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The youngest has started her own blog…

BanannaJuice Shorts

Hello, I’m Anna-Marie(Anna for short)! Welcome to my blog, Banana Juice Shorts. You’re probably thinking: “Why in a millennia is my blog named Banana Juice Shorts?” Well, you see, I chose this name for a few reasons:

1.) All my friends and realities call me “Anna Banana” because, as you should know, the two words rhyme in perfect harmony.(You may also call me Anna Banana if you so please)

2.) Recently, I have found myself saying “Banana Juice” multiple times a day. It suddenly came to me to start randomly saying this phrase when everyone least expects it.(It’s kind of like a catch phrase now.)

3.) This blog is mainly about short/really short/long stories that I intend to share in the future. I haven’t been writing stories as much as I used to because I have just written S.E.A(Secondary Entrance Assessment), a national…

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MEN IN TIGHTS- RUNNING FASHION EDITION*

*first published on my tumblr a couple of years ago, but thought it would fit right in here. 

OK I admit it, I love running in tights/leggings. Short, long I love them all, but there is one problem- it doesn’t seem to be socially acceptable in my native Trinidad. How do I know this? Well there are a couple of reasons:

1. In my almost 2 years of consistent running, I can count on one hand the amount of men I’ve seen running in tights. If I were to take me out of that equation, the list gets even shorter…
2. It is practically impossible to find/buy tights at any of the local running stores. I’m not talking about the ones men would usually wear under a shorts (of those I also have quite a few)- I’m talking about running tights that are meant to be worn alone. In fact, over the past two years, I’ve only seen about 8 such tights on sale- and I own 5. There is no such discrimination on women’s tights though- that come in a myriad of styles, colours and brands. And there are some women that SHOULD NOT wear tights in public- which I referred to in an earlier post.
3. It’s the weird look (mainly from men) I sometimes get as I trot around town in them. It’s not a negative look, but its the kind of look you get if you wear shorts and a tank top in the dead of winter… a slightly bemused look you’d give a weirdo that seemed to fallen out of the fashion bubble.

Now, I usually don’t care what people think of my dress code, but some days I choose, or choose not to wear my tights, depending on when and where I run- just to keep the peace. Generally I’m well covered, and recently bought a few shorts to wear over them sometimes, when my running top doesn’t cover all the ‘junk’, but on a hot day (which is practically every day here), it isn’t always practical.

These are my favourite.

But I love my tights- for good reason too:

1. I’m fascinated by compression technology. I believe it helps me recover faster from long and tempo runs, although medical evidence is still out on that one. I’m a bit of a techie, so any kind of tech associated with running I’m willing to try. I actually stopped wearing my Adidas calf sleeves with shorts on my normal runs, because the stares have just been too much, and I’ve been told I look like an alien in them.

The alien robot sleeves…

2. They look good. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have the best man legs. In fact, they’re pretty skinny by most standards, which I  also blogged about before. But in tights, my legs look particularly badass, if I say so myself.
3. I’m a Superhero. I’ve always harboured a desire to be a superhero, and with my tights and awesome running powers (on a good day), Superman and Batman got nuthin’ on me. Really I do feel pretty superhuman when I run, and the tights just play into that role. I draw the line at running in a cape though- even if it’s a novelty race (on this I agree fully with Edna “E” Mode from The Incredibles).

No capes!

Well a year or so after first publishing this post, I did break the no cape rule… but it was for charity, and in another country, so…

So what does this all mean? Nothing really, other than I like my own sense of style, and I take it pretty seriously, whether I’m running or not.

I started feeling al mopey about my love of tights, and my battle not to fit into anyone’s idea of what a man should wear while running (its all about me, right?), but my world was shaken the other day- in a good way. As I was about to begin my run, a guy ran past me. He looked to be in his late fifties… was in pretty good shape (which I deduced from the fact that he just ran up Chancellor Hill, and had a better physique than mine). AND HE WAS WEARING TIGHTS. The kind I would wear, if I could find them to buy locally.

It was near the end of the road, so pretty soon he turned back and ran past me again. He must have seen to look of love and admiration in my eyes, because he gave me a hearty greeting amidst the pants for breath after running uphill for 3 km –he even wished me all the best for the season. That does it- I’m rocking my tights.

I even contemplated stripping of the shorts I had on to run in the knee length compression tights I had on underneath, but because of the top I had on, the junk would have been unduly exposed, and I had a vision of my wife divorcing me if she knew I ran in that. She generally approves of my running kit- once I’m appropriately covered- no need to advertise the goods, since I’ve been ‘off the market’ for the last 8.5 years.

