After 8 years and much procrastinating.....

Sport Day!

Today was the first annual Sport Festival in Saarbrücken - 14 stations of activities, from archery to uni-cycling. Okay, so my long jump sucks, but I did manage to do the one-legged balance act and didn't kill anyone on the in-line skates. I even found a few new muscle groups that have never been exercised before.
I earned my Medaille.

Next goal: the 10km Sparkassen City Lauf 17.juli.

PS 24h later: wow, I can identify every exercise by the stiff muscle group today :-)
Who knew that operating a wheelchair used that muscle?

The Mill Bay Crawl

The goal: run to the local Thrifty Foods for milk and back. The result: have asparagus, but no steam to run back. Somewhere between a star and a snake ... peacock perhaps? Yes, spotted on a rooftop in Mill Bay Theme Park and Wilderness Refuge a.k.a. Mom & Dad's back yard.

Beach bums

Dateline Vancouver. Our locale: Jericho Beach Youth Hostel. Our mission: reset our jetlagged internal clocks to local Pacific Savings Time. Up and out the door at 8:30AM. Made it as far as Spanish Banks and back in time for pancake breakfast.

Mission accomplished!

Chick peas and tahini

Ha ha ha! Humous!!!!!

Easy breezy

Sunday morning and another walk in the woods. Imagine new green leaves backlit with sunlight, air charged with raucous mating birds, the smell of fresh damp humous from yesterday's rain.

On the hunt

Today was another Feiertag in Saarland - I think that's 5 days off this month. I've lost track of why we even have a holiday, but I'm learning to make good use of them. Today I jogged to Güdingen. It was supposed to be Week 10 Run 2, or 4x 10 minute runs with 1-minute walks, but it felt so good, I just jogged it straight through.

I'm having my boss and his wife over for a barbecue tonight, and fresh asparagus would be a nice addition. But nothing is open on a Feiertag, not even the giant Globus in Güdingen. I walk the line to Brebach, but the small produce market is closed too. That leaves France - so I hop on a tram to Sarregemuines. Definitely got my exercise today and earned a French gold star!

Into the woods

What a difference a few weeks makes - the Saarbrücken Stadtwald is dark under the green canopy and, after the recent rain, it smells richly of humous and horses. Today, we took a new route up the steepest trails and over the hill to Eschberg. The conversation was as light as the spring air.

Today's star: the Pole Star, of course :-)

The Finish Line

The Full 10K is in sight around the corner. By the time we leave, we should be up to Week 12, Run 2. I have a plan:
June 2 - first morning in Vancouver, wake up and hit Jericho Beach for Week 12, Run 3
June 4 - Week 13, Run 1 on scenic Mill Bay
June 6 - Week 13, Run 2 on Sunshine Beach
June 8 - Week 13, Run 3 a.k.a. The Full 10K around Stanley Park
finishing with a moccachino grande latte at Blenz in Denman and a celebratory grill on my boat.
Are we up for this? Go Team!

Over the Wall!

I made it! HTW to Forbach in 1:20, including hiking up a hill or 2, getting thoroughly lost in a new development, kicking up red dust along a new highway foundation and even jogging down the median of an intercity route because there were ditches on both sides! Talk about un-jogger-friendly! But in the end, I found the Forbach train station, thanks to a few kinds souls (including a lone jogger) who provided directions in some mixture of French, German and some local Schoenecke dialect. I hit the wall on the second hill at about the 15-minute mark of run#2, wondered if I would turn back, but then found my groove and jogged straight through the rest of the way except for wading through knee-high weeds around a couple traffic circles. Who needs 1-minute breaks? I even walked home from the train station.

ah ... French wine ...

Made in the shade

*phew* 23° in the shade. This is like summer - I need sunglasses. Glad to get that out of the way. Wasn't sure I had another 4x10 left in me. Made it all the way along the river to the 5th bridge. By the time I climbed back up the hill, it felt so good, it calls for another - I'm thinking Forbach or bust! But I think we have something planned in 2 days that will change that tune ...

coming up next: Week 10, Run1, a.k.a. Lethal Weapon. Be afraid ...

