For the last few nights, I have been doing about 5 minutes of mobility exercises before bed and the practice feels really beneficial.
I didn’t start the exercises with a plan, I just did them one night while listening to the end of a podcast and I liked how I felt afterwards so I did them again the next night.
And since I often find myself feeling a bit twitchy and restless before bed – with an odd feeling or an ache in one place or another – but I haven’t had that feeling in the last few nights so it seems worth exploring if there is a connection between the exercises and the lack of twitchiness.
This may be a coincidence of course but that’s part of the experiment.
I’m referring to it as going in circles because I made myself laugh when I referred to the exercises that way on Sunday night.
And seeing as the routine includes rolling a ball under each foot and then doing ankle circles, knee circles, hip circles, upper body circles, arm circles, shoulder circles, and neck circles, it’s not wrong it just sounds a bit funny.
So here’s my experiment:
For September, I am going to go in circles for 5 minutes each night before bed and note whether or not I feel twitchy afterward and whether I feel more or less stiff each morning.
I’ll report on my experiment on October 1.
These imperfect circles were fun to make and they are a good representation of the imperfect circles in my practice. Image description: a drawing of 8 overlapping, painted circles in fall colours (shades of green, brown, red, orange) with a different pattern in black ink on each one (spirals, circles, grids, lines, triangles, squares) and each circle is outlined in black. The drawing has been cut out of a larger sheet of white paper in an irregular shape that resembles a cloud or a puddle. The outer edge of the paper is trimmed in black and there are gold dots between the black trim and the edges of the circles. At the bottom are the words ‘hello, September!’ written in black.
Personal training, strength training, at Movati with Cody and Sarah–7-8 am
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati or noon swim/skate on campus
Wednesday
Zwift training plan, 6 am, 45 minutes
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati/noon swim/skate
Thursday
Personal training, strength training, at Movati with Cody and Sarah–7-8 am
Aquafit, 530-630 pm, Movati or noon swim/skate
Friday
Friday morning Herd ride, 7 am
Noon hour rec skate
Weekend
Day 1 Adventuring! Canoe camping, bike riding, dog hiking, etc.
Day 2, Rest! Or if no adventuring, then either Zwift or a third strength workout
(Also, I ride my bike to work often, and I walk Cheddar a lot but they are short walks these days as he’s getting up there in years.)
Good morning Cheddar!
Reflections
🔴 I need to ride my bike more but I can’t ride weekdays come fall. It’s starting to get dark earlier in the evenings. So riding is going to be all about bike commuting + Zwifting + a long ride on the weekend.
🔴 The university pool and the rink are both open for rec skating and lane swimming over lunch. I plan to keep gear on campus and on the days I can’t make it to aquafit because of my work schedule or I can’t register (because the classes quickly fill up with online registration)
🔴 I know this looks like a lot but I definitely won’t get to do everything every week. My work schedule starts early and often ends late. The advantage of the 530 pm aquafit class is that it’s early enough I can still attend 7 pm events on campus.
🔴 How much do you plan your week? What’s your fitness week look like? I’m curious.
Update: Last night’s antigravity yoga did not end in a very peaceful fashion. Just as we were all settled into cocoon shivasna, my favorite, the fire alarm at the gym went off. So loud, so screamy.
I think I am signing up for my very first organized 5K run in later Sept, so I guess I had better start running.
Nat
For the first time in a long time, cycling in September! Not the commuting or utility cycling but the road bike adventure and fun kind of cycling.
Sam
Like Nat, cycling into the fall! To be clear, I usually do keep riding, but I drop the distances. This year I never got to any great distance so I’m going to keep going. My birthday bike ride at 62 km will be my longest ride of the year, so why can’t I keep adding distance as we move into the fall months?
Laura
I’m looking forward to the return of cooler weather to enable me to engage in more vigorous physical activity. (I do not like summer’s heat and do not function well in it!) One goal is to commence a daily vinyasa/power yoga practice on Labour Day. September is also a great month to get back into a regular running habit. But the running may need to wait this year as I am loath to take on activities right now that require spending time away from my senior dog. Good running weather is also good walking weather, and walking is Shelby’s favourite thing to do. So walking wins out these days.
