E is in the midst of two weeks of field work, which means that Niki and I are home alone. Every time that I'm here for any length of time by myself, I realize that I really depend on E for motivation to do ANYTHING. I spent the weekend watching crappy TV shows, reading crappy novels, and eating crappy food. I was supposed to work today, but I didn't have to, and I decided to do some shopping that I should have done on the weekend instead. (In my defense, I HATE going anywhere in Saskatoon on the weekend. Saturdays are crazy busy and Sunday business hours are limited in the best cases.) Anyway, there was no work done today. There's always tomorrow, right?
I also did some cooking this afternoon so that I can avoid that whole crappy eating thing. I made fresh salsa (YUM!) and a yam-peanut-ginger-pineapple soup. I always forget just how much E eats until I make a giant pot of something, eat my dinner, and realize that I didn't even put a dent in the giant pot of something. So, I will basically be eating yam-peanut soup for the next few days. I am thinking about trying to freeze some, but I'm not sure if I have the freezer space right now.
The weather has been so beautiful here this fall. I feel guilty that I haven't been getting outside to take advantage of it, but I have just been feeling burnt out on biking and running lately. I ran a 10K last weekend in Banff on very little training. The race was fine, but every training run up until then was basically torture. I haven't been on a bike, except to commute to work, since we went to Canmore mountain biking about a month ago. I don't even remember the last time I was on my road bike. Truthfully, I just haven't been myself lately, and it's really starting to bum me out.
Obviously, I need to get out of this funk!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sarah Michelle Gellar
I wish I didn't, but I just love TV. Well, everything except reality TV. I was actually glad when programming started going the way of all reality all the time. There are just fewer shows on now that I really want to watch.
Way back in the day, I was a Buffy fan. I didn't watch the series from the beginning because we never had cable TV when I lived at home. However, the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer coincided with my first year living in the dorms. The group of girls that lived on my floor all watched, so we had a ritual of getting together in someone's room for every new episode. It was difficult for me to make friends when I went away to school, but Buffy gave me a reason to spend time with some people and build friendships. Buffy is a great show, and it's become one of my favorites of all time, probably in part due to nostalgia for my undergrad days.
Sarah Michelle Gellar has been in a few movies, etc. since she played Buffy, but movies just are not the same as TV. So, I was really excited when I found out that she was going to have a new drama on TV this year. I've watched 3 episodes of "Ringer" so far, and I have to admit that I am pretty much hooked. It's definitely not as great as Buffy was, but it's just bad enough to be good. And SMG has not aged AT ALL in the past 10 years. The show is currently playing in a great time slot to be one of my favorite shows - 9PM on Friday nights. I typically don't like to go out on Fridays because I am exhausted from working/stressing all week. I like to sit at home, make some popcorn, drink some sparkling wine (my new favorite!), and watch mindless TV. I did so last night and it was awesome.
Way back in the day, I was a Buffy fan. I didn't watch the series from the beginning because we never had cable TV when I lived at home. However, the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer coincided with my first year living in the dorms. The group of girls that lived on my floor all watched, so we had a ritual of getting together in someone's room for every new episode. It was difficult for me to make friends when I went away to school, but Buffy gave me a reason to spend time with some people and build friendships. Buffy is a great show, and it's become one of my favorites of all time, probably in part due to nostalgia for my undergrad days.
Sarah Michelle Gellar has been in a few movies, etc. since she played Buffy, but movies just are not the same as TV. So, I was really excited when I found out that she was going to have a new drama on TV this year. I've watched 3 episodes of "Ringer" so far, and I have to admit that I am pretty much hooked. It's definitely not as great as Buffy was, but it's just bad enough to be good. And SMG has not aged AT ALL in the past 10 years. The show is currently playing in a great time slot to be one of my favorite shows - 9PM on Friday nights. I typically don't like to go out on Fridays because I am exhausted from working/stressing all week. I like to sit at home, make some popcorn, drink some sparkling wine (my new favorite!), and watch mindless TV. I did so last night and it was awesome.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Untitled
I think that almost everyone who reads this blog knows that life has not been kind to me recently. Without giving away personal details that I'm not sure I want out there on the internet, I will just say that the past few weeks have been painful and very emotional. Since this was something that I wanted to keep private, the suffering has unfortunately also had to be private. I won't minimize the support that I have received from family and friends because I truly appreciate every call and message that I received, but I will say that I'm disappointed that some of the people that I love the most in this world didn't even bother to check to see if I was okay. Is it really so hard to send an e-mail to ask how I am?