The power of the mind

I thought about jogging this week - at least daily. Does that count? Well, if not, the 2-hour Nordik walk through all of Saar farmland followed by a detour to my walking-buddies house to buy her bike, followed by a hike up the hill home to get my pump, followed by my first wobbly bike ride in 3 months to work, followed by the long push home up the hill, carrying a wooden chair should count for an orienteering award ... 16km would explain why my feet protest. And then there was the half hour furniture delivery route home yesterday with a wooden garden bench balanced on my head including the climb up the hill.

Ok, so I'm doing just about anything to avoid Week 9, Run 3 (unabridged) with is actually 4x10min walk Madame. But that was the plan, since now we are in sync again. So with only 3 weeks to blast-off and coincidentally 3 weeks left in the program, I guess that was the last of our slacking off. (Incidentally, the Vancouver Sun Run was April 28 - over 59 000 registered!)

Hit the road, Jack! Week 9, Run 3 tomorrow - be there or be square! And do not under any circumstance look at Week 10, Run 1 or you'll regret it. Go Team!

It's easy to stop.......

....but ever so hard to start again.
Having fallen off the bandwagon (again) in order to complete licence application before the May 5th deadline, I had the unpleasant experience of going for a run after 2 non-active weeks.
I did my best old-lady impression and clambered awkwardly back on the bandwagon and managed an attempt at week 9 run 3. Five 5 min runs with 1 min seperations. It'll have to do and I'll see if I can walk in the morning!

New heights

Today was the first Nordic walk I've been on in a month, thanks to my constant travels. Not only did I keep up with the locals, our speed-demon kidnapped me for a quick side trip up the local water tower. And he wanted to run the 200+ stairs! I ran about half, but just about slowed to a crawl by the end. The view from the top was totally worth it though.

Next weekend our class is cancelled, but one of the walkers who lives close to me is going to take me for a tour of my neighbourhood. Next Sunday, same time, new place.

Uphill climb

Argh. I left my get-up-and-go at the bottom of the hill. Made it through the 1st 10-minute segment in 13 minutes for "fun", but half-way through the 2nd I ran out of steam. Think it was the steep grade ahead. Week 9, Run 3 - we'll meet again in a dark alley when you're not expecting me.

The Brandenburg Mile

Week 9, run 2 done and no excuses about being on the road. My friend Liliana, showed me a lovely route along the Havel in Brandenburg, where I was visiting her. Boats sailing on the river, bridges over canals, historic towers - very picturesque. Another 5 km down, 4 weeks to go!
origami "sailing star"

"No-looking-back Boileau"

And you thought I was dead ...

Team Do-or-Die makes it to the finish of Week 9 Run 1 a.k.a. Death Run! Kathleen and I both survived today. I got thoroughly lost in the wilds of Saarbrücken, among lakes, woods, horses and farms. Everything is turning green; the freshly clipped grass and flowering shrubs smell wonderful. 7.7km running! Made it home just as the rain started - thunder and lightning like a summer rainstorm over my head. The bitter-sweet lemon chocolate tastes great!

Sorry, have to "run" - my bath floweth over :-D

Make up your own run day

In order to lessen the looming psychological terror of week 9, #1 run, I decided to see how long I could actually run for. This turned out to be 20 mins. A short'ish break followed by another 10 mins to get home.
There is no way I could have set out into the great unknown of 10,15,20,10 without knowing I could already run more than the longest period.

Please remember this number for the UK emergency services: 999

If I haven't been heard of by Thursday something nasty will have happened to me on the imminent "Death Run". The picture is where I'll be if I do make it!

Snail's Pace

Today, to keep up with Lightning Love, and since I copped out of my Week 8 Run 2 in favour of 14 hours speed-walking around Disneyland Paris yesterday, I skipped to Week 8 Run 3. Not quite easy breezy, but I remembered my radio and it felt great at the end, bopping along to One Night in Bangkok.

