I can see down to the Peace Starts At Home stage. I don't need to actually leave my apartment to enjoy the music. The music is loud and clear. I'm not sure if I can see the fireworks though from my balcony. I doubt I can keep my eyes open long enough to check. I'll probably be asleep before midnight.

I work tomorrow so I am not going to do too much tonight out of the ordinary.

Just back from a short run with Terri. I'm still a little tired from the weekend. Plus I got my monthly so my energy level is a good time low.

It sucks I have to work this weekend when I feel so drained. But that's life, eh?

Robert from the city gave me a bag of dulse. He and his wife were in Nova Scotia a little while back and I asked them to bring some good old dulse from the east coast. I love it. Although it's full of sea salt, it's also a great source of iron. Yum!

enough pasta salad to feed a school bus full of children

I was distracted when I was pouring my pasta into the pot. By mistake, I poured the entire box. I only wanted to make a little pasta for my lunches for the next few days. I knew I couldn't eat all the pasta. So I decided to try making pasta salad. I never make pasta salad. My salads are entirely made with vegetables or beans. I simply chopped up whatever veggies I had on hand and added them to the pasta (after rinsing with cold water). I added balsamic vinegar and oil. Presto! Now my fridge is full of pasta salad! Yummy. 

I scooted out to the grocery store to pick up my food for the week. I am determined to eat well and eat regularly this week. 

I am lazily drinking my coffee and waiting for my laundry to dry. I've been up for a few hours now sorting my apartment. During the week, I can get quite busy so I tend to leave things in complete chaos. I like things to be orderly so my apartment won't stay cluttered for more than a day or two.

I don't have much on the agenda besides rest and a few errands on my agenda today. The hike yesterday was pretty good. We did leg 2 of the death race again. I'm feeling more confident the more I get to Grande Cache. There's only one month left and I still have a lot of work to do. I still have to figure out my eating. I was starving by the time we reached the top of Flood Mt. I know this was because I broke my fast at 6:30 a.m. which is much earlier than usual. Lesson learned - eat more, and eat often!

My wrists are aching. I couldn't figure out why until I remembered the First Aid training. Practicing compressions on the dummy got painful after about the fourth 2 and 30 cycle.

I tried my Vibram Five Fingers out this morning. They were awesome. I can't wait to try longer distances in them. I only ran 3k because it was in the middle of the day and I wanted Diana to shoot me while I ran.

Off to Grande Cache again tomorrow. I'm going with Crystal Miller, her boyfriend Ryan Mysko and a few others I don't know. Should be fun. We're doing leg 2 of the Death race again. I don't mind. I really need to get some longer runs in next week. It will be tough because I have to work Canada Day, and the following weekend.

One of our reporters is leaving at the end of the month. I don't expect my schedule to change too much up until then. I just hope the good weather continues. I love the sunshine but I hate when it's muggy!

I bought these funky Chaco sandals. Each sandal has an adjustable strap. You adjust to fit your foot, obviously. I have the right one ready to go. The left one is given me trouble. I can't get the sandal to loosen to fit my foot. It's driving me crazy. I've been at it fro 20 minutes. I guess it's time to step away from the sandal before I hurl it over my balcony.

I am going to ask Karyn to help me tomorrow at work. She's good for that.

I ran a gruelling 9.66k with Crystal and Tiffany at the trails tonight. It was gruelling because it was hot and muggy and I could barely catch my breath. I was huffing and the whole time. Okay I was probably not hydrated and I hadn't eaten in hours. Usually though I can fake my way through the run. This time there was no faking. I couldn't control my breathing. It was horrible.

Tomorrow I will run earlier. Actually I am going to do a little running with my Vigram Five Fingers finally. Diana is going to shoot me while I try a few laps at the track. I want a picture showing off the "shoes" so we thought the track would work. I hope it doesn't take 20 laps for Diana "to get the shot!"

Pretty, pretty flowers

I took the First Aid course from St. John's Ambulance today. I think it was more exhausting than a typical work day. It was shorter - only about 8 hours but it was draining. There was so much to digest. Most of it's basic sense but we covered a lot of material.

