It's a small world!

Today Zdenek and I ran 10 km. The entire time, my stomach sloshed back and forth like the Bay of Fundy (you need to visit to get the joke). It's been only four days, but I have been ingesting insane amounts of food (most of it greasy and/or carb-laden) and an equally insane amount of drink. Isn't that what vacations are all about?

In any case, it's been a spectacular day, and this trip is getting better and better. We had a last hurrah in New Brunswick (through Hopewell Rocks and Moncton) and then headed into PEI. Wow. This island is simply stunning. At every turn we are amazed, and I just can't believe it took me 31 years to see this part of my country.

After checking in to our accommodation tonight, we took our 10k run down a lonely, deserted road (which basically describes most of PEI). It was tough and hilly and we felt like crap (and my stomach sloshed the entire time, which may have been due to the beer and pizza in Moncton three hours prior, or could have possibly been caused by the Tim Hortons I enjoyed along the Acadian coast just before crossing Confederation Bridge). Although it rained most of the time, it was completely cleansing. We both felt refreshed upon finishing, so we rewarded ourselves with another bottle of wine, a pound of PEI mussels, some Newfoundland cod cakes, and a bowl of fresh mussel chowder.

Did I mention that we're eating and drinking an awful lot?

Upon returning back to our B&B tonight, we arrived to find two lovely ladies who, of course, are friends of friends. Canada is small country. It is also a wonderful one. Tomorrow, we'll pay homage to all of it!

Spotted: the Canadian contingent

In 24 hours we have seen: a beaver, a moose, a seal, and a whale! We also saw two 10 pound lobsters hauled in (they were estimated to be about 30 years old)!

New Brunswick is stunning. Later today, we head to PEI.

Having fun in Fundy

We're currently on the Princess of Acadia ferry taking the crossing from Digby, Nova Scotia, to St. John, New Brunswick (sorry, folks, no hyperlinks today; this internet connection on the ferry is much too slow and unreliable to be looking up other webpages). Zdenek and I keep saying to each other that we just don't have enough time! There is so much to see and do and we are barely hitting the tip of the iceberg.

Since I last made my half-drunken post on Sunday night, we enjoyed a great sleep in Lunenburg at the Ashlea House and then headed across the province to Annapolis Royal. We're certainly getting our Canadian history lessons in! Annapolis Royal was a bit of a sleepy town (I think we were one of about 20 people in town), but we had the chance to visit one of the first settlements in North America at Port-Royal, where we practically had the place to ourselves. We also stayed at the most ridiculous Victorian mansion, the Queen Anne Inn, built as a wedding present from a father to a son in the 1800s. Wow, did that bride marry right!

The Annapolis river basin, which opens into the Bay of Fundy, is expansive, lush, and beautiful. We explored a bit by foot yesterday afternoon, taking a five or six mile run around a Ducks Unlimited wetland marsh. Zdenek and I both felt heavy and tired -- it was a run that was sorely needed, but left us feeling pretty sore, too! It's amazing how just two days of booze and heavy food can leave you feeling tired and sluggish. The surroundings were lovely, though -- in addition to the many ducks and birds, we even spotted the Canadian mascot, a beaver, swimming alongside us!

Today we are headed across the Bay of Fundy -- home to the world's highest tides -- to visit the next Canadian province on our itinerary. There is an interpretive program on board and we're told that we may spot several species of whales along the crossing! That would make this $180 ferry ride (no joke) well worth it. We'll spend the rest of the day exploring the Fundy coast, taking a hike in Fundy National Park, and then overnighting at our own private suite in Hopewell Cape. Tomorrow we'll walk on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks during low tide (the tides rise 16 meters in six hours) before heading to PEI for some Canada Day fun!

The weather thus far has been drizzly and overcast, but we haven't been stuck in a downpour -- yet! Fingers crossed. While I miss the sun, I'll take anything but rain. I had my first taste of Tim Hortons this morning, and it was as just as good as what we brew up at our place on the Upper West Side.