I think the part about jogging I like the most is the warm-up/cool-down walks. Nice and lazy, a chance to look at the scenery. And there waiting patiently on the cool-down walk down the Nussbergtreppe were my 3 new room-mates. I think composting is about to accelerate from worm-speed to a snail's pace. So what wine goes best with Schnecken?

W8, #2

Having successfully completed today's 3 mins run, 1 mins walk times 7, I am now mellowing with a wine and bath evening. Covered a respectable 4km's before the downpour caught up with me.
I enjoyed being able to do the run and enjoy it rather than just trying to get through it.

40-pounder

Not to be left in the dust by one Kathleen Love, I just ground through Week 8, Run 1. This feels a lot like last Monday, 40 minutes of pure running mania only without the trip. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad either. I had an errand after work downtown that tied in nicely with the schedule (timed it to a 1-minute break), then ran home. Last 10-minute spurt ended exactly at the foot of Himmelsleiter (Jacob's Ladder), netting 5.68 km (up from 5 km at the same time last week) ... Now who put all those stairs here? Let's see you try a 250-step vertical "cool-down"!

Week 8, run 1

Run: 10 mins, walk 1 min x 4

Distance covered 6.5 km. Deer; 3. Ducks; 2. Pheasants, numerous. Horses overtaken; 2. Overtaking tractors; 1.

Feeling super-sonic-bionic. Don't feel i'm running particulary fast; does this matter?
Maybe I can work on speed after my body has got used to the idea that i'm going to be regularly submitting it to this kind of torture.

Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1796012

Week 7, part deux

I missed a run :-( But I have an excuse - it was cold. And if that doesn't work, I have another excuse - I was enjoying a mini-break weekend in Strasbourg, France. And I did do a lot of walking.




And then I came home and dutifully hit the paths in Alt-Saarbrücken. This run felt so good, I could have gone on, but I decided to save enough energy to enjoy a bath while reading my newly-arrived Blue Mars.
(German efficiency is an oxymoron - 38 days from England by air mail?)

First Casualty

Week 7 Run 1, version 2. Goal: 5km or how to make 40 minutes of huffing and puffing more painful.

Thanks to Kat's experience, I arranged my run over hill and dale as far as Gersweilerstraße and away from any temptation to quit. I was on the last leg and on my way into work, when I passed an old woman who was talking to herself. She distracted me enough that I didn't pick up my feet, and next thing I was sliding across the pavement *ouch* But I did finish the run! And I inventoried the department first aid kit.

Renee " The Gimp"

Downward slope

Wow! We're at the halfway point and no one has suffered any (touch wood) major exhaustion related injury!

Did the longest run so far this afternoon: Week 7; run 10 mins, walk 1 min, 4 times.
The times to beat were 10 mins, 10 mins, 9.5 mins and 7.5 mins. The last one was short as by then I'd already got back to my house on the circular route and had to really dig deep into my inner competitor to find any will to keep going for the last run versus collapsing on the driveway and hoping a kind neighbour would find me before nightfall.

The chicken is very much like the ones living next door where I stopped for my post-run gasping session.

Queen of the Hill

Just finished Week 6, Run 3 with a bonus effort. Discovered a lovely side of my town, away from the city centre. The Spichererberg Weg is a windy rambling route that is actually marked as part of the Camino de Santiago. This route is pastoral, complete with horses, cows, little shacks and cabins. I made it to my goal, about 5km away and discovered that Spichererberg really is a hill. I had to walk 2 of the 10 (run3, walk1) sets because it was so steep, but the view from the top was worth it! The top of Spichererberg is a large cenotaph with trails leading to memorials for various generals.

I felt so good at the end, I decided to skip sitting in the cold waiting for a bus and *walked all the way back*!! so with commuting by foot today, thats 3 hours of walking, running and climbing in 1 day!!! The reward: long soak in tub with relaxing bath salts and hot chocolate ... mmmm ....

Top that!

In the groove!

I did it!!! I ran home from work ... up the hill! Since today was the lightest of this week's schedule (3min run, 1 min walk, 7x), I figured it was my only chance, and in spite of how intimidating and steep it looked, I found a lovely path through a graveyard that's probably the best grade around here. By the end of the 4th set I hit the top of the hill, and I was cruising, humming "In the mood" to the beat of my footfalls. And speaking of grades, I get an 'A'.

