I’m excited to finally be running the full 42.2 km marathon in my *hometown. It will be great to see friends and family on the course to cheer me on – but I have a need for some extra race support. I’m hoping I gather a crew for that day:

1.     Gear/layer shedding.

• It’s always chilly at the start of the race and I bundle up. At the start line and at the 3 – 4 km mark it would be great to have someone on hand to whom I can hand off my extra layers. Running gear gets expensive and I don’t want to lose it!
• Likewise – if the weather turns bad – it would be nice to have someone at the 25k mark or so to hand me a dry, warm layer if needed.

2.    Water bottles/gels.

I carry my own water usually, that way I can carry my own electrolyte concoction, plus I can avoid the bottlenecks at the aid stations (I haven’t mastered the art of drinking enough liquid out of those paper cups.) I have four bottle holders on my fuel belt plus a spare set of four. If I can trade empties for full ones with someone at about the 20 km point, have them refilled, and then pick them up again at the 35 km point, that would be ever so wonderful. (Neil Balkwill Centre – 2420 Elphinstone Street is Kilometer 20 and 35 I believe.)

3. Finish Line!

• Chocolate Milk 500 ml — I think my daughter Pocketbuddha has offered, but she will have Oliver with her, so perhaps some help for the mama of a 1-year old is in order? (PS I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW STOKED I AM THAT MY SON, MY DAUGHTER AND MY GRANDSON WILL BE AT THE FINISH LINE CHEERING ME ON!)
• Red Breast 12-year old Irish Whisky in a flask. My son Aidan has this one taken care of I think – it has become somewhat of a tradition for me to swill some whisky after Halfs and Full Marathons, thanks to my Victoria drinking buddy Tim (@Howlabit on Twitter). By the way – if anyone has any 15-yo Red Breast – talk to me. I’m sure we can work something out
• A warm blanket – those plastic ones they hand out to all racers are OK – but they just don’t do the trick.

4. Après-Finish

I’m getting a really big meal that day, thanks to Margaret Levett who is going to stuff me full of jug-jug, rice ‘n peas, and other Caribbean and British delicacies (including the sorrel. Mmmm the sorrel!).

Of course if people just want to come out and cheer, make me a sign that says “Go Tori” or just yell and scream when I run by, I’m up for that too. It will be a huge help. Did I mention running a marathon is freaking hard? Every little bit of encouragement helps — except don’t say “you’re almost there” until I’ve hit the 39 km mark.

The race web site (http://runqcm.com/marathon/course/maps_narratives_startfinish) has a handy “Spectator Zone” guide for spectators and includes information on the best spots from which to watch (that are easier to get to given the traffic restrictions that day).

—

*Swift Current, SK is technically my hometown, but I lived in Regina for most of my adult life: 18 years.

Hope is six years old.

“I hope I’ll get an ice cream cone today. I hope grandma doesn’t make me eat turnips. I hope I get a pony ride. I hope daddy will come back someday.”

Hope is a six year old in an woman’s body.

“I hope that if I’m very good, if I smile pretty and wear nice clothes, but I’m naughty in bed, he’ll leave her and be with me.”

The flip side of hope is despair.

Despair is Sylvia Plath readings at a coffee house. Despair is three quarters of a bottle of wine sitting in the bath when he leaves. Again.

Daddy never came back. Men never stay.

It’s worth clicking on over there to read the rest …

A friend is driving me out to Sidney, and I will run the entire length of the Lochside Trail to downtown Victoria. By myself. On a trail I’m not entirely familiar with, since I’ve only run it from the Blue Bridge to Island View Road. I’m hoping that by starting in Sidney, I’ll get the unfamiliar half over with first, while I’m still fresh.

Let’s face it: running for 3+ hours gets boring and it hurts. That’s why I join the clinics at Frontrunners: for the camaraderie and companionship. Other people take the edge off. There’s strength in numbers. Shared pain is more bearable, and actually feels like an accomplishment when it’s finally over.

I’ll be all right, I can do this. After all, I will be running the race solo (however there will be other runners on the course). I ran 2:45 mostly solo while I was visiting Regina a couple of weeks ago; a friend did join me for 5k or so, which definitely helped.

Is there anyone in Greater Victoria who wants to join me for a portion of my run on Saturday – either on foot or on a bike? I would appreciate the companionship and support, even for a little while.

This time, the administrators of the program at the post-secondary institution asked me to give them an interview. I prepared my responses and have turned them into a four-part series of blog posts directed at students. The first question was:

“Thinking about the co-op students you have hired in the past, what skills, abilities and attitudes have they demonstrated that have encouraged them to have a successful work term?”

So, you’re a student in a communications program looking for a co-op work term placement. How can I tell you’ll be a good hire for my organization?

Skills:

Writing writing writing! Not only great stories well-told, but examples of your writing using correct spelling and grammar. I’m looking for a nascent wordsmith. You do not have to write masterpieces, but you do have to show some budding talent. Writing as a craft can be honed, but usually there is some innate material to work with.