At the end of the course we wrote an exam. I answered one question incorrectly - about Diabetes. I buckled under the pressure. Knock on wood, I don't ever have to put my new skills to use. Like I said to Damien, I have a legal responsibility in the workplace to offer help. Good night, we newsy do not operate heavy equipment.

Back to work tomorrow. I have the scanner with me tonight so I am actually still working. Knock on wood again, it's a quiet night.

I'm power cooking this afternoon. I'm making pasta and curry for my lunches. I need to get better organized. I've been skipping meals again and stuffing my face with whatever is easy (mostly bagels with peanut butter). This week I am determined to stay the course.

I'm in the middle of making chickpea curry. It seems so good. I want to eat it now. But I am going for a run soon and I don't want to have to stop every few minutes to take a pee break. I can't wait to get outside but the sun looks pretty hot right now.

Jen and Delaine rock the GP Triathlon

I got up way too early this morning. I wanted to see Jen and Delaine finish their first triathlon. And here they are below. They both did amazing. I felt tired just watching them! Awesome work, gals! Oh and there's Tiffany Hardy getting a high five from someone. 

peanut pea-nut butter... hold the jelly

I am going to let you in on a little secret. I am addicted to peanut butter. I just can't get enough. Especially thinly spread on my toast. Crunchy isn't for me. I quite enjoy creamy and smooth. Of course, it has to be 100% natural - just peanuts. I am trying Adams this week (yes I eat about a jar every week and half). Usually I go with Kraft but this was on sale. 

Saturdays are meant for relaxation in my book. I ran a few errands this morning and now I am down for the count. I am going to do some reading, watch mindless television and just chill out.

Yesterday, Amber and I did a walk through my leg of the Death Race. I won't lie. It's going to be a challenge. The summit to Flood Mt. is fine. I've done it three times in the last three weeks. Each time, it gets easier. That goat trail is going to eat my dust.

We went through the slugfest which I quite enjoyed. It was silly but fun. The long and winding road to Grande Mountain sucked. I hated just about every step until the descent. The road, and it is a road, is wide open and yucky terrain. I don't know if it was because my legs were on fire, but I hated it. Amber started singing and it made the last bit to the top bearable.

Surprisingly, I feel pretty good today. The weather is amazing!

Blizzard for dinner? Oh, why not?

I ate a Xtreme chocolate blizzard for dinner. Yes, for dinner. I just wanted chocolate and I wanted something cold. So a blizzard it was. Generally, I will give in and have one blizzard a year. I had a cookie one last year. It tasted amazing. This year's blizzard.. just okay. I should have gone with the strawberry.

The weather has been amazing in the city this week. I've had lots of copy at work so that's been good. I have managed to get my planned runs in. I am back at the Nordic Trails tomorrow night, even though Audrey ditched me. I'll have to run with the speedsters. I want to get in at least an hour of straight running and a few good hills.

Is it Friday yet?

Just over an hour ago, I finished writing my school board story for tomorrow's paper. The meeting lasted a little longer than usual. I got back to my desk around 10:30 p.m. A few stories came out of the meeting but I only had the energy to write the one big one.

I managed another 45-minute hill repeat exercise today. I felt good. I am looking forward to doing the entire leg with Amber on Friday.

Until then it's work, work, work. Got some good stories in the works for the remainder of the week.

happy sunday, neighbours

I  have been up since 6 a.m. I've been wearing my new Vibram Five Fingers around the town and my apartment to get a feel of them. I am going to try them out a little bit at a time before I write my review for the paper.

At first blush, I love the feel of them. I'll keep you posted. 

I have a horrible sun burn from the hike yesterday. I always apply sunscreen but for some reason I forgot to apply it to my back side. So I have a lovely shade of red along my neck and upper arms. As I am taking it easy today, it doesn't bother me too much. I've watching soccer and taking it slow. 

Getting stronger - Death Race is seven weeks away

I headed to Grande Cache Saturday thinking I would get to get a feel for the other half of Leg 2 (through Slugfest up to Grande Mt) Turns out there was a communication breakdown. In the end, we hiked Flood Mountain. Not a big deal. I powered up the mountain with Laverna. Then we did a bit of the slugfest. I am looking forward to doing the entire leg with Amber next weekend. 