The reward: Lindt chocolate

My new jogging outfit passed its test run.

What a star!

Here is Kathleen's virtual star, because she was too exhausted trying to keep up with me to publish her blog ;-)

Springing into action

Well, that was more pleasant than last time - the season changed overnight again and today was summer - tank top and capris for jogging.


No idea where we are supposed to be in the schedule, so I picked
Week 6 Session 1
52 min.

• Warm-up: Walk slow and easy for 5 min.
• Run 5 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this 7 times.
• Cool-down: Walk slow and easy for 5 min.

Note the use of the word "easy" and how it doesn't pertain to the middle bit. I think I got the last part right ...

Jumping in with both feet

This is how my Good Friday was supposed to go:
08:00 Wake up and do a little gardening before work.
09:00 Stroll down the hill to the office and create marvelous demo of our finite element analysis skills.
14:00 Knock off early and explore my new neighbourhood with my camera.
17:00 Go for a jog before dark.
19:00 Cook dinner for computer-savvy house-mate.

Here's how it really unfolded:
10:00 Get woken up from lovely sound sleep by howling blizzard.
11:00 Enjoy tea in cozy housecoat while debating whether sudden blinding sunlight will last.
12:00 Plant herbs and lavender in my home-office windowbox to the beat of hail on the windows.
13:00 Decline stroll along river in the sunshine with house-mate and former tenant in favour of catching up on accounting.
Spend next 2 hours learning All About Linux so I can read my old WinXP files.
15:00 Debate merits of going to work in blinding horizontal sleet.
Finish accounting update and chat with new linux buddies on newly-installed irc chat program.
18:30 Overtaken by feelings of guilt and inadequacy as a jogging buddy, I finally venture into The Weather to go for run (3 min run, 1 min walk x8 *50% uphill*) - lovely sunset.
19:30 Enjoying hot chocolate while cooking dinner for house-mate, and looking forward to long soak in tub later :-)

- and yes, that is my mateless sock opposite my mateless glove ... is that a crime?

Back on the bandwagon

This is how my ideal easter Friday was supposed to go;
6.15am Don't wake up for work and sleep in until 10am
10.00am Wake up slowly, have breakfast in bed.
Rest of day: Watch daytime TV and contemplate going for a walk later on.

Here's my real day.
6.15am Get woken up by work-going boyfriend.
7.30 Start writing evil logbook.
8.30am Go for run (3 mins run, 1 min walk x8) before guilt and rain overtake me.
Rest of day: Experience rapid consumption of my free time by the incredible never-ending logbook.

Lovely.

Punishment!

Having misplaced the Schedule amongst my infamous logbook papers, I had to make uptoday's run. I was in the mood for bit of self-punishment for having been so slack with running over the past few weeks, so I decided I had to run all the way non-stop to one end of my run route (9 mins) take a stretching break, then run back again (11 mins coming back uphill). Feeling better now, is that the endorphins?

Renee's Nordic Walking pt 2

The past week without a bike has given me ample practice at walking - 5 hours to and fro work, 4km a day. Then today, I mastered Nordic walking lesson 2 - from arm swinging to proper push-offs, I even have the knack of up-and-down-hill. Good conversation with my boss too - about global warming today (auf Deutsch of course!). No idea what's in store for me next week. But without a bike, I have to reserve jogging until my feet have a rest :-)

Renee learns a new sport

This morning, I discovered that Saarbrücken does have a Nature side. I met my boss and his wife and her Nordic walking class and went for a serious walk in the woods. Only 4°C, but sunny and not cold if you keep moving.

Nordic walking involves lightweight poles with fancy wriststraps that keep you from losing them every time you let go (which is every step). It is a bit like learning to ride a motorbike - coordinating hands and feet and getting into a smooth routine of motion. Quite relaxing once you get past tripping over your poles :-)

We walked through the woods from Am Kieserhume all the way to the university and back in an hour and a half, looking over a river, small towns and the campus from about 100 meters. I got to practice my German and my boss told me he's organizing a field trip for the local engineering association to Barcelona to discover Gaudi!

