Another race down! DHT Press Run!

(From left to right) Terri, Wendy, Jean and I. (Missing is Vashti, where were you?)

We did it! Everyone finished the DHT Press Run....all glorious 10K of it! I wanted to post this pic ASAP because my new faithful reader has been giving me flack for not updating my blog more.

So there you have it. Our training may be over but I am sure most of us will be still running. The Don't Get Lost in the Woods race is at the end of August. I will be there. Ask me in another month, the distance I plan to run.

Stompede action

I covered my first rodeo yesterday. I went to the Stompede and look who I meet....Curtis Glencross of the Edmonton Oilers. Besides cowboys, you never know who you're going to see.

Grande Prairie Stompede 2008

It's all about the hats. I was the lucky reporter who got to spend her day at the Stompede covering the day events. I was totally unprepared for the action but the friendly boys and girls schooled me on the happenings of the rodeo. Despite running around chasing cowboys and interviews, I had a fun day. More pics to come!

Sometimes you want to go where Karl knows your name

Coffee at Mac's is a must. Usually we head out in packs every hour or so to make the three minute track to our favorite convenience store. Some people may scoff at the thought of corner store coffee but not us. We know Karl and his staff quite well. Once in awhile he even gives us (okay, just me) free coffee. He's always smiling and ready to brighten our days.

If only it were this easy to rid the world of larger pests

Take that worker ants. I am not a violent person. Um...let me start again...Okay I like to kick things but that doesn't mean I enjoy hurting defensive creatives. You know I am a vegetarian so I'm not a fan of slaughtering helpless animals. But damn it, I've had it with these worker ants. When one feisty ant decided to go climbing on my glasses late last week, I thought this is it. No more.

I bought AntOut- a weapon of massive destruction- that claims to take out whole ant colonies within four to seven days. Arrest me now. The traps are set and the countdown begins.

As wise sage Diana Rinne would say, "they can have the yard but not in my house!" I agree. I may not have a yard but I do have an apartment.

Hells Bells

A two-hour drive brought me to Grande Cache. An old coworker of mine from my Ottawa Sun days is in Alberta for holiday. We went to Sulphur Gates (Hells Gate) before making the two-hour drive back to Grande Prairie. I would have liked to stay longer but it was late in the day and an unfortunate mishap put a damper on the hiking mood.

Nice drive though from GP to Grande Cache. I am definitely back this summer. Any takers? I am so up for hiking now that I got a slight taste of the views. Gosh, the mountains in the distance and the slight windy road reminded me so much of New Zealand.

running down a dream

Karen and I are oh so cool after a coffee at Esquires. Many of the people from the running club met after their runs/walks this morning. My group ran about 9K this morning. I felt pretty good and prepared for the 10K next Saturday. Whoo Hoo!

Yay I made it through the week. I took it so easy today at work. After doing a couple interviews and cleaning up my desk I left work around 1:30 p.m. Then I did a few errands. I'm skipping my 3K run tonight. I am just too darn tired. A glass of wine and a movie are on the slate tonight. A friend from Toronto is visiting for a few days and he arrives tomorrow afternoon. Because I don't have any holidays, I won't get to do much sight seeing with him, save for a few hours on Sunday afternoon.

pay it forward baby

Why is it that shorter weeks always seem the longest? Someone explain. I had an exhausting week. I don't know how I am going to keep up at this pace. I ran tonight with a few of the people from the running group. I got a stitch in my side which tells me I was either running too fast or I didn't eat well today. Oh well.

I am soooooo happy this day is over. Bring on the weekend.

let it be let it be

Sometimes it's good to just close your eyes and think of shiny days when the day before you is reeking of crap. Nick took this picture on the weekend. That's his girl beside me. We're checking out a Vogue magazine. Yes, sometimes I get girly.

I still haven't found what I am looking for

Taken on Sunday where the sun was proudly shining, this picture depicts me as someone obviously looking for something. Actually what I was doing is completely top secret so that's all I can say about that.

Yeah so it rained on and off all day. I wasn't amused as I had to run 9K in this crap. Actually it wasn't too bad, and my running partner kept my mind off the crappy weather.

Along with a new reporter starting today, we had a shake up of sorts in beats. Our city reporter finished his last shift today so there was a gap. A bit of shuffling here and there and we're all good. I'll be doing the education stories, minus the college now. Believe it or not, I am psyched to be coming some more board meetings. I need the practice. Other then that, all is quiet on the western front.

