The “Farmer’s Snot”
While commuting to work by bicycle, it occurred to me that I have accumulated a skill I never even thought about as an actual skill before: the “farmer’s snot.” Apparently, in some places they call it the farmer’s blow, but it all means the same thing: A farmer’s snot is blowing one’s nose onto the ground by plugging one nostril and blowing the other one as hard as you can; then one repeats this with the other nostril. The result is barely any snot left at all – just enough to wipe on the back of one’s hand/bike glove (in this case).
Today on my commute, I practiced this skill many times and discovered I could do it almost perfectly, all while riding precariously on icy roads. Now that is skill, my friends!
According to my friend, Wikipedia:
During cold weather, the cilia which normally sweep mucus away from the nostrils and towards the back of the throat (see respiratory epithelium) become sluggish or completely cease functioning. This results in mucus running down the nose and dripping (a runny nose). Mucus also thickens in cold weather; when an individual comes in from the cold, the mucus thaws and begins to run before the cilia begin to work again.
I thought this was all very good to know as I always wondered why my nose ran so much when it was cold, and since my nose runs a lot anyway when I bike, it runs even more when it is cold out. Imagine something that runs so much and never gets anywhere!
Tonight I have committed to myself that I am going to get on my trainer for at least an hour – that’s two episodes of Sex and the City. I am also going to do some yoga as well. I’m officially back on the wagon!
One Response to The “Farmer’s Snot”
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Get VT Blog Updates!
Upcoming Races
-
No dates present
Vegan Athletes
VT blog stuff
VT is on Twitter!
- What a great day for the #VancouverMarathon! Beautiful weather & scenery for this gr8 day. I made my time goal by 1 minute! 4:59 YES!!! #TNT 2012/05/06
- #VancouverMarathon Race Day! I cried so much tonight! I am so grateful to be running tomorrow. Why? http://t.co/HK0o5TK4 Love to you all! 2012/05/06
- A new blog post about my experience in Vancouver! http://t.co/ajiErKnV #VancouverMarathon, #TeamInTraining 2012/05/05
- @DarcyB We did it!!!! 2012/05/04
- Off to #YVR for the #VancouverMarathon! 8 months of fundraising for #TNT and training. I can't believe we made it! Woohoo! 2012/05/04
VT has a new look!
Purple has a new meaning in my life as it is the main colour of Team in Training, a group that raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This cause is very near and dear to my heart as my friend and main training buddy had Leukemia & Lymphoma when he was a child. Blood cancer can be very deadly, so I am thankful for the treatment and care that he got.
It is for this reason that we decided to run a marathon together with the Team in Training group in Saskatoon. We have a goal of $5,500!
What is VT?
This website is one that I, Crystal Clarke, started in 2007 with big ideas. It is morphing slowly into a resourceful website for vegans and athletes alike. I put my personal touch on this website in the recipes and the training blog, as I'm a writer & a vegan triathlete. So what is a vegan triathlete? Well...
vegan. n. vee-gahn. - a person who refrains from using any animal product whatever for food, clothing, or any other purpose.
triathlete. n. someone who participates in races consisting of swimming, biking, and running in that order; there are several varying distances with some standard distances:
Sprint: 750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run
Olympic: 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run
Half Ironman: 2km swim, 90km bike, 21.1km run
Ironman: 3.8km swim, 180km bike, 42.2km runPlease leave comments! I love reading and replying to comments. Cheers!
Who am I?
My name is Crystal Clarke. I'm a vegan triathlete. I've been vegan since 2002 and a triathlete since 2003. Since then I have completed 1 Ironman, 4 half IMs, several Olympic triathlons, and many other triathlons, duathlons, running races, and biking races. My goal for each race is to finish. I'm pretty slow, but can be a middle-of-the-pack person if I'm not injured and train consistently.
In addition to being a vegan triathlete, I'm a writer, I'm an Agrologist, I'm a soil scientist, I'm a knitter, I'm an anti-consumer, I'm an environmentalist, I'm a budding Buddhist, I'm a yogi, I'm a student of life, and I'm bipolar. I'm a lot of things! I don't fit into any one category - that's what I think sets me apart from other athlete blogs.
Past Posts






Ha, ha! I laughed out loud at this – I’ve to resort to the “snot rocket” (as I call it) a few times, but I have varying degrees of success with it! I LOVE the new website, Crystal. I can’t wait to see more