Diane
I start back to work in September. Most of my shifts will be for lane swims. My resolution is to remember that it is okay to swim when I’m not actively lifeguarding, and get in for a short swim at least twice a week.
Cate
I have to be in Toronto for half of sept for work and it’s mostly air bnbs without access to gyms. My goal is to keep moving and eat well, and to actually use my running shoes and my yoga mat even when nomadic.
Tracy
I’m not teaching this fall so I’m feeling really relieved not to be doing a mad scramble of course prep. But in my head there is always going to be a reset in September, where I settle into more work-oriented routines and more structure. I’ve been working on it all summer. My fitness resolution for the fall is process-oriented: to continue my running training, two swims a week, two resistance training sessions a week, and two yoga classes a week. If I stick to the schedule I don’t need to think too hard about specific results and I know I will feel good.
Martha
I have always seen September as the start of the new year. I’m planning on renewing my swimming practice after Labour Day.
Nicole
I don’t really have September resolutions. More of the same. I’ve been going to a new small strength class a couple times a week with a coach I know from previous years and I’m enjoying it. September running is probably my favourite. I may be sentimental about it because I started running in the fall many years ago. I need to ensure I keep on my daily stretches (movement oriented in the morning and static in the evening, because my hips need extra love these days. I’ve added toe spreaders to wear around the house a few minutes at a time to address my worsening bunions. Hmm. Firmly in middle age fitness era.
Catherine
I’m also looking forward to cooler temps for fall cycling. Keeping it local, and cycling with friends sounds about my speed right now. I’m also happy that Friday night yoga classes are coming back, as those are a nice way to start off the weekend. In addition to my daily morning meditation, I want to add in some yoga or stretching or strength work. There are so many great short workouts– I just have to pick a couple to rotate through. Will be blogging about this.
This week, Diane posted about the newest Ottawa-Gatineau open-water swim spots. If you missed it, you can check it out here. I’ve always been attracted to the idea of swimming in an urban environment. It feels adventurous and a little subversive. You are in nature, but also adjacent to architecture, machinery, roads, cars– all the features of the modern city.
This is no news to European city dwellers, who have their choice of open-water swim spots that have been designed for ease of access and are monitored for safety. The New York Times did a splashy (forgive the pun) spread featuring several of these swimmable cities, which you can see without a paywall here. I can’t resist sharing some of their photos below.
Diving and hanging out in Copenhagen.Leaping from a dock with sauna in Oslo. Lining up to plunge into the water in Basel.
One of my fantasy vacations would be to do an open-water European swim tour. All I’d need would be my Speedo, a towel, and a public transport pass. Imagine that.
In the US, there are loads of lovely wild swimming spots in national and state parks and also more out-of-the-way but well-known-to-locals spots. I’ve enjoyed refreshing dips in Black Creek in Darlington, South Carolina and Oak Creek in Sedona, Arizona, to name a couple. Our friends at the NYT also covered cool US wild swimming holes are here.
However, if urban open swimming is what you’re looking for, the US is not the best place to find it. There are a handful of city beaches in coastal cities, and some places organize open-water urban swim events, but in general, access to urban waters is not legal or reasily accessible or safe here. Boooo…
In Boston, my hometown, there’s a yearly event called CitySplash, where people can sign up for a time slot to jump into the Charles River from a dock and paddle around with other enthusiastic urban swimmers. Some years, however, the bacteria levels are too high and the event gets canceled. I blogged about my own CitySplash experience here.
The dedicated people at the Charles River Conservancy have big plans to transform parts of the urban riverscape to allow swimming and splashing for people of all ages and swimming abilities. Here’s a rendering of what they envision, with public transport access, shallow and deep swim areas and places to hang out.
A possible future swim park in Boston, hopefully in my lifetime.
But it’s certainly not happening this week. Intermittently this summer, the Charles River has been the site of a cyanobactera alge bloom. And this week, that bloom expanded. You can see it below.
An aerial view of the Charles River in Boston, the orange area a cyanobacterial bloom.
The Cambridge public health department explains more here.