Just one bear will do, please

I went bear tracking. Unfortunately I didn't see a big furry creature. But I did see the back end of a wolf (or was it a fox) scampering away in the distance. I'm not sure which animal it was. It had a fluffy grey tail. And no, it wasn't a dog. At the Wapiti trails, where I ventured out today, is where bears and other wildlife are spotted. This was my first trek out there. It's only 8K outside of the city limits.

It was very quiet and peaceful. The only person I glimpsed was a guy in blue racing through the trails on a mountain bike. Fun.

Park this

Nick, his gal, Krista, Damien and I hung out in Muskoseepi Park for a bit. This is after I ran 10K in the morning. I was so drained by the time I got home later in the afternoon. SO I took a nap so I could stay up and watch the finale of Desperate Housewives.

here kitty kitty

I promised coworker I would feed his two cats while he is away with family. I don't mind since he lives within walking distance from me. I'm not a big cat lover but I hate animals to starve.
This is cat #1. I don't want to form a relationship with either one of them so I will refer to the felines as cat #1 and cat #2.

time to relax

Welcome to Victoria Day weekend in Grande Prairie. I am happy to have three full days of nothing ahead of me. Actually I'll be busy with running (provided my leg holds up) and taking pictures. Both my apartment and clothes are clean so I have no housework to do. Yippee! Don't ya hate it when you spend a day off cleaning? I know I do!

enjoy the view

In a spontaneous moment I quickly throw my arms in the air and do a little dance. Down the road from the office coworker and I walk to the local sports store.

writing because I can

When not being distracted by the neverending drama in the newsroom, I do work quite tediously. I really like my new desk because I have walls and space. Unfortunately my neigbouring coworker is a bit of a slob and talker but it hasn't taken down the property level yet.

doing the recycling thing

There's no curbside pick up for recycling in Grande Prairie. Hopefully one day it will happen. But for now I walk the six blocks to this community depot to sort out my paper, tin and plastics. I heard through the grapevine this possibility may be up for public consultation in the next bit. One man today commended me today on walking to the depot instead of driving like he did.
That's me; that's what I do.....walk.

York Hotel in Grande Prairie is more infamous than its famous namesake in Toronto. The boys in my newsroom are scared to walk pass it because of the rif raft that hang around there. Whatever. It's really not that scary. It's two blocks from my apartment building and I walk by there all the time with no problems.

I'm starting this new blog since I have reached my limit for photos on my first blog. Watch for updates and direction later this week.

race day in grande prairie

Yeah so I ran the 5K run today. I was disappointed I couldn't run the 8K due to the pain in my butt. I could barely walk after this short distance and I can imagine what I would feel like it I ran 3 additional kilometres. Anyway I am happy I finished under 30 minutes despite my woes. I hate complaining but if I have to I might has well complain here. I hate injuries. I just want to feel good. I probably should have rest today but what can I do.
If I have time tomorrow, I am going to see the massage therapist once more. Other than my woes, it was a nice day for a run. Everyone did really well. My coworkers, Diana and Karyn won medals in their age groups for the walking part. Congrats to them! Actually my team leader for the running club came in first in her age group too. Everyone rocked. Karyn and I went for beers after the awards. I had an albino rhino...okay two....awesome! Beer made for me!

Still hurting

I'm still hurting. I went and bought a new fluffy pillow. I think my sad looking pillows have been contributing to my stiff shoulders and neck. My leg was feeling much better until I starting running. Even walking after my 2 minute run was no picnic. I am thinking I might have to skip my group run tomorrow morning. I ate missing the run because it's the run I truly look forward to all week. Besides I don't want to fall behind on my training. On the other hand, I don't want to hurt myself further.

I'm going to teach a few taekwondo classes this week while Master Mollins is away. That should be fun. I like teaching.

I went to work today for some InDesign training. Although I didn't have to go I wanted to brush up on my skills. Too bad because the weather was like plus 17. I hope it stays on this side of zero.

Some how, some way I have injured my poor body once more. I woke up with stiff shoulders and neck; and a constant pain in my butt. As soon as I was able to find a massage place, I quickly made an appointment to have a 45 minute massage this morning. It was really good. I immediately felt somewhat better. But later in the day I felt my leg start throbbing again and I could barely walk. Needless to say, I did not go to taekwondo tonight. I feel like such a loser. I knew I was pushing myself too hard.