The missing long run

Last week I took a mini-vacation at a cottage in Port Elgin, Ontario. The running there is spectacular. You can run along the Lake Huron beach or on a beautiful trail bordered by wildflowers that occupies a now-defunct railroad track.

I went on a few very nice runs and also did a little 5-ball joggling while out on a run with my kids, my niece and nephew.

Juggling on the beach was treat as well – ceiling unlimited! – and built-in audience of sunbathers. The 3-ball juggling is getting to the point where I could put together a decent routine. I'm not Tim Kelly, but I can now string together some combinations of Mills Messes, Burke's Barrages, boxes, showers and 441s to make things look impressive to the non-juggler.

On Saturday, I set my alarm for an early-morning long run, but decided to sleep in. I might have to make up for this this week sometime.

Sport Juggling "Joggler" balls have arrived!

Dianne called me at work today to let me know that my new custom-made Sport Juggling Co. balls had arrived in the mail. "They are awesome ... so pretty," she said.

I had forgotten to bring my old beanbags to work, so my run home was just a regular old run with no joggling. It was my first non-joggling run in quite some time. I found myself automatically looking up at hydro wires and street signs to use for juggling tricks. Just when I was starting to get a little bored, I ran into a couple of guys I used to compete against in local road races, who were also running home from work. It was great to talk to them and not have to worry about juggling.

By the time I got home I was really itching to juggle the new beanbags. I was not disappointed. The Sport balls looked incredibly sleek and cool – bright white with "Joggler" in red stitching – and I was hooked right from the first toss. Of course I went straight back out for a test joggle, and man oh man were they a smooth ride! The Ultraleather exterior was soft to the touch, but firm enough for a good, accurate throw, and the 85 g weight was ideal for a comfortable cascade with minimal muscular taxation.

Overall rating for Sport balls: Beauty, eh!

Juggling at Niagara Falls

My apologies for the lack of posts this past week. I've been away in Niagara.

I did some juggling for tourists (and my daughters – that's Annika in the pink coat in the photo) at Niagara Falls.

On Sunday, I went for a really good long run from my mother-in-law's place in Niagara-on-the-Lake along the Niagara Parkway. My legs feel a bit creaky and I have a strained muscle in my back from lifting an armoire, but I think I'll be well-prepared for the marathon.

Around the Bay – ready, set, joggle!

Today's plan: eat carbs, drink water

I'm ready to go for Around the Bay tomorrow. No running today, just juggling tricks at home.

I'll be using my old Higgins Brothers beanbags because the new Sport Juggling Co. balls haven't arrived yet.

My goal is to go sub-2 hours, but I'd still be happy with a 2:05 or so. My PB for the course without joggling is 1:43, giving me 17 minutes to account for the juggling.

Dianne and the kids are coming along to watch the finish in Copps Coliseum, and to hang out with Longboat Roadrunners friends.

Good luck to all of you other Around the Bay racers.

Joggling beanbags seek out muddy puddles

Today's joggling mileage: 24 miles

It's hard to joggle for 24 miles. It's even harder when you've enjoyed one too many tumblers of Scotch (Lagavulin 16-year-old) with your brother-in-law the night before. Despite these challlenges, I managed to drag my sorry Bloggling Joggler butt out the door.

The Sunday long joggle began slowly and tentatively, but eventually progressed into 6:30/mile race pace.

For some reason, I was all thumbs today; I must have had about 30 drops. Some of them were caused by me trying to do various juggilng tricks, but many of them were just careless. And it seemed like every time I dropped a ball, it would roll into a dirty puddle. The route was mostly clear, but there were some puddles left by melting ice. My beanbags enjoyed baths in most of these.

Joggling tricks of the trade

When the Around the Bay Road Race signed me up with an elite number (yes, The Joggler managed to get himself classified as an elite – a breakthrough in recognition for the sport) they put "Joggler" as my profession on the form. This gave me a good chuckle since I have yet to gain a single penny for my efforts (excluding the many thousands of dollars in donations to A Run For Liane). But someday, who knows, I might get a good sponsor.

I recently put a pitch in to Wrigley to see if they want to sponsor me as the ultimate multi-tasker. I offered to chew gum as I run a marathon while juggling.

And now for some joggling tricks. You can do pretty much any three-ball trick while you're running, but some of them work much better than others because of the natural arm swing that goes with the running motion. Plus, you can add some extra fun stuff when you're in motion.

1) The Hydro Wire High Toss: This is one of my favourites. When you're joggling down the street toss a high ball up and over a hydro wire and resume joggling when the beanbag comes down on the other side.

2) Mills' Mess Zig-Zag: Mills' Mess, a pattern where you continually cross and uncross your arms as the balls float around in an infinity sign, works really well on the run. If you run in a zig-zag pattern, it works even better.

3) The 3-Up Running 360 Pirouette: This one is really hard (for me, at least). You toss all three balls high up in the air, then jump up in the air and twirl around in a 360, like a figure skater. Right at the landing you catch the three balls and resume juggling. If you want to see what a juggling pirouette looks like standing still, check out this hilarious video by Jason Garfield.

4) The Road Sign Bounce: Find a good solid road sign and toss a ball forward into it as you're running towards it. When the ball bounces off pull into into your three-ball cascade and keep running. You can also do this one sideways into walls.

Someday I'll get these onto YouTube. There's not nearly enough joggling on YouTube.