prep for texas

it has to be done. i love my hills - BUT - there really aren't any where i'm going in texas - SO - i have to practise running flat to get my poor old muscles prepared. ack! and i just KNOW that this will almost kill me. so, despite the temp reading -2, and the ice on the puddles in the driveway, i dug another pair of shorts out of the drawer, threw them on, and set my mind to running on the rail trail. i figured i'd have to go as far as horseshoe hill road and back to get in my 15 miles. AND, i'd better be bloody sure to have my ipod all charged up!!!

you know what, it wasn't all that bad. there were actually a lot of people out on the trail today, so that kept me distracted. and, for sure i was the only one not all bundled up in tights and a toque, and that got me some strange looks! woo hoo - pylons rock! got my 15 miles done in just under 2 1/2 hours, and was greeted by miss zoey as i wobbled my way down the steps to the treehouse.


so i'm done for the week. i'm stiff and i'm tired. but life is good and there are still a ton of trails to run.

i ain't gonna be your fool

okay, so i would have been on time for my run this morning except i happened to open an email from the captain while eating breakfast. when we were in moab, we were talking about certain flintstone episodes, and i mentioned the one where ann mar-grock sings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXCiS2FpmIc&feature=related

and of course most of you know what happens once i get on youtube !

anyways, i eventually made it over to duffy's, where homey and vents were waiting. vents was legally in tights, but seeing as how it was a couple degrees above zero, me and homey figured we could still wear shorts. poor vents was having grief with his ankle, so he turned around at the gore. just as well, cuz he was being kinda pushy, and almost knocked me off the trail just before humber station. and actually, now that i think of it, he was rather mean to me first thing this morning, asking if i was crazy to try and run 28 miles today! big nasty vents! part way up k2, homey noticed a big rock pile and asked if that was new?! i laughed and said no, look at the moss on it! but then i fessed up to having thought the same thing just a month ago. stoopid runners getting old and losing their minds! we made it to hwy 9 before homey turned back. imagine the looks we got from passing cars while taking this pic !!

i kept going and finally made it over to airport road. on the way back, my hammies were getting cranky, so i had to stop a few times to try and loosen them up. was tempted to have a little relax in the gazebo behind the tai chi center!

got back to my little red mazda after 44km and 5 1/2 hours of running. legs weren't really that tired, just very stiff! while stretching, sarah c pulled up on her bike. 'let's be idiots and take each others' picture taking each others' picture'. hehe! she had been riding in palgrave, and was heading over to albion for a bit more.

anyways, good to see her. and good to be running with my homey again! planning on doing 15 miles tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes!

'there's a town i know where the hipsters go called bedrock

twitch ! twitch !'

quiet week

not much exciting this week. all 3 days were threatening to rain on me, but the spirits prevailed and i stayed relatively dry. got back on the trainer on monday for some hills, and that hurt! legs were fine, but my arse was killing me. that'll teach me for neglecting it all summer. the poor aquila didn't even want to change gears at first, but after a frantic phone call to wayne, and some tinkering with cables, she was back in business. guess she was angry with me! did almost 12 miles on wednesday on the humber, and man were my feet sore at the end??!! thursday was the usual 2 loops of palgrave, and i'm happy to report being 7 minutes faster than last week.

started the winter session of boot camp with the kids at country day school. awesome group this term and it's great being able to do it twice a week.

that's about it. planning a big weekend of running if my stoopid feet permit it.

john loves hockley too !!

on another amazing late fall day, the secret love of my life came up from the big city to run hockley with me. the last time he joined me, it almost killed him. today he was flying up the hills - i'm thinking the crossfit training has paid off!!

we also had october come out. almost lost her on the very last section, but a bit of fast running and some bellowing reeled her back in.

as usual, we finished off the run with a visit to the hockley general store.

thanks for coming up john and hope you enjoyed your run in the valley.