Algae and cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae) are plant-like organisms that live in water. They can quickly grow out of control, or “bloom.” Some of these blooms produce toxins (poisons) that make people and animals sick. If you, your child, or your pet comes in contact with the water, rinse off immediately. Contact can cause skin and eye irritation, and inhalation or ingestion can cause respiratory irritation and other illness. If the blue-green algae are producing toxins, the health effects can be serious.
Practically speaking, cyanobacteria blooms mean no swimming, boating, paddleboarding, or fishing in the affected areas. Pets should be prevented from drinking the water, as it is harmful to them, too.
What causes these bacterial infections of our urban waters? A bunch of things, including pollution, runoff from hard rains, and increased temperatures. You can read more about it on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website here (which still mentions climate change, miraculously– don’t tell anyone…)
This is a pretty big problem for the planet, the environment, our water supply, and also our access to the joys of urban swimming. There are some things we can do to mitigate and respond to the causes, and I hope we can claim and reclaim some spaces in our cities for swimming and splashing.
Readers, have you done any urban swimming? Where was it? How was it? I’d love to hear from you.
Are you familiar with the term “friend homework”? My yoga instructor friend Jess introduced me to this term a while back. It means any digital interactions with friends: liking posts, reading blogs, watching reels in your DMs. It’s the online things you do between the in person interactions that keep your friendships going.
I see it as an aspect of kin keeping, the emotional and social work we do to define who our people are.
In person is best
Last weekend I enjoyed seeing some of my fellow Fit is a Feminist bloggers. Some I met for the first time!
We talked about things we don’t necessarily blog about, the deeply personal stuff as well as sharing about our lives outside of fitness.
It was a great afternoon. Thank you Sam, Sarah and Kathleen for hosting us!
Kudos, likes, shares and comments
Whatever platform you share your fitness activities on (Strava, Peloton, Zwift, Facebook, Instagram…) there is some way for your friends to acknowledge your workouts.
A tiny human takes a break from riding a cool toy to give you encouragement. Way to go!
And I’m here for all of it. Ellen mentioned at the barbecue how great it was to get consistent kudos from me on Strava. I check it almost every day and I do my best to thumbs up all the activities. It’s a tiny connector and positive reinforcement. I see you friends!
Normalizing active living
Seeing what everyone is doing normalizes daily activity for me. I see your daily cycling commute. I see you lifting heavy things. Nice walk!
Two women walking, holding coffee and wearing athletic shoes on a paved path in a park.
I especially appreciate seeing activities when I only know folks from one sport. Like Randonneur Luke is a triathlete. I didn’t know he also swam and ran like he cycles. I appreciate him even more!
Making the invisible visible
When I went to the gym I’d see some friends but only those whose workout timing synched up with mine. Everyone else’s time in the gym was invisible to me.
For cycling friends, they live all over Canada: Ontario, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan….all kinds of places. Aside from the occasional event I would otherwise have no sense of the kind of season they are having.
Having some way to see what everyone is doing gives me a better picture of what it means to be fit.
Sharing is caring
I’m lucky to be in a group chat with some London area Randonneurs. We share car rides to event starts and other strategies to reduce costs of events. We problem solve to eliminate barriers to participation. Sometimes we just share a silly reel or meme that is about cycling. It all counts!
Cheerleading and consoling
I’m here for your wins. HIGH FIVE!
High fives feel great to give and receive!
More importantly, I’m here for the DNFs, the mechanicals and the injuries. Because these are important moments in our fitness stories.
A Lycra clad cyclist bent over to help a friend loosen the quick release on the front of their bike
CASE study
I’m also doing that friend homework as a Copy And Steal Everything (CASE) study. Oh is there a great 50 km route with a delicious pastry shop? Thank you for the idea!
Ohhh you can open water swim there? ON IT!
There are free kayak rentals from the library? Hello! I’m going!
Wins all around
I hope this post encourages you to share your workouts and activities on a platform that works for you. It helps with accountability and a sense of community.
I also hope you realize that when you do your fitness friend homework you are making a real difference to your friends.
Sure, nothing beats Kim grabbing me by the shoulder, shaking me and exclaiming “Keep cycling! You are awesome!” but a little digital thumbs up is a sweet taste of that in person sugar. I encourage you to give it a go.