Fortunately, life has returned mostly to normal quite quickly. There are still some nights that I just want to throw a massive pity party, but I do my best to minimize actually giving in to the impulse to feel sorry for myself. I keep trying to remember that there are a whole lot of people in this world that have it way worse than I do. I have a lot to be thankful for, and the bad things really aren't so bad in the grand scheme of things at all.
Fortunately, life has returned mostly to normal quite quickly. There are still some nights that I just want to throw a massive pity party, but I do my best to minimize actually giving in to the impulse to feel sorry for myself. I keep trying to remember that there are a whole lot of people in this world that have it way worse than I do. I have a lot to be thankful for, and the bad things really aren't so bad in the grand scheme of things at all.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Sherpa is Complete
Whew! I just put the finishing touches on my touring bike. E and I installed the fenders, and I put the cleats on my new touring sandals. It also happens to be 30C here today, so I was sweating the whole time we were working on the bike. These things always seem to take longer than they should too...
All told, this bike was a lot more expensive than I was thinking it was going to be. In addition to the bike, I bought front and back panniers (rather, E bought me panniers for Xmas), front and back Tubus racks, a handlebar bag, a new saddle, a new stem, SPD pedals and sandals, and fenders. I still have to buy a frame pump, spare tire, and spare tubes before we leave on tour in a couple of weeks. $$$$$$$
I will admit that the bike is pretty sweet looking, though.
Pictures to come soon.
All told, this bike was a lot more expensive than I was thinking it was going to be. In addition to the bike, I bought front and back panniers (rather, E bought me panniers for Xmas), front and back Tubus racks, a handlebar bag, a new saddle, a new stem, SPD pedals and sandals, and fenders. I still have to buy a frame pump, spare tire, and spare tubes before we leave on tour in a couple of weeks. $$$$$$$
I will admit that the bike is pretty sweet looking, though.
Pictures to come soon.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Where I've Been
I have been enjoying the Canadian summer while it lasts - lots of trips, Relay for Life, soccer, biking, and work are keeping me busy and exhausted. But happy.
Here are my last 3 weekends in 3 pictures:
E and S setting up in T1 for their Half Ironman Triathlon in Calgary
(June 18, 2011)
Toxicology Centre group at the SETAC Prairies meeting in Winnipeg
(June 24, 2011)
Niki and I canoeing on a portaging trip in PA National Park
(July 2 & 3, 2011)
Here are my last 3 weekends in 3 pictures:
E and S setting up in T1 for their Half Ironman Triathlon in Calgary(June 18, 2011)
Toxicology Centre group at the SETAC Prairies meeting in Winnipeg(June 24, 2011)
Niki and I canoeing on a portaging trip in PA National Park(July 2 & 3, 2011)
I am actually looking forward to a laid back weekend at home this weekend!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Calgary Marathon 2011
It took me two weeks to work myself up to writing this post. The marathon wasn't a terrible experience or anything, but it takes a while to assimilate and reflect.
E and I left for Calgary early on Saturday, May 28th. It's a 6+ hour drive from here, so we spent most of the day in the car. I tried to stick to a relatively decent diet high in carbohydrates, but the food choices along the road to Calgary from here leave something to be desired. I ended up with coffee and a muffin for breakfast, some pretzels for a snack, and a McDonald's junior chicken sandwich with a few fries for lunch.
We made it to Calgary without incident, picked up my race packet at the expo, and checked into our hotel by about 5PM. The hotel was near a bunch of chain restaurants, so we decided to walk to Chili's for dinner. I had pasta with blackened chicken for dinner. I'm pretty sure the sauce was some artery clogging concoction, but Chili's is not exactly known for its health food. At least it was high in carbohydrates.
I managed to get a good night's sleep even in the hotel. Since the race start was a 7AM, the alarm went off at 5. There was no parking near the race site, so we drove to a commuter lot and took the C train to the race start. Temperatures were in the single digits, so I was really glad that E was there so I could wear extra clothes to ditch when the race started.
Between the marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K races, there were close to 9,000 people racing. About 4,000 of us lined up for the start of the full and half marathons. With so many people, it took me close to 6 minutes to cross the start line.
The first few kilometers of the race ran along the access roads to the Calgary Zoo. Because we were on the road, we couldn't see into the many of the exhibits (the road runs behind the exhibits), but there was one rather large bird making a godawful noise at one point. I got passed somewhere around here by a guy that was attempting to run the full completely barefoot! (As an aside, he finished a few minutes before me, and E said he looked like he was in terrible pain after 26.2 miles.)