xoxo

back to reality

so the big trip is over - what an adventure. i had planned on going to cirque de soleil - didn't make it. i had planned on going mountain biking - didn't happen. i had planned on seeing the grand canyon - never got there. am i disappointed ? not at all ! cirque was more of a couples thing, which might have been a little awkward. after running the mountain bike trails in moab, i realized there's no way i could have rode them without killing myself - so that was also a good thing. and the grand canyon, well it will always be there. the other things i saw, like bryce canyon and zion national park, were spectacular, and i'm really glad i got the opportunity to go. AND, it didn't really matter anyways, cuz i got to spend a week with 5 really awesome guys. we had a lot of laughs and i can check off another incredible adventure from my bucket list. captain, digger, onions, cy and beave - thanks!!!

so we got back late wednesday night/thursday morning - thanks to boots for picking us up! couldn't manage to get to sleep, so i just stayed up, unpacked and shaved my legs. first client was at 5:30, so i didn't have long to wait. i was in a daze for most of the day, and instead of taking a nap, i decided to do a couple loops in palgrave instead. actually felt better! also blobbed the first part of our trip!

saturday i met homey at duffy's and we ran 'slowly' up to the top of k2. vents had screwed up the start time, but we managed to meet up at the bench and run back together. legs felt pretty good, but my stoopid feet still hurt. that's probably why i tripped over a stump on the way down and slow-motion face-planted into the dirt. grrrrr !! WHY DO I KEEP HITTING THE SAME KNEE!??? anyways, we finished off the run with coffees and plans for vent's upcoming christmas concert. so good to be out on the trails again with my palgrave pylons on such a sweet morning.

luv you guys !!

argh!!!

good grief! i really should be packing right now instead of blobbing! i was up at 4:30 this morning for my first client. worked a few hours and dashed over to the health store to get my gels. back to work. hay! it's another beauty day - i should go for a run - well, i should really be packing - but it's soooooo nice out - just a short run - man it's nice out - just a little further. crap! it's almost 2 - no worries. i'll go home and start packing - i don't have to be back at the gym until 5. turn on the computer - OH OH - i'm supposed to checkin online for my flight. argh!! I DONT' HAVE A PRINTER! mad panic email to the captain, the glp and october. now what!? i'll pack while i'm waiting - hmm, maybe i should do some laundry - double crap - it's now 3 and i still haven't packed. frantic phone call to the glp and october - maybe they can print off my stuff. stoopid airlines! ohhhh, i just realize i have to fill out my timesheets for work. another distraction! wait, i think the washer's done - better go put the stuff in the dryer so i can pack - ack still have to pack!! oh no, still haven't emailed vents to give a pickup time for the airport. stoopid dora! OH FOR GOD SAKES, THERE'S A LADYBUG STUCK IN MY KEYBOARD! i know, i know, start packing! WHAT DO YOU MEAN I HAVE TO SUPPLY AN ADDRESS AT CUSTOMS??? i don't know where we're going!!! i mean, i know which state we're going to, but not the actual city, or the address!!??? they're gonna screw me at customs for sure! stoopid airlines! and where is stoopid homey who's supposed to take care of all this stuff for me so i don't have a hundred meltdowns before i leave????? where's my camera? oh, there it is. wait, i should take a couple of pictures, it'll be funny! i'll include one of my bike - i love my bike!

okay, update, it's 9:17 and i still haven't packed. BUT, the glp came through and i am now officially checked-in and my baggage is paid for. woo hoo! vents is shooting over around 5:40 for the pickup, and we'll grab onions and head down to the airport.

finally, it's 11:06, and i'm done! off to bed now - big day tomorrow for the pylons!! have a great week everybody!! i'll try and take lots of pics while we're away.

i love hockley

i wanted to be by myself today, so i drove over to hockley, threw on my pack and headed out onto all 3 side trails and the bruce. what a great place !!!

wow

what a beauty day! it's november 7th and the temperature is 15*. isn't that amazing!? after a slow, cranky-leg run on the humber this morning, me and miss lilian spent some time relaxing on the deck of the treehouse, soaking up some gold.

met up with fati, vents and october for our saturday run. vents was dressed perfectly!

and although pylon rules allow tights after the 1st of november, they weren't necessary (as fati and october soon discovered). poor october drank a few too many glasses of wine with the girls last night, and was looking pretty green. we all got scattered out on the trail, and i opted for a little longer route. i was very tempted to stay lying on the grass by duffy's for awhile on my way back, but figured i'd better boot it back, as the others were waiting to go for coffee.

went for a hike in the afternoon with trail man - he's always bringing me tv series and movies on dvd , cuz i don't have satellite or cable (he just can't understand that). and today, along with season 2 of 'six feet under', and 'the big bang theory', he included the above button, which he felt was absolutely suited for me!? haha - thanks kev !!

