Although I wanted to run a half marathon this year, a Spring season injury prevented that from happening. A nice 5 miler in Hampton was all I could manage to get ready for with the shortened training schedule. So when some co-workers asked if I wanted to be part of a 4 person relay for the KV Challenge Marathon, I gladly accepted, particularly after we named the team “Three turkeys and a young chick”!.
Then, more bad luck. I ended up with a flu bug that has been sweeping the population, filling my lungs with icky green stuff and making life quite unbearable for the last week. Despite the setback, I had agreed to be part of the team, so I didn’t want to let them down, and today, we ran the race.
I ran the second leg, from Hampton to Hammond River, NB. It was a bit more than 10 km (6.5 miles), and although my time was atrocious ( 1:06:39 / min/mile ), I was happy to be able to run it at all, considering how bad I felt Friday.
Hammond River Run Map, as captured by Runkeeper.com
Turns out our team came 9th out of 23 relay teams, not so bad! 🙂
Anyway, a hearty congratulations to all who competed!
Tonight I went to see the Canada Russia Challenge Juniors game at Harbour Station. It was a sellout (almost 6500 people, although the real news item was that the 50/50 draw went for over $11,000!)
It is an interesting idea, having their All-Stars play our All-Stars, but the format is a little bit biased in their favour, since the Russians will be playing together as a team for all six games, giving them time to get their game together, while the three Canadian Junior leagues only play together for two games before going back to their regular league teams. Oh well, it just means that the Russians should get harder to beat the longer they play together, which is fine, because they should be hard to beat or they wouldn’t be worthy adversaries! 🙂
Hope those Western boys bring their game faces and are ready to play!
After losing 5 – 3 to our boys in Sydney Monday night (Nov 17, 2008), at tonight’s game, they proved to be up to the task, beating the QMJHL All-Stars 4 – 3 in an game that could have been even more lopsided in their favour. Both teams looked a bit shaky, missing easy passes and fanning on great opportunities. Probably nerves, there is a lot on the line and the scouts were in the stands watching. Overall, I do think Russia outplayed our boys and deserved the win. The Russians looked stronger and were on top of the Q team more often than they were on their heels. Both goalies played well, and he Q goaltender, Allen, appeared stunning in a few saves on the ice to keep the local boys in the game, but appeared to have a bit of trouble controlling some high shots. The first goal he let in was a high shot over the shoulder as he was sprawled out in the butterfly position.
They play the next game tomorrow night in Guelph. Should be a great game.
Players on the winning teams of the NHL’s Stanley Cup are each permitted to take the cup for one day wherever they want. The Niedermayer brothers are a couple of good old Canadian boys who both play for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, last year’s champions. Here are a couple of videos showing what they did during their days with the cup.
OK, if I were asked what I wanted to do if I had the Stanley Cup for a day, this would rank right up there! The last couple of minutes is the best!
Today was the day of the KV Challenge Marathon , a beautiful run from Hampton to Saint John, NB, through the Kennebecasis Valley (Quispamsis and Rothesay). As has been the case for every race since it started, I was one of their official photographers, so I managed to grab some cool images!
The run started at 9:00 AM on Main Street in Hampton. The temperature was a brisk 6 C (about 42 F) at the start of the race, but it warmed up to a balmy 9 C (about 48 F) by the end…
Despite the cold, Chris Brake was wearing just a T-Shirt and arms warmers. He started out with a blistering pace, taking the lead.
Here’s the rest of the pack, and this is only 100 meters in!!!
A former student of mine, Jason Cosman, is running in his third KV Challenge marathon!
The nice thing about this marathon is all the great colour in the leaves! This tree was right across the street from the start line.
Here’s Jason on the loop outside Hampton.
Water keeps these machines going…
Don’t drop that!!!
Every marathon, this guy dresses up in something different. This year, he dressed as a devil. (And he kept this outfit on for the whole race! 🙂
Two colleagues of mine, Barry and Roland, seem to have found their own way to keep warm while at a watering hole along the way! I keep hearing re-runs of the Beatles singing “Listen, do you want to know a secret, do you promise not to tell…” 😉
Barry and Jason are just “chillin’ in the hoods…” 😉
There was a cruise ship in town today. They must have been wondering what all the fuss was about. I think some of the runners were wearing snow suits… 😉
And, after leading the pack for the whole race, Chris Brake comes in 15 minutes ahead of the next competitor
Maggie, a former colleague of mine, is waiting for her running buddy, Jerry. She ran in Lowell, Mass, last weekend, so she was taking this race off!
Here’s Jerry! Maggie and I worked with Jerry at Exigen. That’s an impressive time, considering his age!!! Sorry Jerry!!! 😉
John Kelley, the event coordinator (and a colleague of mine), has his finish line medal on!
Jason made it through to the finish line!
