Category: fall

fall · fitness · fun · race report · running

Tracy’s first running event since 2019!

Tracy I1 Comment

After more than three years of not doing anything “official,” I signed up for a 5K and ran it last weekend. And it was a blast. A few of my running group did it too. None of us went in with big dreams and all of us had a fun time.

Image description: Six runners, arms linked, some with race bibs, five wearing medals around their necks, smiling, start line and fall foliage in the background.

Considering that my last event was the Around the Bay 30K back in 2019 (see my overly optimistic report of that ill-fated day here — it was ill-fated because the next day I had a back injury and shortly after that I had achilles issues and basically I didn’t run much again for about nine months), the 5K felt like an odd choice. Not because there is anything wrong with 5K, but because it isn’t a distance that I needed to train for since I run more than that regularly (our Sunday minimum is usually around 7.5 and we often do more than that). I’ve never done an event that I haven’t had to train for.

I also had difficulty deciding what my goal should be. I really haven’t gotten back on track with any regular routine since the ATB in 2019, and when I go out I go out for fun, not for fast results. So I decided that my goal would be to come in under 40 minutes. That might seem like an unchallenging goal to some, but I wanted something that I could actually meet. Indeed, a friend who hasn’t run since she was in her thirties literally laughed at me when I stated that goal, as if it was ridiculously easy.

On race day I felt good. It was a gorgeous autumn day and we met just over 1K from the start line and ran there as a little warm-up. Unlike events in the past, I didn’t need to concern myself with whether I could make the distance. I decided I would stick to my usual 10-1 intervals that I do every Sunday.

In the end, most of my group broke away from me within the first 500m, with one falling into place a little bit behind. I didn’t end up wanting to walk for the one-minute walking intervals, and I was pacing reasonably well all things considered. My chip-time was 35:19 and I felt strong–only mildly regretting that I hadn’t pushed just a little bit harder to come in under 35 minutes. In any case, it gave me a new goal for my sixtieth birthday, which is to try to shave a few minutes off of my 5K time and perhaps even complete it in 30:00. It was also a fun time for the group, all of whom were smiling at the end, as you can see in our photo.

If there is a moral to this story, it’s that going back to something I used to do, and keeping my expectations very low, can actually feel really good. Have you returned to something that you’d set aside? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments.

challenge · fall · fitness · Seasonal sadness · snow · winter

Sam’s November Plan 2022

Sam B1 Comment
Quotes about November

From 24 inspiring November quotes.

You’ll see that there aren’t actually 24 here. That’s because most of the 24 were about the fall but they seemed more September and October to me. By November most of our coloured leaves have fallen. It’s all stick trees against the grey sky with cold rain here. I’ve never been to Norway but I like the idea of visiting Norway. I’m intrigued by the idea that November reminds someone of Norway.

As you likely are sick of hearing about, I’m no fan of November. See Is there a way to redeem November? and 10 things to make it through November  and November is my toughest fitness month: Here’s why. Way back in 2014 I wrote November goals.

Here’s my ten item list of things that will help me make it through November. This year I started early with the lights, the daily gratitude practise and pretty much the rest of it too.

Each year it seems I start my new year’s resolutions earlier and earlier. This year it’s November 1.

All the bright lights!

Books and a anti-SAD lamp on Sam’s desk at work

Exercise with cheerful music

Grover’s Monster Workout Video

Furry blankets to go with all of my knee pillows

Brown and white dog wearing pink fur coat, sunglasses, sitting on a bright pink sofa

Hot tub/sauna

Treat yourself, Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash

Gratitude

Fashion

Food

I baked this!

Fiction

I read this while recovering from knee replacement surgery and loved it. Looking for more ….

November 1 is the new January 1

Resolutions

Friends and family

So those are my ten tools to combat November sadness and gloom. What would you add to the list?

I guess an obvious one is getting outside when it is sunny but I’m not even sure there are sunny days in November. If there are I promise that I’ll get out and bask in it.

Any others?

Is there a way to redeem November?
fall · fitness · nature · season transitions · Seasonal sadness

Is there a way to redeem November?

Sam B2 Comments

I love September. It’s the first month of the university year. There’s lots of things to do on campus. I love the bustling atmosphere of all the students returning.

🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁🍁

October is Halloween and pumpkins and while some of the days are dark and grey I find the brightness of the yellow and orange leaves helps.

Here’s Michael Enright in praise of October.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

December is all seasonal celebrations, concerts, family, holidays, gifts and joy. It feels very cozy and I love the music.

🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲🌲

While January is cold and snowy here there’s often a lot of bright sun beaming off the bright white snow. Also the days are getting noticeably longer. Usually I head south in January and get some winter bicycling in.

☃️☃️☃️☃️☃️☃️

February and March can seem long I know but again there’s sun and I’ve got spring in my sights.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

But November? The leaves are gone. It’s not yet snowy, mostly grey and cold and rainy. It’s dark when I go to work and dark when I come home. There aren’t even any good holidays in November. I’m Canadian, remember. We did Thanksgiving in October.

☂️☂️☂️☂️☂️☂️

November is objectively the darkest and worst month of the year. I need a way to redeem November. I should be able to find something good about November. But what?

❓❓❓❓❓❓

Your suggestions and ideas about redeeming November are welcome. And while I appreciate that some people can lean into the misery and kind of revel in the worst month of the year gloom, that’s not me. I need ways of making it through November, and for this year, I need ways that don’t involve more outside exercise. As I rehab my knee that isn’t going to happen. I need to know what you like about November. What’s November’s good side? Somebody has to like November, right?

Goodbye October. Hello, November.
A woman jumping, dressed as Captain America, and a woman running, dressed as Thor. Wacky Wednesday: Pumpkin kayakers, T. Rex racers, and beer can marathoners
fall · fitness · fun · paddling · running

Wacky Wednesday: Pumpkin kayakers, T. Rex racers, and beer can marathoners

catherine w

Fall is here- well, almost. According to the online Farmer’s Almanac, the astronomical start of fall is Thursday Sept 22, 9:04pm, EDT. But it’s never too early to start planning your fall novelty races. Costume races can be fun– I did a short for-fun cyclocross race in 2016, dressed as a banana.

But that’s child’s play compared to the level of commitment and willingness to exhibit publicly that these folks have. Consider the annual pumpkin regatta, held in Windsor N.S., moved to Shelbourne N.S. this year (because of low water levels in Windsor). Here are some details:

Kean said the race will take place [on Oct. 8] in Shelburne’s harbour, between the waterfront and Islands Provincial Park. “We’re pretty confident we can make it work. I mean, Shelburne has a world-class harbour so we want to make use of that,” she said.

Danny Dill, the owner of the Dill Family Farm in Windsor, will supply five oversized pumpkins for the race. His family has been providing the giant gourds since the regatta’s inception in 1999. Dill said he feels good about Shelburne taking on the regatta. “It’s like we’ve passed the torch, so to speak,” he said.

Maura Macumber, paddling her craft at the 2019 Windsor Pumpkin Regatta.

Racing in costume might seem much easier than racing in an enormous pumpkin. Well, consider this recent T. Rex event at a horse racing track.

T. Rex competitors cross the finish line by any means necessary.

If you’re feeling down about having missed your chance to channel your inner theropod in sneakers, there’s still time. If you’re in the Richmond, VA area, you can register for this T. Rex race.

Then there’s running a marathon in a human-sized beer can. Ultramarathoner Glen Sutton decided to make a beer can suit to wear while running a marathon. The rest is youtube history:


Two marathon runners flanking a human-sized beer can, also running. Don’t blame me, I just work here.

Speaking from experience, it’s so much fun to let go of everything but a commitment to fun and a modicum of large/small motor skills, and just get out there, laughing and moving in equal measure. Readers, do you have plans for any costume races or active events this fall? We’d love to hear all about them.

Resources for coping with “fall dread”
fall · fitness · Seasonal sadness

Resources for coping with “fall dread”

Sam B3 Comments

A friend posted recently that he’s struggling with the feeling of fall in the air. Cooler days and less sunlight have him thinking of fleeing for parts south starting in October, returning in April. He asked for advice. What do his friends do to make winter less terrible, more bearable?

I’ve been writing about September sadness for awhile now. And I’ve also written about some of the solutions I’ve found. See here and here.

