Deux Crazy Anglophones - The lighter side of running

While Jessica and I were trotting out our 32Km last weekend we started chatting about some of the  things we've done and seen in our time on the roads together and it started a chain reaction of laughter.  As most runners can tell you,  in running you have to be slightly self-depricating and have a good sense of humour because sometimes running. is just not graceful or sexy.  And sometimes it's just a wicked good time!

Here's a few for a giggle:

There's nothing quite like walking into a women's washroom after a rainy-day race and hearing "I don't think I've ever been this wet"  and a chorus of laughter to follow.

Watching a dainty looking petite woman pull a nutrition gel out of her sweaty sports bra, rip the top off with her teeth -spitooning it to the side -  scarfing down said gel and burping.

Farting on the run:  needs no description but if you've done it  you know what I mean and you are probably giggling a little.   Heck it was almost 10 years into our relationship before I "tooted" in front of my husband but it took less than 3 years to rip one out in front of Jessica.

Dropping trow in the bush because the nearing porta-potty is at least 2Km away. 

The guy who does the farmer's nose blow without checking who's on his right......you get the idea.

Having full on conversations about your bowels/bowel movements with the recurring sentiment of  "maybe I shouldn't have eaten that before a long run"

The woman walking her dog who had given the dog a package of cigarettes to carry in it's mouth while they walked.


But remember,  along with the gross and the crazy, there's also to be had some great moments and great memories like these ones:




Pumping up before the Sudbury Rocks!

Volunteering at the Hypo Half

Our Cheer Squad for Team in Training

Meeting Dayna Pidhoreski at the Toronto Women's Half

Runner and Supporters of the first Chase Down Classic!




Long may we run,

D



Today's Run Report : Soakers. With a more than a chance of "Oh my God could I stop getting rained on please"

In case you haven't figured it out,  we ran 28Km in the piss-pouring rain.  Why would you do that on purpose you ask?  Here's a little insight into Jessica and I and how we bargain with and enable each other in ridiculous ways.

FRIDAY  (all via text message)

Jessica:  We need a plan for our run.  Saturday?  Sunday?
              Sunday is warmer, maybe raining
              Saturday is colder with flurries
              Sunday afternoon looks to be 8 degrees an sunny

I have not replied yet but can you see the selling already starting from my running mate who hates cold and winter?

Me: I would rather run in the morning.
      ( Challenge : This does not work well for Saturday unless we run wicked early in the cold, as one of the kiddos has a swim test that I'd like to be there for)

Jessica:  me tooo.  But.......8 degrees......and sunny!  It's like a dream  ha ha.   (notice the layering of the sales shtick)

Me:  It would be nice but what if it's raining?

Courtesy of the handy dandy weather app my techno savvy mate has she sends me ..........

Jessica:  It appears that it will rain from 3am - 9am Sunday ( selling not only time but a lack of rain)
              If we run @ 7am on Saturday it will be -10 before windchill ( remember, she hates winter)

Knowing that I can make my chum happy , and that I know how this will work best, I give back:

Me:  How about we stick with our original plan of running Sunday, we start at 9am and take  whatever comes at us.

And ta-daa there you have it how we ended up with a Sunday run. 

Here's how that went:

Woke up to rain,  not surprising since it was on the weather app and we knew it was supposed to stop by 9:00am.  (This did not end up being the case)
Pulled everything together for a soggy run including a change of dry clothes, recovery snack and a towel.  Made the drive to our trusty Running Room where we were meeting another one of our running friends who was going to join us for 16km of our run.   Upon arriving she looked at me and said "are we really running in this?"  To which I answered with "if you paid for a race entry and on race day it rained, would you run?"  Nuff said.  Off we go.

Now  yes, we knew it was raining, and yes we knew it was going to be challenging to get through 28Km in said rain but I cannot begin to tell you the level of effort it took when after 9Km we were so soaking wet that it no longer mattered which layer of slush or puddle we ran through just as long as we could keep going.
We began to talk of how great it would be if one of the crazy husbands could meet us at 15km with dry clothes.  Or what the possibility would be of one of them driving along side us with a portable heater or golf umbrella. We debated running to a local gym and taking up 2 dreadmills for the remainder of our run but knew this was not realistic.  I think  each of us was silentlymaking deals with the devil about the swapping of souls for the stopping of rain.   When this didn't work,  we cursed Mother Nature, loudly and frequently.  
When all was said and done,  we were cold, wet, and sore from all the dodging of puddles and slush but,  we did it.  Just as we always do,  with humour and determination.  Oh and let us not forget the ever important  LATTE LATTE LATTE!

Long may we run,

D.

Running a Frosty 20Km

Holy Crap that was a cold one!

Since we'd been having slightly warmer temps than usual for this time of year in the Suds, Jess and I held out hope that we were going to be blessed with an early dose of Spring to keep us motivated as we up our mileage for the weekend.

 Not so much.  

For our 20Km run on Saturday it was a nippy -25 with windchill.  

Now don't get me wrong,  when living in the north there is a certain amount of freeze-your-butt-off-ed-ness you learn to just accept. Fortunately, as runners in the north,  we have learned that there are four requirements to running in the -20's  that can come together to make for a brisk yet enjoyable run. 

1. Base layer - a.k.a.  trusty smart wool socks and Merino wool long underwear
2. Thermal layer - whatever brand of slightly thicker run jersey or fleece based garment you are comfy in
3. Outer layer - a jacket and pants that will resist wind but breathe so you don't turn into a moving lesson in condensation.
4. The ability to laugh at the oh so womanly frost beard and  joker-like frozen smile  you will undoubtedly sport somewhere around the 10 km mark.

To see where 20Km in -25 took us check out:

http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/181826570/

Running frosty,

D.

Post Long-Run Lattes.

Well deserved Hazelnut Macchiatos after an 18km run.

What could the Deux Crazy Anglophones be up to?

Stay tuned!