To mark the completion of easing myself back into running with the Couch to 5K program, I signed up for an event! I have had the Constantine Yorkville Run event in mind for almost a year. I first learned about it last year, on my way to the Y on a Sunday in September. I had to wait to cross the street while 1000 runners made their way across the intersection at Bay and Bloor.
Instead of waiting to cross Bay Street, I kept walking south on the same side of the street, in the same direction of the race route on Bay St. I knew the starting line crowd would dissipate before I needed to get to the other side. By the time I had walked with them for 10 minutes I had race fever myself. I literally got a rush just venturing out into the road as I made my way across, being careful not to interfere with the back-of-the-pack participants still coming (in a thinner stream, as I had predicted). I decided to set it as my year-out training goal.
This happened despite my saying several times along the way in recent years that I am done with events. I mean, it’s not as if I’ve ever been an especially competitive participant. But I have used events to good purpose as training goals before. And this one has certainly done its job. Race day is on September 20, and with just over three weeks to go, I’m feeling good and motivated. It is a charity race with fundraising minimum. My charity of choice for the event is SeaPaws Rescue, an organization based in Ontario that rescues animals locally and overseas. If you’d like to support SeaPaws Rescue through my fundraising page, I would very much appreciate your donation.
I only started training in earnest back in April, when I embarked on the Couch to 5K plan with “beginner’s mind.” It hasn’t gone fully as planned, but I got far enough into the program (to the end of week 7) to feel sufficiently back in the game by about a month ago.
I transitioned from that to the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) training plan, as outlined in the book, Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster. The program is designed to help people run faster with lower than the usual recommended mileage. It has two main components: three purposeful, quality runs a week and two cross-training sessions. Purposeful runs, as the name implies, have a specific training purpose. The three runs are: speed work; tempo runs; and long runs.
Each has a distinct purpose. The speed work sessions are intervals aim at VO2max development with intense intervals that push the pace hard, followed by periods of recovery in between. The tempo runs maintain a sustained effortful pace over a specified distance, most closely mimicking the effort required on race day. The long runs are meant to promote endurance.
The cross-training can be any aerobic activity. I have selected swimming for my cross-training sessions. I hope I can maintain this commitment. I have been having some difficulties with ear aches. This has been an issue for me throughout my adult life. I have managed it in the past with ear plugs. But I am back to experimenting with ear plugs to find a kind that creates a sufficient seal. So far, I have not had any luck. Last week’s swim resulted in a week-long ear ache. So we’ll see. But that’s the plan. The purpose of the cross-training activity is to maintain aerobic capacity while giving the running muscles a rest. Swimming is perfect.
I’m enjoying the idea of the FIRST plan, though I’m sure my intensity and distances are not what the founders had in mind. Regardless, I have built up to 6K for my long runs, so I know I can comfortably complete the 5K on race day. I’m enjoying the speed work a lot — I love interval running and the soft perimeter of Queen’s Park is perfect for the short bursts required. I’m using the NIKE Run Club app’s guided speed runs for coaching through those. As far as tempo runs go, I am maintaining my target pace and slowly extending the time I can maintain at tempo. Yesterday I did two 7-minute intervals at tempo, with a 2-minute rest and recovery walk in between. Next week I’m extending those to eight minutes. And the week after I’m keeping to eight minutes but reducing the recovery time to one minute instead of two. My goal after that will be to maintain 10 minutes at tempo twice, with one minute between.
I think/hope the adrenaline of race day will enable me to cover 5K in three 10-1 intervals. That is my goal — to finish the 5K in under 35 minutes. After that, I will work on a new goal for a spring event. But I don’t want to get ahead of myself.
The National Capital Commission has opened several swim spots that are proving very popular, helping turn Ottawa-Gatineau into much more enjoyable river cities. The first was the River House, which opened in 2023. I wrote a bit about it here, after my first visit. Last year, it opened another one on Dow’s Lake, and this summer we got spots at the Museum of History in Gatineau and one at the base of Kiweki Point, right where the Rideau Canal empties into the Ottawa River.
I hadn’t made it to Dow’s Lake last year, or visited the new spots this year, so last week I headed out by bike with my friend Florence so we could try them all before they closed for the season.
We didn’t swim long at any of the venues but it still took us almost four hours to complete the route.