For me, as it starts to feel more like fall out there, I’ve been having those thoughts too. Thursday’s forecast is for a high of 15 and an overnight low of 4. That’s the official first day of fall so it seems appropriate.

Here’s four things I’ve been thinking about.

First, I try not to avoid anticipatory upset. This is the sunny part of fall. There’s still lots of time for getting outside. It’s beautiful colours and not yet really short days. There’s a lot to appreciate about early pre-November fall and I’m trying to be here for it.

Second, I’m leaning into the fall sadness a bit. It’s not a horrible emotion. Maybe it’s okay to make room for a season that’s a little bit sad. If summer is all bright light and sunshine and laughter, maybe it’s okay that fall feels different.

Third, and while it seems obvious, can sometimes feel challenging, get outside. Enjoy the daylight we do have. I’m hoping my new knee and I can go for lunch hour walks. It’s okay to work in the evening and enjoy the outdoors while there’s light.

Fourth, I’m also looking for things to do that aren’t options in the busy summer. That might be language learning, reading fiction, meditation, cooking, and writing.

There’s some good advice in this piece, How to Cope With Fall Anxiety

And I like the Guardian’s list too.

I’ve been using the Ten Percent Happier App for meditation and I see that they too have a section on fall dread.

I may have to go investigate.

What advice do you have to offer?

challenge · fall · fitness · season transitions

FIFI has a ParticipACTION team and you can join us!

Sam B

I don’t know about you but for me the autumn can be challenging activity wise, as I pack up the canoe, and the small sailboat, and there’s no light left in the evenings.

To help with some bonus incentive, I joined the participACTION October challenge and made us a team. Join me?

It’s time to get moving in ParticipACTION’s Team Challenges. Join the Fit is a Feminist Issue team by entering code b3xyfrg in the free ParticipACTION app. Let’s get active together! Make sure you’ve got the latest version of the app: https://bit.ly/2GR6y3c

If the team is full by the time you get there, please feel free to start Fit is a Feminist Issue, 2 and so on. If you do that and you want others to join, pass along your team name and code in the comments. Thanks!

A list of school physical activities like online yoga, skipping and obstacle courses. Catherine learns about activity, care and relationships from her logic students
fall · fitness

Catherine learns about activity, care and relationships from her logic students

catherine w1 Comment

It’s back-to-school time for me and everyone around me. It feels strange after being away for 18 months, teaching on a small screen to even smaller students. It feels strange teaching in-person, all of us wearing masks (my campus has a mask and vaccine mandate). One of my current students introduced herself to me last week, reminding me that she was in one of my zoom classes last spring. I commented that she looked different in person than she did inside a small square on my laptop. She said the same was true of me, and we both chuckled, a bit nervously.

Some things, however, haven’t changed. I’m still teaching online introduction to logic–two sections. I’ve been doing this for more than ten years, and it has its plusses and minuses, both for the students and for me.

One of the plusses (for me, at least) is this: at the start of the term, I ask the students to introduce themselves. I offer them a variety of questions to answer to get them started (all optional):

Who are you? What should we call you? Where are you from? What’s your major or interest (if you haven’t declared one yet)? Do you have pets? Siblings? Kids? Favorite house plants or T shirts? What do you do when you’re not schooling? Tell us whatever you’d like.

They always deliver. I’m in awe of how much they do, how many relationships they sustain, how many hours they work at jobs to help support themselves, their families, and their educational goals.

So, in honor of the start of the school year, here’s what 58 logic students do to be active, caring, and satisfied, in the form of lists.

They take care of a LOT of pets:

  • 23 cats
  • 28 dogs
  • one horse
  • one bunny
  • one betta fish
  • 3 mice
  • 11 chickens
  • indeterminate number of other farm animals

They take care of other humans:

  • 13 children
  • 15+ younger siblings
  • loads of other peoples’ kids (as nannies, babysitters, daycare workers)
  • elderly people (as caregivers, aides)
  • school-age kids (as teachers’ aides)
  • kids’ sports teams
  • vulnerable people (in centers, schools, hospices)

They keep active:

  • horseback riding
  • cycling
  • running
  • basketball
  • football
  • yoga
  • dancing
  • softball
  • hockey
  • hiking
  • fishing
  • snowboarding
  • gym workouts
  • water skiing
  • playing with their animals

They go to places that make them happy:

  • the beach
  • the park
  • the woods

And they do all of this while working many jobs. Many or most of them work full-time AND are full-time (or close to it) students. Their lives are, in short, full.

