Avoiding the Noise!

I headed out to the golf course to make a guerrilla video podcast, but naturally I forgot the Sony and ended up doing the whole thing handheld with my Nikon and a health app instead of Samantha in my ear. I worked my way around the hilly wood-chip, gravel, and dirt trails, mixing running and walking with my breathing and the terrain, while trying to keep the camera rolling and avoid the noise. Along the way I stopped for water, crossed Bowker Creek, admired my favourite hydrangea, passed the earth drums, dodged a noisy fairway blower, and generally turned the golf course into my little outdoor studio. I also used the opportunity to talk about our upcoming three-week trip to Cord-sur-Ciel in southern France, where we planned to explore an ancient hilltop village and the surrounding area using public transit and our feet instead of renting a car. By the time I reached the clubhouse and the 18th tee, I had enough clips, photos, wind, machinery, water stops, and random Jackal commentary to cobble together another midweek episode—Avoiding the Noise, guerrilla podcasting at its best.

Sunday Show Trails

The Running Jackal headed down Robinwood Drive toward the weir for a slightly different Sunday adventure. The route wandered up, down and around, with a lookout over Douglas Creek, which actually had some water flowing today. Along the way came a surprise reunion with Valerie Bell, whom he hadn’t run with in 15 years. Then it was across the rather questionable wooden stepping stones—apparently an unnecessary engineering masterpiece that becomes even more entertaining when wet and muddy. Finally, the Jackal took a different route back toward the hikers’ bridge, bringing another Sunday show to a close.

Jackal Support Club.

(beer ingredients money) https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-running-jackal--500980/support

Glencoe Cove-Kwatsech Park Mash-up

Running Naked Around the Neighborhood Today’s five-mile solo run is another Running Jackal experiment: no Samantha, no constant heart-rate nagging, just me, my Apple Health app, and running by feel. I wander through the neighborhood toward Glencoe Cove, noticing everything from Montessori kids and dog walkers to playground construction, sea fog, pressure washers, and a suspiciously Homer Simpson-like Evergreen Terrace. Without the familiar zone announcements, deciding when to walk becomes a discipline of its own — basically asking myself what Samantha would be saying if she were along for the ride. There’s plenty of Jackal-style wandering along the way, including cameras and recorders in one hand, a phone in the other, trousers threatening to fall down, and thoughts drifting from local streets to the large trees waiting for me in France. It’s a five-mile neighborhood adventure, part running experiment, part travel preamble, and part unscripted conversation with whoever happens to be listening.

Sunday trails

​A solo trail run through the woods and neighbourhoods, with plenty of climbing along the way.

I covered 7.34 kilometres in just over 71 minutes of moving time.
The trail delivered 182 metres of elevation gain, keeping things interesting from start to finish.
Average heart rate was 123 BPM, with a steady cadence of 127 steps per minute.

Moutain Hike to the Bog

The Running Jackal starts early, hiking from Todd through Blankensop and toward Rithet’s Bog, armed with a mapping app. and absolutely no certainty about where Robinwood actually is. Along the way come deer, bogs, black slugs, a little field mouse, and enough trail-side geography to turn a simple trip for breakfast into an expedition. There’s also the usual Jackal science: comparing apps, heart-rate straps, calorie counts, cadence, and trying desperately to simplify the technology without sacrificing Samantha’s reassuring nagging. Somewhere between the eight thousand steps and the thoughts about turning seventy-five and possibly making it to one hundred, the mission becomes less about Tim Hortons and more about proving that the adventure still works. And finally, with highway noise approaching and a tunnel ahead, the Running Jackal signs off—still walking, still recording, and apparently still planning podcasts for his hundredth birthday.

Loops @ Lambrick Park

The Running Jackal hits Lambrick Park for another round of laps, with a little midget baseball providing unexpected entertainment along the way. Today’s experiment is simple: ditch the constant heart-rate zone nagging and let Samantha provide the numbers while I decide when to walk. I’m pacing myself against the Seven Hundred goal, trying to stay out of the Hurt Locker while still banking a little speed. Between gravel, dogs, e-bikes, tennis players, baseball, wind, and a surprise lecture on Hong Kong’s bamboo scaffolding, there’s plenty to distract me from actually running. Three laps later, it’s another Jackal adventure—part training session, part field recording, and only a minor fiasco.

Norn Trail Loop

The Running Jackal heads out on the Norn Trail, enjoying the sunshine and open space before disappearing into the deep, deep woods. The trail soon narrows between the bushes, requiring maximum concentration to avoid going “ass over tea kettle” on the roots and obstacles underfoot. It’s a nostalgic, memory-lane run, reconnecting familiar trails and old friends while creating a new Norn Trail Loop. Half an hour in, the Jackal discovers a serious flaw in the master plan — he forgot to bring anything to drink. And so, with Zone 3 calling and the bushes closing in from all sides, he bids farewell to the viewing public and ventures into the wilderness, trusting the trail gods to return him safely.