The first image shows the location of each of the swim spots and the Econ shows our route to get there. Most of the way was on NCC bike paths.Clockwise from top left: Diane jumps in at Dow’s lake, then at the Museum of History (with Parliament Hill in the background), Florence and Diane head in together below Kiweki Point (with the Museum of History and Alexandra Bridge in the background), and Florence and Diane at River House.
To finish off, we joined a couple of swim club mates for an easy loop around a small private lake. That took us to a little over 1800 M of swimming for the day.
Florence floats in the water as Diane collapses backwards off the dock on a lake surrounded by trees, with blue skies and fluffy clouds overhead.
Strava tells me that ride was my longest in 2026. In fact, it was about 26.5 km for the day (my phone died for the last bit). That makes it my longest ride since 2024.
My conclusions?
The new swim spots are great. In addition to clean water, plus some swim lanes and islands for floating on or jumping off, they all have decent bike parking, lots of chairs/benches with pleasant views, and places to get food and drink nearby.
Silly challenges like this are the best way to get me moving, especially with friends.
I’ve had a blog post in my head all summer about summer cycling and distance goals. It’s called “Is 50 km my new 100 km?’
In past years when I’ve done the Tour de Guelph in June, I did the 100 km distance but this year I picked 50 km. It seemed the natural choice. Now, I said I did that because we were trying to attract first-time riders for whom 50 km would be a reasonable goal that early in the summer, but also at the end of June, the Tour de Guelph was only my second 50 km ride of the season. It felt like the right distance for me.
July was a hot mess of family tragedy and wildfire smoke.
This month I’m struggling to find the time to ride 200 km. I chose that distance for my Great Cycle Challenge, thinking it wouldn’t really be much of a struggle. I thought that even if bad things kept happening and all my plans went to hell, I’d still be able to manage 200 km in a month easily.
My friend, former graduate student, and twitchy spouse of Natalie, Michel rode 600 km in a weekend recently. A weekend! 600 km!
Twelve years ago I rode 1300 km in August. I know, I know. Comparison is the thief of joy. but still.
Ten years ago I wrote, “What’s your favourite distance? I like 100 km because I can have a normal day after. Ride 100 km in the morning, done and dusted, and get on with the weekend. 160 km requires serious refueling and serious naps. Next thing I know it’s night and my Saturday is shot. How about you?” See here.
So, I know I’m older. But I don’t think this is about age.
I know what I have to do to make long-distance riding comfortable and easy. I need to ride more.
In the years I found the bike rally’s 660 km easy, it’s because I was a) regularly bike commuting, b) doing 30-40 km training rides one or two nights a week, c) doing a long ride on Saturday, often more than 100 km, and sometimes a recovery ride on Sunday, and d) doing bike vacations where we rode bikes every day.
Now I’m just bike commuting and doing an occasional 25 km bike ride on the weekend. No wonder distance goals seem hard.
I’ve realized it’s also an issue with my word of the year, expand. Yes, I’ve been swimming and skating and all sorts of other things but the only thing that makes you a better cyclist really is time on the bike.
What’s my plan then?
Well, I’ve signed up for the half bike rally next summer to raise money for the Toronto PWA–I’m planning to ride from Kingston to Montreal. This event is important to me because the money raised goes to help people living with HIV/AIDS. People who need food, wellness care, peer support or just to be in a place that is welcoming and safe for them. You can donate here.
I’d like to do the full distance, Toronto to Montreal, in 2028.
At some point, I want to ride 200 km in a day. Maybe that’s a Fall 2028 goal when I’m on research leave.
In the meantime, I’m looking for people to ride with in Guelph.
I’m looking for destinations for winter riding that aren’t Florida or Arizona, to be clear, aren’t in the United States at all.
Here’s my past winter rides:
March 2022 Alton Illinois. See here and here and here.
But while Trump is in office, I’m not going to the United States. I need another plan!
My goal for 2026 is 2,500 km, and I’m at about 1,100. There are 18 weeks left in 2026. That’s 77 km a week to meet my goal. But the problem is that the mileage goal alone isn’t motivational. I like achieving the goal when I fill my life with riding.
See you out there!
A reminder for all of us who have had tough summers:
