Caffinara|Melanie Watts, Caffinara: Wake up to life

About| Home| Contact| Gardening Blog

Friday, November 27, 2009

Black Friday Dilemma, Shopping deals for runners

Posted by Melanie at 06:55 0 comments

Today is Black Friday but it is also Buy Nothing Day however, one should be prepared for the other 364 days when you can spend, without worrying about your conscience, therefore I present to you the, The Ars Technica Holiday Gift Guide.

This year they’ve conveniently divided it up into sections. Under the kitchen section for example, the first item is an Impressa E Espresso Machine, made by Jura-Capressoit it will set you back an astonishing $899 although, when it comes to the coffee fiend who shares your bed you should spare no expense.

Moving along the next section to catch my eye was the fitness section.

The first item on the list is the Gramin forerunner 305 GPS. It’s a special gadget made for runners. You strap it too your wrist like a watch. If you are a runner and feel the need for something to track how far, how fast and at what pace you are running you want this. It also comes with a heart rate monitor you strap around your chest so it can send data wirelessly to the GPS. The cheapest place to get this is at GPScity .ca or .com. For a cool $169.95 CAD you are saving $80 -$100 over the competition. Mine arrived in the mail two days ago. I will post a review in another week or two once I get on to it.

Next up is the Spibelt running belt. At an affordable $21.95 it would make a great stocking stuffer for your favourite runner.

The belt is also the same price as the Road id, a bracelet, engraved with your name, address and phone number, that you attach to you wrist. In the event you get run over by a car or slip and bonk your head, while running, this will let the paramedics know whom to contact. You shouldn’t depend on your technological device to provide all your details since it could get broken in your fall.

For the price you should get the belt, just throw in your drivers license. The pocket expands to accommodate your ipod, car key, lip balm or other small items you deem necessary to take on your run.

Under the iphone section RunKeeper is listed as being the iphone ap of choice for those fanatical runners on your shopping list. It takes advantage of the iphones GPS to map your run much like the Garmin does. The app costs $10 for the pro version. While it sounds cool I’m a little worried about how much it would actually cost since the iphone has too dial through the phone line to connect to the satellite and with my runs lasting 1.5 hours or more I can see the dollar signs piling up behind my eyeballs.

I've thought long and hard about what gear to get for running. Apart from buying good quality shoes and replacing them when they wear out these 3 items are extra things I want.

Update: If you are buying the Spibelt go to this coupon page to save! Use US15 to get 15 % off and Ship 09 to get free shipping, even to Canada

Labels: black friday, gifts for runners

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Get a Yaktrax, How to Run Safely on Icy Roads

Posted by Melanie at 18:18 2 comments

I got these Yaktrax gizmos to put on the bottom of my running shoes, to help me get some grip on the icy roads and sidewalks that have suddenly become de rigueur around here. I don't want to have to give up running just because it's winter.

I've never liked going to the gym. I don't like all those stinky, sweaty bodies working out right next to me, not to mention all the intimidating machines. I've only run on a treadmill once and I didn't like it at all.

The yaktrax are made of rubber and have metal coils, that bite into the snow or ice. They come in three sizes that stretch to fit your feet. They have two rubber pieces, one fits around the toe and the other around the heel. There is also a velcro strap that folds over the front of your foot to make sure it stays on. The metal coils criss cross over the bottom of the shoe. They are very easy to put on.

I felt fairly safe wearing these things on my shoes today, when I went running. I didn't think about where to put my feet, to avoid slipping, or even think about slipping at all. I just concentrated on my breathing and rejoiced because I was outside running for the first time in over a week.

So I don't slip on the icy street while out running

I have decided to leave them permanently on my running shoes, after all winter is going to be here for a few more long months and I want to be outside.

Labels: Running, Yaktrax

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

What's with this Vancouver-Like Snow?

Posted by Melanie at 07:26 1 comments

Yuck! It's the grossest most horrible weather ever. I don't understand why it's not raining. The temperature is just around zero, the worst temperature for travelling, snow tires don't help when it's slippery. I've had to shake some of the trees so they don't break under the weight.