'here i am, on the road again, there i am, up on the stage, there i go, playin star again, there i go, turn the page.'

'metallica'/'bob seger'

one more week

i guess the bad news of the week is that homey can't make moab. his stoopid achilles is screwed, and we figured putting 10,000 feet elevation on it in just over 50k wouldn't be that good. stoopid achilles!! so that leaves 6 of us heading to moab now.

took it easy on tuesday - just did 5 miles on the humber. then wednesday put in another 8. legs are still a bit tired, so i'm glad it's a lighter week.

here's a pic from the top of k2 - love the yellow larch trees !

and a couple more . . .

thursday was such a typical fall day. hit sun, wind, rain and snow all within my hour of running in palgrave. still in shorts though ! may as well keep it going at least until we get back from moab !

'i didn't want to believe it then, but it all worked out in the end, when i watched you walk away, well i never thought i'd say, i'm fine without you'

hinder

time to taper

okay, last heavy weekend of running and now i can taper a bit before we leave for moab. me and homey started from humber station saturday morning with the threat of rain. the toronto pylons - captain, digger and the beaver - and onions, were supposed to get going at 8 from coolis'. we met them about halfway up k2, and they decided to run with us back towards glenn haffy. digger was mentioning that we would be leaving for vegas in 2 weeks. no digger, we'd be running our 50k in two weeks . . . stoopid digger! oh, and check out the cool hat onions got me!!

once at cooli's, there was a huge group of hikers just getting ready to leave, so we pinned it back onto the trail. and, as usual, after about 5 minutes, me and homey lost sight of the rest of the guys. as we crossed hwy 9, and were easing our way across one of the many slippery bridges, we noticed a huge skid mark on one, and remarked that one of the guys must have wiped out. homey turned around at the 7th, and i kept going. as i was on the section between the 7th and the 5th, i met up with the guys, AND, i found out who had fallen off the bridge! haha! it was onions! apparently just as they were crossing, and as beaver was warning everybody, onions took a header - literally! he had a 2" ring of dried mud just below his hairline, and according to the rest of the guys, had landed right on his head!! perfect!! not his usual drop-and-roll style! we said our goodbyes, and i eventually turned around at airport road. the run back was uneventful, although the wind had picked up considerably, and the trees were crashing together pretty good up top. awesome blustery finish for sure! total run time was 5 hours and close to 25 miles. off to the glp's later that night to hand out candy and check out all the halloween costumes!!

i was pretty stiff when i first got up sunday morning, so i went back over to the glp's and watched her lift some weights, while i drank coffee and told her what to do!! me and pickle discussed his haul from the night before, expressing disappointment at only receiving one peanut butter cup. i then went over to the arena and watched nigels' little girl play hockey. it's funny how the smell of an arena never leaves your system if you spent enough time in them as a kid! and finally, around 11, i felt loosened up enough to get back on the trail. i started out slowly from the tennis courts, and took a good half hour to feel human again. check out this pic of the humber just south of the top of duffy's.

i had a pretty good spill on the way back. landed on a small tree and managed to draw blood on the same knee i always land on! argh! and i kept hitting hidden roots and hyperextending my stoopid foot - the same one i sprained last fall! argh! i met up with another group of hikers, and they graciously stepped aside to let me by. nice to see so many people out getting some exercise!

here's a shot of the trail just as you approach the lookout.

finished off with about 2:25 and 13 miles for today. in all, a great weekend to be out running trails and hanging with my buddies. just 2 more weeks till moab!!

'life is good'