After leaving the zoo, the course headed toward the downtown area. There were tons of people cheering around there, which was really nice. We crossed the Bow River after about 10K, and the half marathoners made the turn to head back for the finish at about 12K. I was drinking so much that I had to pee at the 13K aid station. After I got back on the road, I had to run up the one big hill on the relatively flat Calgary course. It wasn't really too bad since it was only 100m of elevation gain over 1.5kms. As I crested the hill at around 15K, I saw the two men leading the marathon heading back towards the finish (they were at 32K).
The next 25K or so ran through various neighborhoods in the northwest part of Calgary. Honestly, the course was not all that interesting through here. My split at the half-marathon mark was 2:29ish (2:24ish corrected for start lag). I was feeling really good at this point. I had lots of energy because I was having no problems drinking gatorade at every aid station and eating gels every 45 minutes to an hour.
At around the 32K mark, I was starting to feel it in my legs. I was very close to running back down the big hill, which I thought would give my legs a break. I. have. never. been. so. wrong. in. my. life. I am a flatlander. I do not run hills on a regular basis. In fact, we don't even have a hill that would compare to the one in Calgary anywhere near Saskatoon. As such, that hill trashed my quads and IT bands. By the time I made it to the bottom, I was having a hard time convincing myself that my poor abused legs would make it the last 8K to the finish.
So, I struggled. I walked through aid stations. I ran the rest of the time, but at a VERY slow pace. The kilometers crawled by. The high temperature for the day was only 14-15C, but I started to get a little warm because the start was cool enough that I needed to wear tights and long sleeves. Overall, I was pretty miserable between 32 and 42K (20-26 miles). At the half marathon mark, I was pretty sure that I could finish in under 5 hours. I started to doubt I was going to make it.
After far too long, I rounded the last corner and the race finish came into view. I gave the last 200m my best effort, and crossed the finish line in 4 hours 57 minutes and change. E was waiting for me at the finish with a beautiful bouquet of flowers (they are still alive right now!).
For as terrible as I felt the last 10K, it was a good race. The first 32K were great. I finished. In under 5 hours. At this point, I'm not sure if it's something that I want to do again. If I were to run another, I think I would train at longer distances to avoid falling apart in the last 10K (my max distance was around 33K before the race).
I sort of expected to feel this big sense of accomplishment when I finished a marathon. That didn't happen. It wound up being just another epic adventure to check off the bucket list. And I'm okay with that.
(By the way, I am still nursing 4 black and blue toenails. I am hoping that they don't fall off!)
E and I left for Calgary early on Saturday, May 28th. It's a 6+ hour drive from here, so we spent most of the day in the car. I tried to stick to a relatively decent diet high in carbohydrates, but the food choices along the road to Calgary from here leave something to be desired. I ended up with coffee and a muffin for breakfast, some pretzels for a snack, and a McDonald's junior chicken sandwich with a few fries for lunch.
We made it to Calgary without incident, picked up my race packet at the expo, and checked into our hotel by about 5PM. The hotel was near a bunch of chain restaurants, so we decided to walk to Chili's for dinner. I had pasta with blackened chicken for dinner. I'm pretty sure the sauce was some artery clogging concoction, but Chili's is not exactly known for its health food. At least it was high in carbohydrates.
I managed to get a good night's sleep even in the hotel. Since the race start was a 7AM, the alarm went off at 5. There was no parking near the race site, so we drove to a commuter lot and took the C train to the race start. Temperatures were in the single digits, so I was really glad that E was there so I could wear extra clothes to ditch when the race started.
Between the marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K races, there were close to 9,000 people racing. About 4,000 of us lined up for the start of the full and half marathons. With so many people, it took me close to 6 minutes to cross the start line.
The first few kilometers of the race ran along the access roads to the Calgary Zoo. Because we were on the road, we couldn't see into the many of the exhibits (the road runs behind the exhibits), but there was one rather large bird making a godawful noise at one point. I got passed somewhere around here by a guy that was attempting to run the full completely barefoot! (As an aside, he finished a few minutes before me, and E said he looked like he was in terrible pain after 26.2 miles.)
After leaving the zoo, the course headed toward the downtown area. There were tons of people cheering around there, which was really nice. We crossed the Bow River after about 10K, and the half marathoners made the turn to head back for the finish at about 12K. I was drinking so much that I had to pee at the 13K aid station. After I got back on the road, I had to run up the one big hill on the relatively flat Calgary course. It wasn't really too bad since it was only 100m of elevation gain over 1.5kms. As I crested the hill at around 15K, I saw the two men leading the marathon heading back towards the finish (they were at 32K).
The next 25K or so ran through various neighborhoods in the northwest part of Calgary. Honestly, the course was not all that interesting through here. My split at the half-marathon mark was 2:29ish (2:24ish corrected for start lag). I was feeling really good at this point. I had lots of energy because I was having no problems drinking gatorade at every aid station and eating gels every 45 minutes to an hour.