I want some real winter

Labels: snow, winter

Sunday, November 15, 2009

First Skiing Snow

Posted by Melanie at 21:12 1 comments

A couple of days ago a friend and I went to Sugarbowl. There was snow right down to the road, but we still managed to walk almost up to the meadow before being forced to put on our snowshoes to get up to the ridge. We decided, since there was almost enough snow to ski, we should check out the Pine pass on the weekend.

View of the Pine Pass taken from the ski hill

It turned out Powder King was open.

So today we drove up. It started to snow the second we got there and continued for most of the day. Visibility was not great so we decided to pay our money and ski the hill. It was fun, way better than I thought it would be. The only problem was I re-pulled my hamstring, a tiny bit, while climbing out of the elevator shaft. There wasn't really enough snow to ski it.

We might just go back there next weekend.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Yoga for Runners

Posted by Melanie at 08:35 0 comments

This sequence of yoga poses helps loosen the muscles you use when running, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves. It is great to do post run or on rest days. I do it slowly, focusing on feeling the stretch before moving on to the next pose. The aim is not to overstretch.

Ever since I was diagnosed with a rotated pelvis I've been on the lookout for ways to help keep it in place, improve my core strength and general overall body strength.

My first experience with yoga was a class I took four years ago at the Y. I discovered I was not as flexible as I used to be and lying on the floor contorting my body into unlikely positions was boring and made me feel inadequate. I doubt I will take another yoga class. At least, with this video to help me at home there is no one else to see how terribly inflexible I am.

Video from Runners World

Labels: Running, Running problems, Yoga for runners

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Unfair

Posted by Melanie at 07:10 0 comments

Dear Gordon Campbell,

Your governments decision to legislate, BC Paramedics back to work is disgusting. BC Paramedics have been on strike since April. Under essential service legislation they have remained on the job. To be denied a chance for a decent negotiated contract is undemocratic and downright mean. Citing the H1N1 pandemic and a fast approaching busy holiday season as reasons for legislating them back to work is a thinly disguised ploy to make our province look good for the upcoming 2010 Olympics.

Last February my son, who lives in Vancouver, was on his way home from work. He was eating a cupcake given to him from a women at work. He was walking to a bus stop. Before he got to there he started to have problems breathing. He realized the cupcake he had eaten probably contained some peanuts or had come into contact with peanuts. He changed his course and stated walking, instead, to St. Pauls Hospital. After only a few steps he realized he wasn't going to make it so he used his cell phone to dial 911. He got a women who asked him all kinds of questions. He tried to answer but couldn't talk. He passed out just as the Paramedics came to where he lay crumbled on the sidewalk.

I don't want to think about what would have happened if the paramedics hadn't got here. I want your government to reconsider the decision to send the paramedics back to work. BC Paramedics deserve a better deal.

Thank You BC paramedics for saving my sons life.

Labels: BC Paramedics, family

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Back Then

Posted by Melanie at 18:57 0 comments

Help! I can’t stop watching episodes of thirtysomething on You Tube. It’s a TV show, that ran on ABC from 1987-1991. Back then the house we lived in was so far off the beaten track we couldn’t get cable, instead we had to be satisfied with a spotty CBC feed. I remember stumbling upon the show by accident, one dark winter evening, after the kids were in bed.

At the time the show appealed to me because like Hope, the female lead, I was also at home with a wailing baby and, like Hope I was a member of my local recycling group. In one episode Hope goes to a meeting with the local politicians to make a presentation about the relevancy and urgency of recycling. However the intimidating suit wearing politicians and structure of the meeting make her, as a breastfeeding mother, feel inadequate. Instead of her planned presentation she ends up saying something lame abut how she doesn’t want toxins in her breast milk. I remember having the same feelings of inadequacy when making a similar presentation to the members of The Peace River South Regional District.

The show follows the ordinary lives of thirty something yuppies Hope and Michael and their friends and family. At times the action degenerates into soppiness and I find myself fast forwarding through to the next scene. Also the shoulder pads on the outfits of the women are friggin distracting and I don’t remember being as neurotic as Hope is about leaving the baby with a sitter.

Because of our off again on again TV reception I rarely got to watch a whole episode, let alone the whole four year series. I think the reason I’m enjoying it so much this time around is because it reminds me of a younger innocent me.

The show has been released as a series of DVD’s. I wonder if I can rent them

Labels: thirtysomething TV

Inside the Minds Of Others (blogroll)