dreaming over the ocean

Being back in Vancouver has been great... since I have arrived, things have pretty much been perfect.   TIme to do school work, catch up on sleep, spend time with my beloved, relax, and workout.  some of the highlights: Date nights:  On friday night, the boy and I went to a movie, and then out for a nice dessert on the water.  it was nice to be able to, after having spent the whole day inside writing my paper, and getting over tiredness, just to spend quality time together.  To communicate, to laugh, and to just enjoy the company.  Last night, we did our "make up for a lost valentines day" date.  We dressed up all fancy, and went to eat at an expensiveish resaturant, Nuba ; we then walked around gastown (and, when i say walked around, we walked all of two blocks) to find a place to grab a dessert and cocktail.  we were successful, and Pourhouse even had live music which included men with fedora's, playing a stand-up base.  shoppi...

So, i have a few things to write. but, i have procrastinated enough this morning, because a friend of mine wanted to know if I knew a good "Training Log" for a 10km running race. So, instead of finding her one, I made one up for her. HA! Nat and I used to work at Body and Soul in Vancouver. She worked as a lovely front-desk receptionist, and I, as a personal trainer. And, I gotta admit... many, many, of my friends who I have from Vancouver are people I met at B&S. And, for that, I am really thankful. Now, she is a Momma, and makes lovely Tutus. Have a look at her page , to see what she does. This spring, she is deciding to take on the every delightful Vancouver Sun Run. I love the race, because it is one of the largest 10km races in North America, and almost everyone in vancouver does it ;) (not really, but, you know what i mean...) And though I don't have a great idea of what her level of fitness is right now, this is a pretty simple plan that will wor...

so, this week has been a week of learning humility. Why should I think that it would stop on saturday morning? I have been training on and off with the YMCA tri team over the past few months. Only for swimming though. And I stick to the plan that coach mary gives me. If it fits, i go. If it does not fit, i don't go. simple as that. It is also the reason I jump out of the pool early ( even though it feels like I am slacking ). 'cause my coach knows me. and i pay her for something. I don't pay her to give me suggestions that I will not follow. I pay her to give me a program that will get me to succeed on the other end, and go fast in races, that I take seriously. SO, this morning, the run was going to fit. I got an email through the list serve saying "9am at the Y, a 10-12km run." i'll be there. I have an hour run. That is about accurate. I enjoy the group, sure, let's go. and, let's just remind you, that out of the 3 disciplines, r...

Today, I am skipping morning class to sit and have a relaxed morning. I might even skip afternoon class. Cause sometimes, at least once a semester, you need to do so. Things on the schedule this morning. Morning watch of the New Dexter Episode. Morning coffee by the computer. No riding in the nasty rain until this afternoon (you're right Annie... What did happen to HTFU? ! (caution, that link is a little "unsafe for children" ... HTFU is scheduled for later!) Now I am a route to get a good lot of homework done. breakfast today: 2 eggs. Strawberry Greek Yogurt. Banana. Coffee with vanilla almond milk. but first, a great video, seen on SW's BLog. So... why do I blog?!! first off... do you like the new blog layout?!?! it took me a bit to figure out the html script, but, i like the way it is looking now, just after a few wee changes! i almost look important with a professional website! anyway, i think I started my "xanga" blog spring of 2004 (if you...

September, in a student's life is never easy, i don't think. As soon as you think it is easy... well, then something else happens. For this (my3rddegree.ugh.) time round, it is Federal/provincial student loans. This is the first degree in my life where I need to have canada student loans. My B.Sc was funded by the lovely WVU athletic department, where i did this: Then, for my M.Sc at UBC, i worked here , and here , and then finally, here . and, i made it through. I am finally at a point, broker than I have ever been in my life, and saying "Show me the money! I don't want to work! i just want to focus on school!" but, that comes with loads and loads of bureaucracy (is that how you spell it!?). and, it comes with long lines, and going from office to office. and, if you remember last year, my loan was 6 weeks late, and I had days where i was afraid of where I was going to be getting my f ood. And, i hate that. This year, I think that it will go better: fi...

So. What an incredible weekend. actually... two incredible weekends in a row. and, next weekend will be incredible as well. This past weekend, on saturday, I rode my bike from Montreal to ottawa. and, it was beautiful. It was really fricken long. I went with a friend, Ben, and props to him, because he rode the whole thing on a 10 speed, steel frame oldschool bike with an awful saddle, and a milk crate strapped to the back. and, it is not like he trains for things like this. I know it was challenging for him. FOr me, I felt amazing. i got to have a few more breaks than ben did, due to the fact that I would ride, and then turn around and not be able to see him. so, I would stop and wait. but, here are the highlights and lowlights: cows. deer. horses. open fields, and long rivers. stopping for french fries. finally crossing the ottawa river. our final 50km into ottawa, the rolling hills, the sunset. stopping for pizza dinner. stories of lost love. picture taking and video shooting...

not a terrible day. not a fantastic day. race report will be put up tomorrow! So, getting ready to run my first real race of the season, tomorrow! The weather up here is cold, and wet this weekend. I am hoping that the the sun might peak out for a little bit of time, but, I think that is a little ambitious. So, those training runs in the rain will be beneficial to these ones. I am feeling... well, I don't quite know. I am definitely feeling mentally ready to get my race on. Physically!? I just have to trust that I am there. Even though this week, I haven't been able to hit what I was meant to hit with training. I haven't run a 1/2 marathon in a year. and, the last one i ran had a 56 mile bike, and 1.2 mile swim tacked on before it. so, it has been a while. I am carb loaded (feeling kinda weird though, on it. i feel very "full." or... bloated?) and know what running for 1:45 feels like. i have a goal. and, i have no idea if I am going to be able to re...

so, i really like this HR graph. you can clearly see when I start running up that hill. yup. legs are feeling it.