I am in awe of these people. I already like them and am proud of them for their courage in taking on two lives’ worth of activity and caring and work. I hope to learn more from them as the term goes on.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone!

Image of people at a conference table and the odd heading, "secret shopping and training". No idea why... Catherine’s training/shopping plan for starting the school year
fall · fitness

Catherine’s training/shopping plan for starting the school year

catherine w2 Comments

It’s happening for real– school is restarting in the Northern Hemisphere and lots of us are returning to in-person teaching or learning. Of course, the people with the other jobs have been or are dealing with the transition from remote to in-person work. I feel like I’ve not been sufficiently sympathetic up to this point. But now I am.

Returning to in-person work (outside of my house, that is) feels scary and weird. And when things feel scary and weird, making lists seems like a way to approach them. So here I go:

Logistical list:

  • Try on work clothing to see what still fits. Oh joy.
  • Order a bunch of clothing online, now that I’m going to be teaching in person AND some things from February 2020 don’t fit well now.
  • Order a lot of masks, including N95 ones, for teaching in person, along with regular surgical masks to hand to students who invariably forget/destroy theirs. It’s going to happen.
  • Download a new meditation app (Calm), because if one is good (Ten Percent Happier), two must be awesome…
  • Plan, prep and cook meals on the weekends that I can thaw or pull out of the fridge when I get home from teaching, and other meals I can take to school for lunch. I prefer not to eat in a school cafeteria, and I certainly won’t have the spoons to cook after being on campus all day.
Spoon inside. red circle with a line through it. The rest is left to the reader.

Activity list:

  • Up my meditation game to include a 15-25 minute sit each day (in addition to my early morning and late-at-night short meditations). I’m going to need as much equanimity as I can get as I shift into campus work mode. I’ve already started, so am hoping to keep it up.
  • Charge up my long-dormant fake-o FitBit to track my hopefully-soon-to-be-ordinary campus movement, which will: a) provide positive feedback/reward for each day’s courageous act of getting out of my house and car; b) provide data and set the stage for new goal-setting; c) remind me to accessorize with a real bracelet on the other wrist.
  • Pick an outdoor activity I would like to do on my way home from work, and do that activity. After all, I’m out of the house and in a moving vehicle– how hard can it be to swing by somewhere-or-other and swim or walk or cycle or do yoga or paddle? Honestly, this seems like a great idea. I think I might actually do it.
  • Put together a bag or bin with after-school playthings for swimming or walking or yoga or cycling or whatever. Wow– I think I might do this, too!
It would be double-cool to get one of these tents to change from work clothes to play clothes. Thinking on it...
It would be double-cool to get one of these tents to change from work clothes to play clothes.

Emotional list:

  • Give myself a break about how hard the transition to an on-campus regular work schedule will be. I’ve had serious insomnia for the past 18 months (and no thank you, I don’t need any sleep tips– I know them all). It’s not going away magically on Sept 2. My schedule won’t be ideal, but what is?
  • Give myself a break about how bumpy my transition is, especially in cooking and activity schedules.
  • Be flexible about what comes up in the course of the transition; if swimming is too complicated, how about walking? Or yoga? Or youtube dance videos?

This isn’t for beginners at all. I’ve studied and taught dance, and could barely manage it.

Accountability list:

  • Report back in four weeks’ time on how the transition is going. That car-tent is backordered, so likely I won’t have one, but for the rest of it, I’m looking to breathe and move through this.

And I can’t wait to see my students!

Not my students or colleagues, but you get the idea.

Hey readers, what about you? Are you in the transition back to school? Have you already done it? What’s it like? Are you headed back to in-person work? What’s working for you? I’d love to hear from you.

Sam is checking in for November
fall · fitness · monthly check in

Sam is checking in for November

Sam B2 Comments

November is officially my least favorite month of the year. It’s dark by late afternoon.

Today the sun sets, according to Google, at 4:46 pm.

There’s no snow yet to play in. It feels like possibilities are shutting down at the best of times. Add a pandemic and increasing lockdown like restrictions to that, especially ‘celebrate the holidays only with the people in your immediate household‘ to the mix and I was more worried about November than usual.