That’s medal #3 Jason!
As the look on this face shows, 42 km (26.2 miles) can be grueling and painful…
Luckily, there are experts available to help with all those sore muscles!
And some food for the runners and volunteers to keep them going until the awards ceremony begins… at 3 PM.
So, another of my NHL playoff predictions has come true… Carolina knocked off the Montreal Canadiens tonight, in Montreal, in 6 games… Just like I said they would…
I really have no reason to gloat. As a fan of the Boston Bruins – a team that hasn't done much more than be cannon fodder for teams with any talent at all during the past 10 years or so – I know what it is like to go out early in the playoffs (or not make it at all, as this year has proven). I also know what it is like to watch what little talent that was present being traded away to winning teams where they excel – Thornton in San Jose, Samsonov in Edmonton…
But, having taken many lumps at the hands of those self-righteous Habs fans, and even though I am a tried and true ABM (Anybody But Montreal) fan for that very reason, I'm not gloating… much! >
The playoffs are important to the revenue of the NHL, and after a farce of a strike, they need fans to stay tuned or the networks will start showing poker and lawn bowling instead…
In any case, for what it is worth, here are my picks!
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EASTERN CONFERENCE
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#1 OTTAWA vs. #8 TAMPA BAY
FINALLY they won't be knocked out by the Maple Leafs in the first round…
Ottawa in 5
#2 CAROLINA vs. #7 MONTREAL
I am a Bruins fan. That makes me an ABM (Anybody but Montreal) fan.
Carolina in 6
#3 NEW JERSEY vs. #6 NY RANGERS
Tough call… These guys have been close all year, but I have to give the edge to the Devils. They have been hot at the end and, well, they have Brodeur…
New Jersey in 6
#4 BUFFALO vs. #5 PHILADELPHIA
Forsberg is back, Sabres are going to be tough, but I think Philly will take them.
Philadelphia in 6
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WESTERN CONFERENCE
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#1 DETROIT vs. #8 EDMONTON
Edmonton did well against Detroit during the season, but, as much as I would love to see it happen, I am not sure they can beat the Red Wings juggernaut… In any case, just to be controversial, I am calling for a huge Edmonton upset!
Edmonton in 7
#2 DALLAS vs. #7 COLORADO
Stars won't lose to them again this year.
Dallas in 5
#3 CALGARY vs. #6 ANAHEIM
They were even during the season… Kiprusoff vs. Giguere… both goaltenders have the opportunity to be heroes… BUT… I have a personal distaste for Calgary that hasn't gone away since they pulled their farm team from my home town, so I'm going to call on Anaheim to kick their butts, just in spite!
Anaheim in 6
#4 NASHVILLE vs. #5 SAN JOSE
Having spent time in San Jose and seen the Sharks play at the newly renamed “HP Pavillion” Center, I have a soft spot for San Jose. PLUS… Nashville has an unknown between the pipes, and San Jose has the league's scoring leader, ex-Bruin Joe Thornton, and he's hot right now (I'm still not over that trade!).
There will be lots of finger-pointing, and there never really will be a reasonable explanation, excep tthat the other teams played better than our 25 players did as one cohesive unit. The old adage that together we stand, divided we fall comes to mind.
And when it all comes down to the crunch, it is just a game. There is always next time, and then maybe the team will have fire in their eyes, some team spirit in their hearts, and they won't be defending champions!>
First – this is the Olympics, not league play. In league play, I would agree whole-heartedly, since the leaders are not determined by goal differential. However, because the Olympics has this barbaric system of goal differential to determine placement, it is only strategic to ensure you are in the driver's seat heading into the playoffs.
Second – this is the Olympics. This is not peewee house league. The teams entered in the tournament should know what they are up against. Do you really think that the Russians or italians would have let up if they had been in the lead against our women? Not likely, it is a tournament, and tournamenet rules win out.
Third – this is the Olympics. If the Canadian women had been seen to be obviously easing up, it would be an embarrasment to the other team. I once played a ball game in a tournament in a game where we were up by about 14 runs in the third inning, when some of my team members decided to start hitting their wrong way. It was disgraceful. My teammates were going up to bat, making fools of themselves by swinging at everything, laughing at the results, and very obviously making fools of our opponents as well. I think our opponents would have preferred to lose badly to a team that was trying than to a team that was goofing around at their expense. That was the last year I played with that team.
Finally – this is the Olympics.(have I mentioned this already???). These girls train hard to do their best, not to hold up and be unprepared when they face tougher opponents. If they had only beaten these teams by one or two goals, the armchair quarterbacks would be complaining they could hardly beat the weak teams.
Be supportive. The other teams are professionals. They know when they are outgunned and out-played. The Italian women were only there because they are the host team. They asked the Canadian players for autographs after the game. That's how it works.
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