Off to see some whales now!

So far, so full!

We've been in Canada for just over 24 hours, but it's been a whirlwind adventure of sightseeing and eating thus far. Nova Scotia is simply gorgeous. Zdenek and I have been awestruck at every point along the "highway" (more of a secondary road, really). It is so lush, and there are so many lakes, and the entirety of what we have seen thus far has an earthy warmth to it that makes me feel, somehow, like I am home.

We spent a wonderful night in Halifax visiting the Garrison Brewery and getting to know a few locals over some PB&J (that's the raspberry wheat ale mixed with the nut brown). On their recommendation, we had dinner at the Five Fisherman (which served as the morgue for victims of the Titanic and which, to this day, is apparently one of the most haunted place in Canada), where we enjoyed a truly memorable seafood extravaganza. Too much beer and wine left me feeling a little worse for wear this morning, but we had a nice stroll around the Halifax Farmer's Market (apparently the oldest in North America), grabbed a light breakfast, and were off!

The rest of the day saw us in the picturesque fishing village of Peggy's Cove and then in Mahone Bay; the latter was unfortunately a bit too foggy to be properly enjoyed. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in Lunenburg, the UNESCO World Heritage site to which I previously referred. Tonight we dined at Fleur de Sel, named Nova Scotia's Best Restaurant in 2008. It was a culinary experience created especially around local fare -- Atlantic salmon, Lunenburg scallops, New Brunswick cheeses, and Nova Scotia ice wine, to name but a few. This is a restaurant that could certainly hold its own among the best we've dined at in NYC.

I've been saying to Zdenek that the wide open spaces, fresh air, and slower pace of life takes a little getting used to. Coming from the hustle and bustle of NYC, I almost feel out of sorts. But I think I am quickly adjusting. It feels so good to be here. There may be only one Canadian flag on a front porch for every 20 one might see in the US, but there's no two ways about it -- we are in Canada. And it feels like home.

Back to the old country!

After a solid 24 mile ride this morning (what a treat to get up at 6:30 am instead of 5:30 am!), Zdenek and I are headed to the homeland today!

I look forward to enjoying Tim's from the source, visiting my favourite Canadian drugstore, and the ability to look in my wallet and immediately tell how much money I have because the bills do not all look the same. I look forward to visiting a part of my country that, pathetically, I have never been to, and celebrating Canada Day on Prince Edward Island with my fellow Canucks. I look forward to visiting Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail (pictured above), and I'm betting this will not be the last time we go. I look forward to spotting whales, seeing the world's highest tides, and visiting one the UNESCO World Heritage sites in North America. And I am salivating at the thought of eating Digby scallops, PEI mussles, and lobster, lobster, lobster!

Off we go!

Learning to love another

The more cycling I do, the more I gain an appreciation for how it differs from running, and the more I'm learning to love it. I've already mentioned the fact that cycling involves a lot of finicky equipment and necessitates learning a disgusting habit or two, and these are two "cons" in the cycling column. But there are two significant physical forces that cycling deals with in a manner that is superior to running: gravity, and friction.

Cycling down a hill is nothing like running down it. Cycling down a hill is fast, refreshing, and fun. It is occasionally scary (mostly because I almost killed myself while doing it about five years ago), but I'm getting better at managing that emotion. Running down a hill is sure way to tear up your quads and strain your knees. It can also lead to other running-only injuries, such as blood blisters and black toenails. As a cyclist, gravity is your friend, but as a runner, gravity is the entire reason that non-runners never tire of lecturing you that "running will destroy your knees!"

Similarly, the friction caused by wind resistance can be dealt with far more efficiently from the saddle of a bike than with both feet on the ground. While running isn't affected on a calm day, a run into a headwind can take far more energy than that saved by running with a tailwind. But for a cyclist, while wind resistance is never a good thing, it can be mitigated by (a) a more aerodynamic position, or (b) drafting! Lately I've learned to love the look of Zdenek's backside, and although he occasionally spits (or worse) when I'm behind, a little saliva to the face is a small price to pay for being able to keep up with him and enjoy our rides together.