The good news? I made it. There were some very good days in there too. It wasn’t all a trudge.

Maybe everything isn’t hopeless bullshit

What helped?

I did daily gratitude posts.

I sat in front of my SAD lamp at breakfast

I got out of the house most days during daylight hours.

I did a lot of riding my bike in Zwift and Yoga with Adriene. I even graduated from Zwift Academy.

It helped that my bad knee has been behaving mostly and that riding helps keep my knee in line. Cheddar and I have been on some pretty long walks. Sometimes I’m not sure if it is feeling better or if I’m getting used to the pain. Either way, I’ll take it.

Cheddar relaxing after a walk

It’s a good thing that my knee is doing well. Given that hospitals are being kept busy with covid-19 patients, my knee replacement surgery is likely to be put off for awhile. University Hospital in London, Ontario which is where my surgery is to take place is currently battling covid-19 outbreaks on almost all of its floors including orthopedic surgery.

My best guess for when the surgery was to take place was December but that doesn’t seem likely now. I’m checking in with doctors next week to find out.

Dark trees without leaves against a cloudy sky

Side note: It was even hard to find November like photos. There are lots of fall colour photos of brilliant red and yellow leaves. There are lots of winter photos of woods in the snow and sunshine. Grey November with bare branches against the grey? Not so much. But in the right mood it’s got its own stark beauty. Doing okay in the rest of my life meant I had the emotional space, even with the pandemic, to see that.

I’m ending November less nervous about the next one, especially since things are looking good for the worst effects of the pandemic to be over.

Here’s my happy dance in anticipation of sun and snow and the gradual end of the pandemic!

fall · fashion · fitness · gear · Seasonal sadness · self care · walking

Thoughts about walking and about rain boots minus gender

Sam B

Nat’s post about walking in the rain prompted me to take action. Now, I’m no Nat. I meet my very modest step goal most days but I try not to care. My Garmin watch gives me fireworks when I’ve met my step goal and I smile at this little mini celebration but when it asks me to increase my goal, I decline.

About eight months ago I wrote a post about the wonders of walking that asked what if you can’t walk. I can walk but not very far with my damaged, waiting to be totally replaced, knee. There are still reasons to walk, even it hurts, and lots of studies show that walking won’t make the situation worse.

So I do walk a fair bit still thanks to Cheddar the dog but increasing my step count isn’t among my fitness goals.

Cheddar and the fall colours

But Nat’s post inspired me in another direction, the direction of dry feet and dressing for the weather. Like Nat, I’m well kitted out for winter. I have all the gear I need to stay warm on my fat bike, on snow shoes, or while walking Cheddar in January. But rainy weather? Not so much.

I don’t mind winter when it’s here. In January the days are getting longer, there’s snow to play in, and often there’s sun. But November? Ugh. Dark, cold and often rainy, November is my toughest month. I’m on record as hating November.

Given the pandemic, I don’t need any extra anger or resentment in my life. I need to make friends with November. First step, getting better rain gear. I’ve got an excellent rain coat that I bought while on sabbatical in New Zealand. But I don’t have good rain boots. My calves are too wide for traditional knee high rain boots.

The boots needed to be bright and cheerful, because November. And short, because calves.

Here was my short list of choices:

Boots

In the end I chose the Pride boots. I thought seriously about the pink fishing boots but they aren’t available in my size.

But I need to tell you a thing I love about the Pride boots. They’re available in two different kinds of sizes, wide and narrower. Not men’s and women’s.

I’ve written before about gendered sizing, about lady backpacks and women’s bikes, and why they drive me up the wall. Why not just wide shoulders, or long torso? Why tie things to gender even they’re not about gender at all? If some men fit women’s boots and some women need men’s boots, then it isn’t really about gender, is it?

Thks. Hunter boots for getting it right.

Black boots with rainbow heels

Now, assuming they fit, these boots likely aren’t enough to make me love November when it gets here. But I just have tolerate November and likely I will tolerate it better with dry feet.

Thanks for the prompt Nat.

Enjoy your walks with Michel and Lucy. Cheddar and I will be thinking of you!

And Happy Thanksgiving y’all!

A small orange pumpkin being held in two hands outstretched.