For those of us who have always aspired to work with words and stories, who write because we simply must, our calling and our passion for the written word shows in everything we write, whether it’s a letter to the editor, a blog entry or a series of Twitter posts. I have had one or two employees who simply did not have “it,” and those are difficult conversations to have, but for the most part, we get into this profession because we simply love to write.

Abilities:

Demonstrate your experience with computer programs, both web-based and print publishing, beyond “I have a Gmail account and use it daily.” Seriously, I have read resumes that list that particular “skill” and I am surprised at the number of second and third-year students who, contrary to pop-culture stereotypes, demonstrate very little computer savvy.

How do you demonstrate your computer savvy-ness?

• Set up a blog using WordPress or Drupal or some other content management system, and make it look nice. It doesn’t matter what the content is as long as it’s inoffensive to at least 70 per cent of the population.
• Use it to showcase your passion, talent and skill. It will shine through that skateboarding video you did for the neighbourhood guys or that paper you aced. Did you set up a database in your last job? Great, add a post about that too.
• Don’t have a blog yet? Start one! But in the meantime, have great examples in a portfolio, including writing samples, screen shots and links to your work.

Attitude:

Be a team player (really, it’s not just a buzz word) while at the same time demonstrating self-reliance.

My most recent hire required the student employee to work from home on a laptop we provided. I was looking for evidence of someone who is highly self-directed, yet conscientious and accountable for results.

I was not disappointed. Jenna hit all her deadlines – in fact she was much more efficient than I had anticipated, finishing well before deadline much of the time – and she made sure to ask me if there was anything else she could do when she ran low on work. She had a lot of questions about how to go about doing her work, which was fine, but she didn’t need constant supervision. She struck the perfect balance between her learning needs and my organization’s need for an extra pair of hands.

Your great attitude will show through if you are a good communicator and have a blog (that you have set up on your own time – added bonus!) or a portfolio to show a potential employer. It will also shine through during your interview, a topic to be covered in a further post.

Upcoming posts in this series:

• What makes a cover letter and a resume really stand out?
• What are the benefits of networking?
• What are the key points to a successful student interview?

This race is so much different from my first marathon. I’m still deeply committed, training is going well this year (dare I say better than last year?) – but that added sense of excitement and pressure is gone. I already know I can run a marathon – I’ve already achieved 42.2 kms.

This race is about seeing how strong I can be and running 42.2 faster than last time. It’s about having fun on a course in my hometown. For me, marathon running is like golf: if you hit a sweet drive 20% of the time, that one sweet shot after four duds is enough to keep you going back for more.

Looking at all my Halfs and Full marathons the past two years, I only felt really good during the Vancouver Half in 2009 – the Victoria Marathon hurt like hell from the 25km mark and the Oak Bay Half this year was a slog, despite my PB time.

Searching for that perfect race day just keeps me running.

Training is fun too – when I get a day (and it happens more frequently than a nice golf swing actually) where the weather, the company of my running buddies, my mood and my energy levels are optimum I think I’m the luckiest girl on earth. And I couldn’t get those days if I wasn’t training for another marathon.

So I’ll take them as they come!

—

Training this week: recovery week, only 16k long run Saturday.

Next week: 32k long run (about 3.5 hours). After that, the taper starts!

PS: I joined Empire Avenue at the enthusiastic urging of my friend Evan EAVB_TPXSRFRBEP

It was a bit of an epic: 2 hours of laying on my stomach while Greg from The Union made art on my back. Hey, nothing simple or cliché for me, it had to be a little more intricate and involved than just any old tat! Here’s a photo of the artist at work.

It wasn’t too painful, not at the start anyway.

The whole process took about two hours. I got there 20 minutes early because I was a bit excited, but I was reassured to watch him carefully clean his hands, implements and station in preparation for creating permanent artwork on my back.

First step was to place a temporary transfer he had made of the design, to help guide him as he painted on my skin with needle and ink. As he positioned the transfer on my left shoulder he said “I can take this off and reposition it a hundred times, so make sure it’s where you want it. We can’t even move it 1 millimetre after it’s done.”

His first placement was perfect, but he left me standing in front of the mirror for a while anyway just to make sure. I did stand there for five minutes looking at the transfer, but not for any reason you might expect.

I wasn’t nervous, I wasn’t hesitant. I was perfectly happy with where he placed it from the start. I had absolutely no second thoughts. My only thought was “Wow, I’m FINALLY doing this. What took me so long to do something I’ve wanted to do for ten years?”

To me, this tat is my mark of my identity. It’s an adornment of my secret self – made visible to the world. It’s a testament to my authenticity and my comfort with the woman I’ve become. It’s a celebration of my self and my body. It’s deeply personal and deeply satisfying. Getting this tattoo has given me the same kind of satisfaction I get from climbing: it’s sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. It’s no mystery then that the design is Devil’s Tower, a rock formation I have climbed a number of times.