At around the 32K mark, I was starting to feel it in my legs. I was very close to running back down the big hill, which I thought would give my legs a break. I. have. never. been. so. wrong. in. my. life. I am a flatlander. I do not run hills on a regular basis. In fact, we don't even have a hill that would compare to the one in Calgary anywhere near Saskatoon. As such, that hill trashed my quads and IT bands. By the time I made it to the bottom, I was having a hard time convincing myself that my poor abused legs would make it the last 8K to the finish.
So, I struggled. I walked through aid stations. I ran the rest of the time, but at a VERY slow pace. The kilometers crawled by. The high temperature for the day was only 14-15C, but I started to get a little warm because the start was cool enough that I needed to wear tights and long sleeves. Overall, I was pretty miserable between 32 and 42K (20-26 miles). At the half marathon mark, I was pretty sure that I could finish in under 5 hours. I started to doubt I was going to make it.
After far too long, I rounded the last corner and the race finish came into view. I gave the last 200m my best effort, and crossed the finish line in 4 hours 57 minutes and change. E was waiting for me at the finish with a beautiful bouquet of flowers (they are still alive right now!).
For as terrible as I felt the last 10K, it was a good race. The first 32K were great. I finished. In under 5 hours. At this point, I'm not sure if it's something that I want to do again. If I were to run another, I think I would train at longer distances to avoid falling apart in the last 10K (my max distance was around 33K before the race).
I sort of expected to feel this big sense of accomplishment when I finished a marathon. That didn't happen. It wound up being just another epic adventure to check off the bucket list. And I'm okay with that.
(By the way, I am still nursing 4 black and blue toenails. I am hoping that they don't fall off!)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tapering
I could swear that I just posted a blog update, but here I am posting almost a month after my last entry. I guess it could have something to do with the fact that I was beating myself into the ground until last Thursday or so. Or not.
I finished the heavy mileage weeks in my marathon training schedule without major problems. I finally figured out a system that kept my feet mostly happy (new socks and a lot of bag balm). I ran 20 miles without incident. I did have some stomach issues at about 18.5 miles where I thought I was going to puke on the side of the trail, but I was able to walk it off and finish the run. I have been having a few minor problems with my IT band, but that really isn't anything new and is sort of my own fault since I've been slacking on cross training, my PT exercises, and core work. I'm hoping that the reduced mileage I'm now running along with lots of stretching/IT band work/core work/massage will make my left leg happy and ready to run 26.2 miles. We shall see on May 29th.
In other news, my touring bike came in about a week and half ago. It wasn't supposed to come until this week, so I was pretty surprised to get the call to pick it up. I've ridden it a few times, but I still don't have the fit dialed in. I think it needs a new stem and I KNOW it needs a new saddle. I'm also looking at racks and such. I will definitely post pics when she's up and running!
I've also been cross stitching in the evenings. I'm doing a Little Mermaid pillowcase for my niece for her birthday. Let's just say that it's taking WAY more time to finish that I was thinking it would. I did some x-stitch when I was younger, and I had forgotten how much I like it. I'm thinking of doing some quilt panels (either x-stitch or embroidery) and making a quilt for a winter project.
But, I really don't want to think about winter since spring/summer has finally arrived in Saskatoon!
I finished the heavy mileage weeks in my marathon training schedule without major problems. I finally figured out a system that kept my feet mostly happy (new socks and a lot of bag balm). I ran 20 miles without incident. I did have some stomach issues at about 18.5 miles where I thought I was going to puke on the side of the trail, but I was able to walk it off and finish the run. I have been having a few minor problems with my IT band, but that really isn't anything new and is sort of my own fault since I've been slacking on cross training, my PT exercises, and core work. I'm hoping that the reduced mileage I'm now running along with lots of stretching/IT band work/core work/massage will make my left leg happy and ready to run 26.2 miles. We shall see on May 29th.
In other news, my touring bike came in about a week and half ago. It wasn't supposed to come until this week, so I was pretty surprised to get the call to pick it up. I've ridden it a few times, but I still don't have the fit dialed in. I think it needs a new stem and I KNOW it needs a new saddle. I'm also looking at racks and such. I will definitely post pics when she's up and running!
I've also been cross stitching in the evenings. I'm doing a Little Mermaid pillowcase for my niece for her birthday. Let's just say that it's taking WAY more time to finish that I was thinking it would. I did some x-stitch when I was younger, and I had forgotten how much I like it. I'm thinking of doing some quilt panels (either x-stitch or embroidery) and making a quilt for a winter project.
But, I really don't want to think about winter since spring/summer has finally arrived in Saskatoon!
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