Next week, same time, same place. In the meantime, tomorrow it's back to the 10-k jogging program. My new long term goal is the East Coast Trail when my current contract is up ... or maybe for summer holiday next year if I can't wait. I miss Newfoundland.

*ack!* If that isn't enough exercise for one day, one of my new house-mates just called me up to invite me for a walk along the river with friends. At least I think that's what he said - man, these Saarlanders talk fast!

Recovery Week - yippee!

To anyone else in the world who reads this - apart from Ms Boileau - this is me, Kathleen.
Managed to haul my post-Barcelona-hot-chocolate-fest body round the local highways for Week 5, Run 2. Managed to do the 2 min running with 1 min walk the full 8 times without, surprise surprise, feeling too horrendous. And this despite not running for 2 weeks (blame Ms Boileau for the interruption).
Nearly half way through the course, amazing! Although I'm sure its going to get worse before it gets better.

Renee meets hardcore German exercise

OK, so I've been slacking off ... sort of. But walking an hour a day and weekends on major power walks around different cities (Darmstadt, Luxembourg, Barcelona) should count. I started using my walking poles too - supposedly an extra 20% energy, and I notice how much warmer I am when I get to work. But apparently I've been doing it all wrong.

I feel so inferior. My boss laughed at my poles. He and his wife are experienced Nordic walkers. They're dragging me off into the countryside tomorrow with their Nordic walking class (his wife teaches it) to learn the proper technique and see what real Nordic poles look like.

I think I may be indoctrinated into a cult. If you haven't seen a new post from me in the next week ... no wait, that's normal ;-) If I suddenly start enthusiastically writing about exercise, please send someone to capture and de-program me.

Can it be real.....?

Just so you know I'm not slacking off. Managed week 5 #1 run tonight. 3 minutes run, 1 minute walk, 9 times! So I was running 75% of the time!!!! Ner-ner ner ner-ner!

The other possibility is that I am actually collapsed on some countryside verge awaiting the assistance of Hampshire ambulance and this is all a dream...........

The other fantastic thing is that I am noticing just how much the evenings are getting lighter. It is dark now when I am getting home from the run, rather than as I am leaving the house. And a beautiful sunset over West Heath tonight too.

Renee is a recovering couch potato

This week is "Recovery Week" - I started it off by deciding to pick a random direction and run till I found something interesting.

I discovered a new neighbourhood, a big hill and that I can run 6 minutes straight without running out of steam (downhill). I didn't really follow a routine today, I just started running and stopped whenever it felt right. In all, I still did 6 run-walk sessions, but this time I ran 70% of the time! (net: 4.3 km on some grade for a change, max. heart rate 160).

Catch me if you can!

Week 3, abbrev.

Bee-utiful day for a run! Renee didn't feel motivated when she woke up, but once the sun broke through the clouds and shone through the window, she was rarin' to go. It is 11°C and everyone (and their dog) is out for a jog along the river.

Today's run: warm-up 5 min. (running up and down stairs to get radio), 7x (run 3, walk 2), except I over-ran the mark just about every time! This is definitely getting easier. I made it to the 3rd bridge toward France at Ostspange (and over it). I was feeling so good, I ran 5 min at the end. Net 5.1 km - we're over the half-way mark!

I didn't miss a session this week and I think I'm caught up, having just completed the hardest run of Week 3 and then some! Good timing - Week 4 is a "recovery" week, so I just have to keep up the pace.

This Week's Revelation #1: My portable radio really blocks out the traffic noise and adds some bounce to my step. BUT - it also makes it difficult for passers'-by to tell me I've dropped my keys :-) leading to ...

This Week's Revelation #2: Always zip pockets shut!