Greg says he feels incredibly privileged to be doing what he loves – making art on people’s bodies – for a living. He’s certainly very accomplished; I could tell from his portfolio and by the fact that I had to book his time almost three months in advance.

Greg started with the electric needles (which sound only the faintest bit like a dentist drill, but I got over that quickly) just after 1 pm. My friend Scott arrived just before 2, right after I had asked for a teeny break to sip my iced tea. I’ve gotten body piercings before, and I knew to have something sugary on hand in case it got to be a little intense (meaning: Tori almost fainted once and she knows what to do). We chatted for a while, and I was grateful for Scott’s attempts to distract me. My tat involved some fairly complicated lines, trees at the bottom, the moon and shading. That means he had to go over the same piece of skin (my skin being more sensitive than most – ouch!) more than once or twice (ouch! ouch!) and use the shading tool, which is wider (“Oops, don’t jump Tori!” ouch! ouch! ouch!)

After an hour we took a break for 5-10 minutes. Then we were back at it for the final push to get it all done.

I was impressed with Greg’s ability to focus on his work in the midst of our conversation, and the hum of the busy shop with its hip-hop music cranked. It was a gorgeous day and the doors were open, people came and went stopping to say hi or to book an appointment. We also chatted about my next tattoos. Oh yes, I’m getting more, and from Greg too. “We’re bonded now!” he said.

Near the end of the second hour, I was beginning to feel worn out from lying there getting my back repeatedly scratched with sharp needles. I said to Scott “Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to say I’d go for a 2-hour run with Mandy right after this.”

“Uh – I wouldn’t recommend that. In fact, I wouldn’t want you getting this sweaty for a week,” said Greg.

A WEEK??? But I’m training for a marathon!

Damn, this was something I hadn’t considered.

I’m compromising – I won’t run for three days, I’ll skip this week’s long run. After that, I’ll be good and wash it carefully, but I just can’t take a whole week off running right now! However, I also have to consider the placement of my sports bra – if it rubs on part of my yet-to-be-healed tattoo … I’m not thinking about that right at the moment. The deed is done, I want to take good care of it and I’ll just have to roll with it as best I can.

A tattoo is a lifelong commitment, after all.

Now maybe I won’t be so commitment-shy in other areas of my life…

Take a little from column A, a lot from column B and you have the reason I wake up in an exhausted fog some mornings. This training schedule is like a second job. For instance, here’s this week’s schedule:

• Monday: morning tempo run 10-11k; evening “recovery” run with the Running for the Truly Terrified group I started.
• Tuesday: morning spin class at the YMCA where I’m a volunteer; evening boot camp.
• Wednesday: evening speed workout with Frontrunners marathon clinic.
• Thursday: evening boot camp.
• Friday: one-hour hot yoga at noon because lord knows I need to stretch!
• Saturday: 19k run (long slow distance: pace 6:50/k, a little over 2 hours)
• Sunday: hike Witty’s lagoon! (I’m really looking forward to that one!)

As luck would have it, my real job is busy but not crazy-busy, and during the summer I haven’t (yet) needed to put in any overtime hours or travel too much. If that were the case though I’d have to give up something – probably a boot camp session.

As a matter of fact, come August (when my mileage starts climbing again) I will drop one of the boot camps per week, and during taper I won’t weight train at all.

The perennial question for runners is: what are you running from?

Good question. The harder answer (given the fact that marathon training is actually hard on the body) is I have no idea. I can’t think of what I’m avoiding in life by working out so much, I can’t think of anything “chasing” me that would cause me to run away.

The easy answer is: I simply love this, I love running, working out, getting strong, staying youthful, staying healthy; and I love doing it with other people, helping them achieve their fitness goals at the same time I’m achieving mine.

What other possible answer could there be?

Photo: Tori running the Royal Victoria Marathon October 2009 by Bill Broughton

That I’m not climbing.

I am also acutely aware that I have signed up for another fall marathon – and concurrently training for a marathon and taking up rock climbing again are the purview of 20-year-olds and superhumans with no other responsibilities in life.

Oh – what to do?

If I could find a climbing partner – not just a gym partner but an honest-to-goodness outdoor climbing partner – I would drop the damn marathon and buy new sticky boots.

Seriously.

I want to climb again!

But finding a climbing partner seems as difficult as finding a life partner.

It has to be someone of similar ability, someone with the same schedule to make climbing trips, someone you don’t mind sharing a tent with (in a platonic or – even better – in a more intimate way).

There must be a way I can do this.

Maybe I’ve just been too caught up in my running to make climbing happen.

Maybe I just haven’t stumbled upon the right partner yet.

Well duh Tori, how are you going to stumble across a climbing partner unless you are out there actually climbing?

Point taken.

Anyone want to accompany me out to the local crag this July?

Photo by jimbowen0306, used by permission under a Creative Commons License

I couldn’t go to UFC 115 in Vancouver, but Dan did, and I got a shirt!

I didn’t realize before I uploaded this post that my computer camera takes a mirror-image photo. Oh well – I’m leaving it the way it is!

Posted via email from Tori Klassen