What's Up? Well, we are a sticky group!

A Go Girls update is long overdue. What has our intrepid group of runners been doing over the past few weeks? Are the roads of Toronto still safe, at least for running? Have the Go Girls driven away all other customers at the group's de facto clubhouse at Timothy's (Sherbourne and Bloor St. East)? Read on to find out.

Early January was cold but our hearts remained warm as we continued to gather for runs. However, unfortunately, our numbers have been reduced by injury and illness. And so it was that only Olga and Theresa met one recent Saturday for a run in temperatures dipping down to -24C with the windchill. They ran nevertheless, carrying the torch for their fallen comrades. (Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they complained a tiny bit about the absence of their fallen comrades, but the complaining was done in love, because they missed their friends.) As it turns out, both Joanne and Nana arrived for coffee after the run and the Go Girls once again took over Timothys with their raucous laughter and stories (followed by some serious discussion and yes, we are capable of this type of conversation).

That frosty morning, one thing became clear: Go Girls has come to mean something for each of us. Nana mentioned an article she had read that suggested that the success of a fitness group depends on the "stickiness" of the ties between the members of the group. Ah, social capital. The Go Girls is rich in social capital. We are a sticky group, and not just because of our gels. Over the past few months, we have bonded. As Olga commented, she runs for the company--our company, if you can believe it. We are more than a pack of women running through the streets of Toronto. We are teammates and we are friends.

Our friendship extends to the good people at Timothys. Monica greets us each week with a smile and a kind word, even though we show up in weird running clothes and return sweaty after our run for coffee and treats. She knows each of our names and she remembers our favourite coffees and snacks. Monica even risked giving a sweaty Theresa a hug! Anyone who hugs a sweaty runner is a true comrade. So, Timothys (at the corner of Sherbourne and Bloor Street East), we salute you!

The following week, there was further evidence of the Go Girls' "stickiness". The Saturday run was marked by an en route celebration of Theresa's (ie, my) birthday. We began the run by tackling Rosedale Valley Road. Alas, the path was quite icy (including treacherous black ice), so we altered our route once we all neurotically touched the sign post at the end of Rosedale Valley Road. Our alternate route led us through Cabbagetown, where the girls decided that photos should be taken to mark the occasion of my birthday. Here is one such photo:

Now this photo does not quite capture the situation. You see, it appears that Carol is assisting me. The truth is that I scrambled up that rock pile all by myself. I was quite successfully scrambling down, but we felt it would be good to have a photo that showed the group members "working together" to conquer various urban landscapes. And so Carol posed with me. Doesn't she look helpful? This is the spirit of the Go Girls: once you get yourself stuck up on a pile of rocks, one of us will come to your rescue, whether you need it or not. For the record, it was nice to have Carol there as a spotter in case I lost my footing.

About a kilometer or so later, we stopped for this photo opportunity:

Yes, that is me, gazing admirably into the eyes of this moose.
The original proposal had been for me to climb onto the moose. I vetoed that idea. I do have my career to think about!

Since this moose is located close to our Timothys, this photo was the last one taken on the road. But it was not the last photo taken. I received three awesome cat cookies from Nana to celebrate my birthday (one cat for each member of my household: me, Dave and Winston). Here are some photos of the cat cookies (and me):




Oh, I do love cookies!
I do feel the need to mark my territory by licking the cookies, however. We Go Girls are a hungry bunch and I don't think I could fight the others off if they wanted to take one of my cookies. Hopefully, spreading my germs on the cookies is a sufficient deterrent to taking them. Whatever the case, the Go Girls did not try to take my cookies. But maybe the girls were being nice because it had just been my birthday...




More recently, the Go Girls have made appearances at various public and semi-public events around the city. On Robbie Burns day, we sent a contingent of Go Girls to a Robbie Burns Day party, complete with tartan sashes and fake Scottish accents to salute the haggis. Aye, we're a multicultural group...as further evidenced by Mariana's attendance at a pub playing Brazilian music. Mariana attended with a group of Brazilians, who she later confirmed were "loud". I cannot say for certain that the Robbie Burns party-goers stayed out late, but Mariana assured us that her Brazilian evening lived up to the reputation of Brazilians: it was fun, it was loud, and it went late.

As for me, as my peers went out for their nights on the town, I practiced good old-fashioned Canadian peace, order, and good government. (It's in the Constitution; look it up.) Of course, my quiet evening at home was all for a good cause: preparation for my hockey game. As the others recover, I will be on the ice creating my own kind of havoc.

As you can see, the Go Girls are doing well. We have even welcomed a few new runners to our group: Jackie and Breda. Let this post be a warning to you, Jackie and Breda: this is what you are getting into when you run with the Go Girls. We're sticky. We laugh a lot. Other people at Timothys like to listen to our amusing conversations. We keep the streets of Toronto safe--at least for the members of our group because we always have each other's backs.