We met tons of guys and gals who were training for the race. These guys in the picture are from Edmonton. One guy is doing the entire race for the Make a Wish Foundation and others are doing two or three legs. We had a nice chat.

A few pics from our hike up Flood Mt.

Not sure if Stevey knows

Honestly I have no idea what this is all about. I decided to walk to Save On to pick up a few groceries. I took my camera and this is what I saw. I was thinking of a flower shot but this grabbed my attention. Poor Stevey. 

I keep waking up at 6:30 a.m. All week long, like clockwork, I'm wide awake. No joke. I don't know what's going on with my internal clock. 

Anyway I'm up and there's nothing I can do about it. 

This was a really long week. Work was fine. Glad to have a couple new staff on board. 

I did some hill work with Amber yesterday. I was pretty tired but I managed to half-ass it up the hills. I'm feeling stronger ever day so every little bit helps. I have a few people coming with me to Grande Cache tomorrow so that should be fun.

I can't remember if I mentioned it or not. I turned my TV off for the summer. I've been finding over the last few months, it is just on. And what's on is pure crap or mind numbing crap. So I decided after Grey's and Lost wrapped up... that would be it for the summer.

It hasn't been that difficult. I don't even miss the incessant hum in the background. I admit I do turn the TV on to listen to the news when I get up in the morning and before I go to bed.

But the World Cup is starting tomorrow so I have to turn it back on. I lost interest in the NHL playoffs early on (shocking for me, I know). The World Cup is going to be awesome! Bring it on.

I concluded I needed to hike up a mountain (17k) and run an additional 16k the next morning for my foot to feel better. Yes, I defied doctor's orders.

I'm crossing my fingers the pain does not return. I am taking a full rest day on Monday. I think I deserve it.

I had a great run with Delaine, Jen and Loni this morning. I admit I didn't want to go. I was counting on Delaine to bail, and it turns out, they were expecting me to bail. But we all showed up. I didn't push myself so it was an easy, breezy run. I am going to try to meet them this week to run 18k. I don't mind the distance when I have some one to chat with now and then.

Actually Delaine and I talked the whole way while Jen and Loni suffered in silence. After our post-run coffee, I rushed how to shower and get ready for my date with Sara. We had a light snack at the Japanese restaurant. Then it was off to the movies.

Great weekend.

Hiking in Grande Cache

I convinced Carleigh to come to Grande Cache with me yesterday. I really needed to go check out my Leg of the Death Race before I drove myself nutso. That was really nice of her to come. 

We hiked to the top of Flood Mt. then took a glimpse of the slugfest and turned around. It took us a good five hours but we were hiking very slow. It was a good hike though. It rained a bit. There was some snow on top, as expected. Next weekend, I am going to the slugfest. Now I just need to convince others to come with me. 

Feeling good at the top. Looking over to Grande Mt, and wondering how the heck am I going to get there without hurting myself and within the time limit. Going to be crazy. 

10th annual Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache, Alta - July 31, 2010

So this is what I am training for now. I know you're probably thinking, "Are you nuts?" You are probably right. But hey, when you're single with no independents, why the hell not? 

Second leg, 27 km: Flood & Grande Mountain Slugfest 
Includes about 1 km of pavement. The rest is dirt trail with rocky and swampy sections, and approximately 6 km of hard packed dirt road.. Net elevation gain is 500 feet, but the total elevation change is well over 6000 feet. This leg of the race is characterized by long sustained climbing with about 3 km of very rough terrain and two creek crossings. The trail from the summit of Flood Mountain to the summit of Grande Mountain is the roughest piece of trail in the Death Race. The power line down the front of Grande Mountain leading back into town is the most dangerous part of the entire course. This is due to the steep, rocky drop-offs and unstable footing while running downhill. The Slugfest is the most technical section and is rated the second hardest leg of the Death Race (although many rate this leg as the hardest of all).
-Source Canadian Death Race

Five hours later and still no idea what's wrong with my foot. I waited 2.5 hours at the clinic. I spoke with the doctor for a minute at the most. He checked out my foot. Then he sent me across town to get an X-Ray. After the X-Ray, I ate lunch. Then it was back to the clinic. The doctor said there are no broken bones. I could have saved him the trouble. I've broken lots of bones and I know if something was broken, I wouldn't be able to walk.

