sara and Annie), Jeff was Strider (drawn by Ruth), and I was Arwen (drawn by Sara). VERY very cool book.



(Click to enlarge)


Links/News:

The Two Towers with "Engrish" subtitles: Thanks to Andrew for the link.

Feb/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

blathering

Hey, I'm back. This past weekend, Jeff and I spent a few days up north at Deerhurst Resort with my sister and her family.

One of several reasons I've decided not to Blather on a daily basis anymore is because it gets too complicated sometimes in terms of safety issues. If I Blather about being at Deerhurst, for example, it immediately alerts the world (or at least the part of the world that reads my Blatherings) that not only are Jeff and I not going to be at home, but also my sister and her family.

I've also been thinking about the potential benefits of putting at least part of the time and creative energy I've been putting into a daily Blathering into my other writing projects. There are other personal reasons, but the bottom line is that my goal is to keep my Blatherings a fun and low-pressure project.

So I'll be posting some days, and some days not.





Links/News

I was saddened to hear about the Columbia shuttle disaster, as well as the deaths of the seven Grade 10 students in a B.C. avalanche. So many have already written about the first event, and the second is too sad for me to dwell on.

Feb/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

music poll

Had a good practice with Allison and Jodi last night. We ran through some of our playlist for our concert at Ad Astra, did some more finetuning on my new Lord of the Rings song, "Unrequited". Allison's going to be playing guitar on this song, and I'm going to add some flute bits as well as an instrumental duet with flute (me) and recorder (Jodi). Allison's adding some counterpoint and harmony bits, and then I'll probably add some counterpoint and/or harmony bits.

Very cool to hear a song gradually come together.

I've been doing some thinking about my Blatherings lately, and have decided that I likely won't post every day from now on. The reasons are somewhat complicated to explain so I'm not going to, at least for now. Be assured the underlying reasons are not traumatic, but based more on practicality. :-)

I won't be posting this weekend. But I'll leave you all with a poll question instead:

Poll: How much time do you spend listening to music per day/week, on average? What kind of music? When do you spend the most time listening to music? When is the last time you attended a concert (classical or contemporary)?

I'm curious, mainly because there is so much great music out there I enjoy listening to, but don't often make the time to sit down and just listen to the music, without the need to multitask. Listening to music while working out or doing chores is a different experience from just listening to music.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Links/News:

After being laid off, the entire staff at ZDNet Tech Update has put themselves up for bid on eBay. More info: InternetNews.com

Jan/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

Feb/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

winter run

Happy birthday to Amanda Foubister and Josh Allen today!

Today's photos were taken on my run late yesterday afternoon; I finally remembered to bring a camera with me. I like running along the waterfront much better than downtown even though it's more cold and windy because there aren't as many stoplights, and it's not nearly as crowded.

Unfortunately it's also not as well shovelled, so there were times that I did a little hop-dance over slushy or icy bits on the sidewalk, trying to stick to places where I wouldn't slip. I've smartened up and am wearing less layers now: just nylon cold-weather tights, nylon turtleneck, a fleece jacket, my reflective shell, neck gaiter, hat, mittens. Everything is from Mountain Co-op except for the jacket, which is from the Running Room.

Sounds like a lot, but I used to wear a fleece vest and a scarf as well. Halfway through my run, I'd be sweating bullets, shedding pieces of clothing along the way. On the way back, I'd pick them up. Just kidding.

LOVE running along the waterfront. The air is cold and nips at my cheeks, the sunlight reflecting off the ice, everything frozen and still. When I'm at home in front of the computer, I forget physical things, immersing myself in my writing or the Internet until my body yells at me to eat something, for Pete's sake, or the smoke alarm goes off because I've left something on the stove.

Running outside, I am aware of every sensation, revel in slight soreness of my muscles, the slap of the sidewalk against the bottom of my shoes, the puffs of steam from my breathing. I'm getting tired, but it's a good tired, the kind that melts away gnat-fly worries and helps guarantee a sound sleep at night.

I can't wear my Walkman headphones with my hat so have been running sans music lately. Probably a good thing, since there are less people out along the waterfront these days and I like to know when someone's coming up behind me. But I'm also finding that I'm really listening to the sounds around me. Everything is brighter, clearer, somehow amplified in the crisp winter air.

Or maybe I'm just paying more attention.





Links/News:

FlyGuy is an amusing and whimsical interactive Flash animation. Thanks to Jeff for the link.

Jan/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