So there it is. If you’ve ever wondered why I’ve posted mildly inappropriate pics of myself wearing tights on this blog (like in this post)- well now you know why… and I’m not gonna stop, so get used to it… (or not).

TTIM Half Race Recap.

Well that’s done then. Basically I’ve equalled my total of races in 2014 within the last 7 days. A grand total of 2. I’m not counting the Olympic distance duathlon, because well, that wasn’t a race, it was more like purgatory.

We wake up early for this?

The race itself was pretty good. It started on time, and the sun wasn’t a factor until around mile 9, which is around the same time my internal gas tank started heading towards E. I was chugging along quite well up until that time, with a pace that could have had me at the finish in or around 2 hours, but that wasn’t meant to be. Basically by mile 9 my legs decided that they had had enough, and turned to lead, but I kept going.

The stats…

You can see right were the pace fell off…

It was a good fitbit day.

Only the second time I have done this race, but 6th Half overall.

I have only run 3 times for the year, not including last weekend’s race, a total of about 7 miles. The trick is to run past that barrier, when my legs get really tired, but time constraints pose a problem. Best thing to do is to run after a ride, but that isn’t always practical.

But is was a good run nonetheless, and for some reason, the DOMS started DURING the race, so my legs are having a party now. whoopie.

Let’s see how I can get through the rest of the day, as there is a possibility of cycling tomorrow night.

WHITE GIRL PROBLEMS.

I had a meeting this morning with the client I started the fitness class with. One of the young ladies came up to me and asked what exercises she could do, to reduce the size of her… rear end.

Now for some context. This your lady is very fit. She trains 4 days a week with a trainer, and up to a year ago, played hockey very regularly in a local league. Just looking at her, you can tell that she works out. She looks fantastic. But she doesn’t like her butt. Because of her skeletal structure, she naturally has a rear end that many ladies dream of having, and work really hard to have. But he gets a lot of comments from friends and family, and is self concious about it. To the point where she is serious looking into ways of slimming that particular area down.

Want to know what the real problem is? She is white. And the culture says that white girls ain’t supposed to have (in trini speak) a ‘bumper like that’. So Naturally when people see her they make a double take. Some will comment. She is now uncomfortable, and wants to change the way she looks. Sad isn’t it?

I had to literally sit her down, and with one of her co-workers explain that there is nothing wrong with her, she is perfect, and many people literally kill themselves to have to have a figure like hers. Don’t think we convinced her. But I will keep working on it.

As a guy (and a professional consultant), I have to be careful what I say to people, but come on ladies, don’t let the views of others make you want to change who you are.

Knight Riding

One lap of 12… 2.2 miles each lap.

Went for a ride last night, first time since before Christmas riding with this group. Seems the numbers have grown quite a bit in my absence- there were easily close to 50 riders, if not more. It felt pretty good, after the long layoff, and riding in a peloton that large does make you feel safer.

In some good news, the police are allowing cyclists exclusive use of the inside lane around the Savannah from 4-6 am and 8-10:30 pm on weekdays, and 6-9 am on weekends and public holidays. This is a huge relief. Will drivers still shout at us? Yes. Will they still drive on the lane during those times? Yes. But at least we now have the law on our side to block the lane with bikes, and we will take advantage of it.

Still iffy about the Half this weekend… may have some babysitting issues. Will see how it goes. Do gotta get some runs in this week.

Race Recap: TTUTA 10K 17.02.15

Feels like years since I’ve done one of these, but when you consider I’ve only done 3 races in the last year, you can understand why.

I’m not a fan of afternoon races, because of the heat and the tricky eating situations (never sure when to eat before the race), but I do this one because it is one of the few middle distance races on offer here in Trinidad. It’s the 3rd time I’ve done this particular one, but I did skip it last year.

Why am I even here?

The weather was good, because it rained heavily for a couple hours before the race, so that kept the heat in check, and by the time the race started, the sun was back out.

Being rusty with races, this was more of a trial, since I may be doing a half next weekend- this has been only my 3rd run for the year. I think I did well, considering. I didn’t look at the Garmin until after I finished the race, and just ran according to the feels. And didn’t struggle at all.

The race before mine…

My time? 1:01. If I had looked at the Garmin, I probably would have pushed a little more to get in under an hour. But I have done that before. And I hate struggling in races. So I am happy with the effort, though I was ravenous afterwards. For that Half I may have to arrange to have some sustenance close by afterwards.

All in all, it was a good way to spend the afternoon.