The Reward: The Max Ophüls Preis Filmfestival ends today. I'm going to see Zu Fuß nach Santiago de Compostela (On foot to Santiago) - at least I have a hope of understanding the subject matter ;-)

New Territory

Aaaaaaahhhhhh! What's that? (deep inhalation) Yes, the smell of fresh country air!!
Motivated by the ability to step out of the front door on to a public footpath through the hampshire countryside (above left) I am up to run 2, week 3!!!
Admittedly, I am returning home significantly muddier, but my runs now take me past trees instead of Budgens, which is vastly more enjoyable.

Week 2 is in the bag!

Kathleen is offline in her new place, but text messages confirm that she has indeed comleted week 2! This week's schedule was up to 7x(2 min. running, 1 min. walking). I only managed similar to week 1 again, but still managed 3 sessions in spite of a pulled muscle, and it's feeling good now.

Next week will be a bit tougher, 3 min. running segments, but we're up for it! And in less than 4 weeks, we'll be on our first mini-break of 2008 to celebrate in Barcelona, which is at 41°N latitude! Compared with 51 for Tadley or 49 for Saarbrücken, this should represent a noticeable change in climate.

Mini-Break 1: The Quest for Gaudi - coming soon to a blog near you!

Renee is back on track

I made it through run#3 tonight. The schedule: warm-up 5 min. stretch, then 7x (run 1 min, walk 2) and cool-down. Only got up to 120bpm tonight (compared to 140 the other 2 runs) - slow going.

I walked to work so I could jog back downtown. I also "ran" a few errands at the end, including the tourist office (for bike route maps), the bank and the grocer for some kind of green cauliflower that looked like a living Mandelbrot fractal pattern - couldn't resist.
Only problem is, I seem to have lost my competitor ... or did she leave me in her dust?

arrrggh! Medic!

Renee gets the first injury of the year - dang it! I did a good 10-minute brisk walk to warm-up today, then the instant I started to run, I pulled something. First snake - well maybe a half snake - I did go for about an hour walk instead.

At least I made a couple other New Year's goals this week - didn't eat out once, not even a pide. And I succeeded in my quest to find parsnips. Tonight's dinner: boiled new potatoes and onion, fresh baked baguette and parsnips. Although my recipe pales in comparison to my mentor ... forgot to remove the cores, boiled 5 minutes, then baked about 20 min. Would you believe there's a blog devoted to parsnips?

Renee learns moral of the day: stretching is important.

Try again tomorrow...

Last Hook Run Round

That bright light you can see behind me on the left is my halo, which doesn't fit under my hat, and so I have to hang it up whilst I go out for my JOG #2!!!!!!

New pedometer tells me I was out for 28 minutes, burned 112.4 Kcal (felt like much more), travelled 2.1 km or 1.3 miles and had an average speed of 15 steps/minute. However that only seems to add up to 420 paces, which seems bizarrely low considering how much I feel I need a long hot bath now!



Run #2 will have been my last run round Hook - yay! On to pastures new and, most likely, some very muddy running shoes.

Primary results

Run#2 in the bag! I see Kathleen has finished her jog
while building her first blog

entangled with a dog.

Now that deserves some nog!

Today I made it out before dark. Just like run#1 but in the sleet - a bit shorter (6x instead of 8) so I skipped the Bahnhof this time. At least I was well-prepared with my new earmuffs!

I chose red primarily so I won't lose them, or maybe because they go so well with my blue beret and my yellow housecoat :-D

(Gold stars are available on the interweb of course! Just copy the image location into the "add image" dialogue box and Bob's your uncle. Well my uncle, actually 2 of them...)

By george, she did it!

..and indeed I did!



Vital statistics are 1.9 miles without requiring help from passers-by. Sirin and I took a victory lap together to finish.

Where's my star?

P.S. To Renee - If you can read this, then a small miracle has occurred on my path to increasing computer literacy!

Renee survives run 1!

The Schedule: warm-up 5 min., (run 1 min., walk 2) 8 times, cool-off 5 min.

Route notes: Discovered stairs leading down to river route - made a great warm-up repeated for ~150 steps.
Ended exploring new train station and found grocer open on holiday in the Bahnhof - sanctimoniously selected fruit buttermilk.

(note: I find google's code for loading the route is too slow in the blog, but you can see where I went if you click on the "Route notes.")

The Victor?