Anyway, a specialist is going to look at the X-Ray now. I think I just need to rest my feet. It's hard to do when you're me! He passively told me to stop running for a few weeks. He's probably right. I think I am going to rest in my own way. I won't push myself but darn it, I need to walk, right?

Got my new hiking poles. I reckon the poles will help me up the damn mountain. Don't worry I am not going to push myself to pain.

done

Hey so here's a pic finishing Woody's RV World Half Marathon. I'm not looking at my feet for once. Karyn pointed out, I am counting how many people I passed on the way to the finish line. I think three was the correct number. I'm trying to work the figure out in my head. I think I may be whistling too. 

to go or not to go

Yes, I am up early for a day off. I couldn't sleep anymore. That's a good sign. Maybe it means I am rested. I am contemplating whether I should go to the doctor. My foot (and sometimes both feet) is really giving me trouble. It feels okay this morning. But everyone I talk to has her/her own diagnosis.
Maybe it's a stress fracture. Maybe it's broken. Maybe it's in your head.


I'm scared. What if the doctor tells me to lay off my feet for a few weeks? That would throw my training right out the window. As much as I don't want to, I am going to rest up today. I'll do lots of stretching and some ab work so I am not a complete slug. I'll keep you posted, should I decide to bite the carrot and see the doctor.

let let the weekend begin

I started my four-day weekend with a little run in the Wapiti Nordic trails. I love running there. The only hiccup is the fear of bear. Otherwise I would spend longer out there. I did the Grizzly route to get in a few hills.

When I finished I ran into some of the walkers. They go out every Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. I am going to join them. More safety in numbers.

As planned, I am going out to Grande Cache Saturday regardless if people bail on me. I am having lunch with a friend tomorrow and that will be my highlight of Thursday. Need to regroup.

In other areas of my life - I am really annoyed because someone is ignoring me. Don't you just hate that?

I think I said somewhere I would write a race report on my 10k. Okay here it is.

Not much to report. I was tired to start. Tired to end. Even better when it was over. The night before I was at the Comp grad and I didn't get to bed to almost midnight. I probably wasn't as hydrated as I should have been. I did okay though. I finished a minute faster than my last 10k last month. I still think I can shave a few minutes off my time. I'd like to work toward this for the next 10k whenever I decide to do one. Right now I am focused on the hill stuff for the Death Race.

The course itself was the usual around the reservoir and such. I know it so well, I could run in my sleep. It was great to see so many people I knew at the starting line. I wish I had more time to chat. I was working that day so I couldn't linger after the race. Terry, thankfully, agreed to look after police scanner while I ran. It was a beautiful day for a run!

a couple pics from the Stompede

I worked all weekend. I didn't have the time or energy to check out the 33rd annual Stompede. I was there for a couple hours for a wrap story. I got to hang with Free Fm's infamous Jeff Henson and Big Country's ever pleasant Curtis Galbraith. Not to mention, F/X's photography's (and my favourite photographer in town) Rob Ganzefeld. The boys were fun. I didn't even think to take Rob's pic except with my BB. Curtis kept shoving a paper in front of his face. Not cool. 

Carleigh wanted to see me in action. So I allowed her to carry my camera bag and take notes while I interviewed the GM of Evergreen Park and the Stompede president. 

I knew I should have waited until Thursday. I went to Ernie's to check out the hydration packs and poles. There was some good selection for hydration packs but not much for hiking poles. So I decided to check out Valhalla Outfitters for some comparison shopping. Yes, there's barely two sports stores in Grande Prairie.

I got pulled over by a cop. Under the traffic law, I failed to obey traffic control device. Yikes. Basically I didn't know you couldn't turn right on red at a certain intersection because of a service road. Great so I owe $173. Looks like I'll be waiting a little while to buy my hydration pack and hiking poles.

Ha ha. I did mean two months. Thanks for pointing that out, Amber! Would love to do hills with you! (Maybe I should send this in an email)

I got a ticket Saturday at Muskoseepi Park. Thanks for taking the picture to remind me, Terry. Apparently, I guess in Alberta you're not allowed to park on the sideway. I had no idea. What no warning? I am going to try and fight it. Any suggestions?