Joggling Bladder

(Image courtesy of Sportszonephotography.ca)

I got the hat-cam hooked up a few minutes before the start of the Chilly Half-Marathon. Michael from vcardtv.com turned it on and the tape was going to be rolling until after I finished. That's when I realized I really needed to pee, but there was no time before the start. During the race, I tried to survey the area for a porta-potty or some woods to duck into, but it's hard to look around while you're joggling. Plus, imagine the surprise of the Guinness World Records judges watching the footage to certify the record, when all of the sudden I duck off into the bushes and – whoa, those aren't juggling balls! Maybe I'd get disqualified? So I ran on, with my bladder joggling for an hour and 24 minutes and 33 seconds.

The Joggler-Cam!

This is what I see when I'm joggling. The video of the Chilly Half-Marathon (below) shows a few clips from the "Joggler-Cam" (and a bit where I teach the mayor of Burlington how to juggle).

Chilly-Half Marathon 'Official' Joggling Record: 1:24:33

(Image courtesy of Michelle from The236.net blog – note how the fire hydrant and mailbox match my outfit)

Yes, that weird thing on my head there is a camera. I think I set a precedent for the first ever joggling race footage with a head-cam. The videographer told me the footage turned out well, so we'll see. I ended up joggling the Chilly Half-Marathon in Burlington, Ontario, on Sunday, in 1:24:33, which was 44 seconds slower than my best joggling half from Montreal a few years ago. I never claimed that one through Guinness World Records, though, because I didn't have the independent witnesses and video footage that they require to certify it. This time I'll have first-person video of the whole thing, plus witnesses, so if it all pans out, 1:24:33 will be the new official Guinness World Record for the fastest time to run a half-marathon while joggling three objects.

It was great to jump back into the ridiculous world of joggling, as I've been doing mostly "regular" running races lately. Some things I heard along the route:

• "Show-off!" (the most popular among the 5K runners who were passing by in the opposite direction – and might I add that this is not a very motivating thing to hear when you're struggling along trying to race the thing while juggling, with a camera on your head, and in fact, why don't you just punch me in the stomach while you're at it)
• "You're my hero!" (now that's more like it)
• "Don't drop a ball!" (thanks, thanks a lot)
• "I heard yoo speak at the pasta dinner last night, and you're right, I don't want to get beaten by a joggler!" (my favourite line of the day, by a guy running past me, referencing a line from my dinner talk about how other runners hate getting passed by me when I'm joggling)

Conditions overall were pretty good for the race. My hands were freezing off in the first 2K and I dropped a couple of times because my fingers were numb. Winds were gusting for the last 7K or so and my lightweight "racing" beanbags got blown out of reach a bunch of times. I had another seven or eight drops on the way back, which really screwed up my rhythm and focus. The head-cam was actually heavier than I expected, but I don't think it slowed me down too much. I'll post the highlights (if there are any) on YouTube when I get the footage.