Zdenek and I look just like this when I'm drafting, minus the fancy blue shoes, of course

Although my legs were tired and we only had time for two loops on this humid, overcast morning, we made the most of it. We ended up with our fastest cycle yet this season! As usual, I tried to pace myself on the first lap so that I could really work the hills on the second one (one unexplored difference is why am I so much better at pacing myself in cycling than running?). But after reading that six solid minutes of intense effort per week can have the same effect on my endurance as hours worth of training, and that this approach is better suited to cycling than to running, I think cycling may have yet another tick in its favor.

A great word, but a poor feeling

I’ve been feeling rather discombobulated lately, and this is part of the reason for my relatively long absence from this blog. I am hoping that our upcoming vacation (two more sleeps!) will set things straight.

This feeling started, perhaps, early Saturday morning, which went something like this:
6:30 am (this is a Saturday, let me remind you) – alarm goes off
6:40 am – alarm goes off again
6:45 am – Jodi brews Tim’s
7:00 am – Jodi and Zdenek change in to sexy cycling gear
7:20 am – out the door
7:30 am – at the Park!
7:31 am – Zdenek gets a flat (no joke)
8:00 am – Zdenek is still trying to change his flat tire in Central Park
8:15 am – Zdenek gives up after realizing that the replacement tube, which, to be fair, we bought for $2 online, has a faulty valve. You most certainly get what you pay for
8:30 am – Zdenek begins walking home (again; this is about the third time in two weeks). Jodi valiantly cycles home ahead of him to retrieve his flip flops and bring them back, so that he need not ruin his cleats any more than they already are
8:50 am – Jodi has been back and forth between the Park two and a half times, searching everywhere for Zdenek. After the third try, she heads home to find him sitting on the porch
9:15 am – Jodi and Zdenek go for a 5 mile run. The most serious mishap is a small pebble in Zdenek’s shoe

Because we were both exhausted by noon, Zdenek and I watched movie and then took a long, 90 min snooze in the late afternoon. This was not a good idea, because when I woke up at 6 pm, I felt like it must be 6 am the next morning, and it took several hours (and a long walk in a deserted, drizzly Central Park) to reset my inner clock.

The rest of Saturday night was spent with good friends but was filled with far too much imbibing. Sunday morning saw me doing an 11 mile run at 11:30 am – something absolutely unheard of in my normal training schedule. When I returned home 90 minutes later, Zdenek was like a caged animal, desperate to get out of the house (I had neglected to take my keys on my run). Later in the afternoon, he and I spent several hours on our back patio, yelling (as much as we are capable of yelling, which isn’t very much) about the most effective way to remove the half-inch of mildew from the cement (turns out bleach is best).

The entire weekend seemed like a bit of roller coaster in terms of schedules and emotions, and while I never look forward to Mondays, I was relieved to see Sunday night come to a close.

The rest of the week, however, hasn’t been much better. Work has had its fair share of stress, my swollen second toe is starting to make a reappearance after two weeks of running without my orthotics (they’re back at the lab), and my running has been all wrong. This morning, I neglected my usual pre-run coffee, and instead got my fluid intake in the form of dense, soupy air that only a New York City summer can bring. I started out aiming for a tempo run, then downgraded this to a “cruise tempo” (in which I take a walk break every 10 minutes) once I realized how heavy and tired my legs were feeling, and then just downgraded it, unintentionally, to a “run.” My fast pace was slow today, or the other way around.

The point is that nothing seems to have gone smoothly in the past week, but I am hopeful that a good vacation can set things straight. Aside from the opportunity to use the word “discombobulated” in a sentence, which is a treat unto itself, this feeling has not been a good one.