dreaming over the ocean

so, the other day (wednesday, the day that i had no motivation to do anything), while I was out riding, something happened that kills me every time. Now, I am (by no means) the world's fastest cyclist . (any irony that it is a recumbent? the ultimate aero?) but, i would also like to think that I am not the world's slowest cyclist, either. I like to think I can hold my own... So, on a day where I have having a hard time finding motivation to do anything, I finally got out for my 1.5 hour ride. I decided I would head up to the university, around marine drive, and back home. riding up king ed, just before granville street, is enough of a hill to reach a RPE of 7-8, at least. so, I am heading along, and all of a sudden, i hear: "on your left, on your left." this caught me as a bit of a surprise, especially when the person passing me was on a commuter-mobile, panier bag carrying, fender porting, lights flashing, weird sticker rocking, 26" wheeling mtn bike. i t...

last week, somebody asked me what i think about when i race. sometimes, i think about that question when i train. today, while swimming, i thought that 25 random facts are not enough. so, *here* Are some more :) my favourite movie of all time is amelie. and, not just cause she has the same name as me, but that is a bonus. i ate fish food when i was a kid. i swear i was forced. i forced a friend of mine to eat a grasshopper in grade 7. i have been beaten by birch branches by a old, naked russian. i believe in god. i have an older brother, who i wish i saw more. i have a piece of titanium in my wrist. i have traveled to more states (about 35?) than most americans have. i have spooned in cat suits, in the back of a 2003 matrix, with 4 other people. yup, we all fit. i live in a basement suite, with bars on the windows. i once had a roommate with a very famous dad. okay. that is it for today. keep watch for other postings of random facts :)

So, I have recently found these two "tag your friends" things on Facebook. I, on the occasion, like things like this. so, here we go... #1: IPod my life... 1. Put your music on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. Write it down, even if it sounds silly. 4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing the memo as well as the person you got the memo from. (my favourites are in bold) ____ If someone says, "Is this okay?" you say... Pull me down What would best describe your personality? Sweet Illumination (ain't that sweet!?!) What do you like in a guy/girl? With my own two hands How do you feel today? Prelude for piano No 4. What is your life's purpose? Over and out What is your motto? Rising Sun What do your friends think of you? Good Riddance (Time of your life) What do you think about very often? Around this corner What is 2+2? Kate What do you think of your best friend(s)? Never gonna find me! What do you think of the person ...

so, apparently I was featured in Momentum Magazine's article on the November Bike to Work Week. I stopped at a commuter station to get some free food/coffee/goodness. And, I had the guy adjust my brakes. they took a picture, and here I am :) ha! my friends told me about it this morning, while out for breakfast. I thought it was quite hilarious!

i grew up on the prairies. that means that I have had plenty of cold winters. but, alas. I have not lived on the prairies permanently since I was about 15-16. meaning, that maybe my skin has gotten thin. so, if you live in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ontario, or Halifax... Minnesota, New England, new york city, or colorado. in fact... anywhere east of the rockies right now. forgive me. forgive me for what I am about to say... because I truely believe I am a west coaster now. but... it is cold ... it is cold, even when I where my cycling booties and I can't feel my toes. it is cold when i have boogers consistantly in my nose, and streaming down my face. It is cold when ponds in vancouver are frozen. and, it is cold when there is a consistant fog that never rises. and, i don't like it when I cannot feel my toes while riding my bike. that is all. today on my 30min run/60min ride/30min swim workout, i stopped between the ride and the swim to eat a cinnamon bun. I wonder if that...

a sprint down the road :) So, this morning, like every thursday morning, I was to be at work at 6am. To train a client of mine (ha! i just thought about google searching his name, to see if I could come up with a link. then i quickly [thankfully] remembered how un-ethical that is!) that I have worked with for more than a year. I have been late for him once in my life, in the more than 60 times I have worked with him at 6am. anyhow. I did something today that i *rarely* (if ever!) do. My alarm went off at 4:45, and I promptly shut it off, and did not sit up. that is t-r-o-u-b-l-e. next thing I know, i open my eyes, look at my alarm, and it is 5:36. my "last chance bus" comes at 5:44 (to get me to work at about five to ten after: not too late) and I live 4ish blocks from the bus stop. thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I jump up, rip out of bed, throw some clothes on, my laptop and notebook into my bag praying that it is everything i need for the day. fly by the bathroo...

so, i set the date for the Thesis defense. Tuesday March 3rd. 7 Weeks and counting. i can see a light at the end of this tunnel! woowoo!!!! :)

in 12 weeks, i will be done... (at least for a while) hopefully. knowingly. willingly. and, I am excited. tomorrow starts "Base 2" of my 20-week workout plan . I got it off beginner triathlete.com and, I am sure that 10 million other people have used this plan as well. I hope it works. I was lucky this week, because upon my return from florida (where I was a slug on the beach for 10 days), it was a scheduled "Rest week." I instead used it as a "get my body moving" week. It was, therefore, successful. I am excited to give myself i little vamp-up on the workouts. I have also added in a scheduled weekly yoga class that I can fit in, and a weekly strength and conditioning work-out with one of my co-workers, who has agreed to train me :) woo! it will be fun to get a external motivation every week from someone else, while working out. and, as Mary Eggers once said (and, i completely agree) "strong muscles are healthy muscles." This semester...

so, in anticipation of my return to Vancouver, i was ridiculously excited to get on my bike, run on the seawall, get back to my regular exercise routine. The month of december was a little ridiculous in some aspects. mostly food. i felt like i went backwards from all the gains i made in nutrition in the fall. and, my holiday in Florida lead to a lot of lying on the beach, and walking around bare feet, and not doing much working out. and, im not beating myself up about it, but i was ready to get back to normal eating and training. upon my return to vancouver, i realized that "normal" is not going to be quite normal. far be it for me to be pessimistic about snow, 'cause i love snow, i am quite dismayed about the amount of it currently in Vancouver. I am not sure it has stopped snowing since I left, back on the 20th. we are talking, like, 2 feet of snow lying on peoples front yard. the streets? well, the side roads have grooves where a few brave cars can get through, and hav...