April 27, 2008

FULL STEAM AHEAD …

Week 1:

• Sunday, April 27: 10K.

• Monday, April 28: 45 - 60 minutes Nordic Walk.

• Tuesday, April 29: 30 minutes Run/Walk

• Wednesday, April 30: 30 - 40 minutes Run/Walk

• Thursday, May 1: 45 - 60 minutes Nordic Walk or other aerobic exercise.

• Friday, May 2: 30 minutes Run/Walk.

• Saturday, May 3: Rest.

The goal — stay on track through the summer for a Marathon in the Fall.

April 23, 2008

BEAR WITH ME

Skunk cabbage — the first food of bears out of hibernation. It now blooms in the swamps, sticking fingers to the winter, evocative of procreation and growth. Brilliant candles of color in the season’s detritus. The bears will soon follow. And then you’ll have to bear with me as I tell tales, once again, of ursine encounters along my woodland trails. So far it feels good to have naked ground underfoot, and a taste of warmth in the wind …

But while my running shoes are planted firmly in Whistler, my mind, my imagination, is in Las Vegas as I work on the outline of my new SRS continuity. Anyone been to Vegas recently?

April 2, 2008

RENEGADE DOWN UNDAH

I was delighted to see that THE HEART OF A RENEGADE comes out in Australia in May ‘08, paired with Catherine Mann’s OUT OF UNIFORM

I’m sure my Aussie bodyguard hero Luke Stone will be pleased — he hails from Perth

My Path: 1 hour run/walk, on softening ski trails — slip sliding away, as much backwards as forwards, I think. Sorta like running in sand dunes. But worse. Because I have holes in my runners that shoveled in the snow — my feet turned into numb stumps, and then about 20 mins into the run my toes started to thaw … and hurt like hell. But it was worth it once that old Zen-with-the-world feeling kicked in.

My Beat Never Surrender …

March 31, 2008

SHOOTING ON THE RUN …

RENEGADE photo-tour:

‘Twas a hazy/blurry day last summer, but I wanted to make sure the CIA chopper would have a good place to land in Pemberton, and that the Lillooet River (below) was easily accessible via snowmobile from the airstrip. Of course the river was frozen when Luke and Jessica barreled over it in their sled. But the setting works . (Guess I shouldn’t try and shoot while driving though, eh? (the camera, that is)

My Path: 40 mins run/walk.
My Beat: Just Can’t Get Enough — Depeche Mode. That one was a recommendation from a friend, and is a new and welcome addition to my playlist. I’m always looking for new tunes with a nice joggy beat … any ideas, please fire them my way!! Doesn’t matter the period, or the style, it just needs an energetic number of beats per minute (imagine running to it), and it needs to fire the soul

March 13, 2008

RENEGADE FROM THE AIR

RENEGADE photo-tour:  A bird’s-eye view of Squamish in summer. This is the town where Luke and Jessica stop for a welcome bite of breakfast after surviving the police roadblock. They, however, are here in winter, when the mountains lie under thick snow and it all looks vastly different. To the left of the image, snaking through the greenery along the water into the distance, you can see the Sea to Sky highway on which they fled from Vancouver. The city of Vancouver itself lies hidden from view just beyond that horizon, further down the Howe Sound.

My Path today: A sunny 45 min aerobic walk. Breathless Those are the Blackcomb ski runs you can see above, viewed over the River of Golden dreams which is now hosting majestic trumpeter swans.

My Music: Just the song of spring. And yes, it is spring. In spite of the snow. Along with the swans and returning honk of Canada geese, small bright yellow candles of Skunk Cabbage are piercing through the melting detritus in the swampland. It’s a first food for bears emerging from hibernation. Any day now.

March 12, 2008

ON THE RUN IN WHISTLER

RENEGADE photo-tour: Another shot of my home town, Whistler — the place Jessica and Luke take a short and risky detour while on the run from the Triad. Above is the path I ran myself today. And below is the Upper Village shot earlier in the season. There really was a photo shop in the same spot the book describes (in the Upper Village), but it has since moved. It was to the right of those orange pylons in the photo. And behind the white cloud in the backdrop hides the Whistler Mountain ski hills.

My Path today: The Rainbow trail above, until it got too smooshy and my toes too wet and frostbitten. 40 mins run/walk.

My Music: You Can Get If You Really Want It - Desmond Dekker.