Not a bad day

Whistler

Have a wonderful winter weekend!

Happy Friday! Wow, how beautiful was today?

What are your weekend plans? I'm going to a matinée play, a holiday dinner with family then early to bed and off to Whistler Sunday morning for some ski time! And maybe some gift shopping in the village after (oh and of course some pub time!)

Goals for 2011

I don't have races planned for January through to March 2011. I have most weekends booked for skiing and a bit of traveling.

April 3, 2011 - Sunshine Coast April Fools Run (half)
May 1, 2011 - BMO Vancouver Marathon (full - Bib #881)

My fiance and friends don't think I should do the following two events so I haven't decided yet. (I get the are-you-crazy-look when I mention this. But these are the same people that give me the same look when I say I like to run.)
May 29, 2011 - Aluminum Man!!! Easy, casual, fun, not even timed!
June 12, 2011 - South Maui Triathlon - planning on getting married  the same week!

August 2011 - Four Lakes 10k
Date - TBD - Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon (lotto entry pending)
Nov 6, 2011 - ING New York Marathon (lotto entry pending)

I haven't decided for the end of the year as I don't what destination to choose yet. Malaysia?

I went to the market...

and found this organically grown, heart-breaker.

My friends are trying to do a weekly or bi-weekly shop-together and spend time together. Talk about multi-tasking! LOL!

Oh dear little love, I have so many funny stories about your parents to tell you when you're older. How we all met at college, how we all danced at my house parties, how we were hungover together and how we've grown together.

Oh love, I can't wait to tell you! You will learn that your parents will collect and tell embarrassing stories of you but I have collected embarrassing stories of them! And I'll share with you when you're old enough!!

My Runner's Christmas Wish List - stocking stuffer edition

Dear Santa,

I would like a...

RoadID wrist ID so that if I get hurt on the road while running or riding my bike, AF or my brother can be contacted.

Lululemon key cuff
I was going to make one myself and then discovered that Lululemon already has one!!!

CEP Compression Sock
Hot pink! Can I have another pair, pretty please? Hot pink!!!

Nike dry-fit running socks

iTunes Gift Card
I loooooooooove music

Running belt

Tiffany Twist Ring
Oh my! How did this get onto my runner's wish list? I swear, it will make me run faster!! ;-)

Happy Holidays!

The sun can't shine everyday

So I'll share my sunshine with you!

Had a really up and down day today. But it ended with this gorgeous sunshine. I watched the city and the sunshine and listened to Trooper's "We're Here for a Good Time."

View from my desk. Enjoy!

So really, have a good time!

PS. I'll get more running/training related posts up soon. But for now, do you really want to read about how I did a weights workout yesterday and how today my muscles are super sore and stiff? That I can hardly scratch my nose without feeling like my arm muscles could snap like a rubber band? That I can't delicately lower myself onto the toilet but rather fall onto the seat? That with each breath my abs and back muscles scream? Nah. Sunshine is soooo MUCH better.

A bagged lunch

This is what happened when I asked AF to pack my lunch. No, he didn't use the many, many reusable containers we have. He chose to use a GIANT freezer bag. He didn't want to "break" or "bend" the brocolini.

Here's another shot of my lunch. I wonder what he would have done if I asked him to pack my soup? A garbage bag?

Is this one of those tricks that guys do? Do what you're asked to do wrong? So that I'll do it myself next time and you get away with having to do nothing? Hmmmmm..... Do you know it did make me do though? It made me laugh really, really hard.

Note: This not my whole lunch. This is just a "pre" lunch. I have a lunch around noon or before and then I eat again later.

Inspiration is...

When a friend's 11 year old nephew wants to run a half-marathon with you... just because he likes to run! Totally made my evening.

Picture below is the only photo I could find in my files that I could use to express that I feel happy and warm of this news.
 

Confession:  
Dear Santa, 
Please fill my Christmas stocking with these awesome toe warmers. They are great inside my ski boots. I found these ones up in Whistler, you get a discount with your season-pass or edge card. Santa, I'm sure you have one or the other. You ski when you're not busy, right?

I got a Christmas tree!!!

Thanks Charlie Brown!

You like?

I did this too - a Christmas centre-piece. :-) This was the easy part. Now to do the dinner party planning, only 20 days left! Yoiks!

Looking for my running mojo

Here are a few photos from my Sunday run. I've been in a bit of a running low. Just feeling, meh and feeling just damn lazy! I'm sure I'll get over it really soon. Apparently it's normal to feel bummed after a marathon - for up to two months. I guess that makes sense. I felt incredibly high and wonderful for about two whole weeks after the Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon.

I had a bit of fun on my run this morning. I would NOT let a guy who passed me whom I then passed, pass me. No dude. Nope, not today. YOU, sir are not allowed to pass me. Sir, I beat you on the hill and I will beat you around the pool too! Let's go! He kept trying. I kept on hearing his foot steps get close and then fall away behind and back again. I felt competitive today. Well at least for a bit. See? I'll get over my running slump. :-)

View from English Bay

Gail's bench. Off to the left not pictured is Christine's bench.
She lost her fight with cancer November 29, 2009.
Christine is AF's mom.

Note: Vancouver coffee shops should carry gluten-free goodies. I was STARVING after my run and went out to get coffee and a treat. I gave up, skipped coffee, went home and made my own food instead. Coffee shops, I would have dropped $20 easily on treats because my eyes are always bigger than my tummy when I'm hungry. Instead I saved that money and ate at home instead.

Moist wipes and Baconnaise

Last night AF and I went to his company's Christmas party. There was a fun Secret Santa gift exchange and stealing. We got a Snuggie! Yay! And then it got stolen. Awww!

This is what we came home with. The meal of champions. AF cannot stand canned tuna, mayonnaise, chocolate spread and jams & jellies. He made a commented (made fun of) on how stinky a colleague's (pictured in the black t-shirt in the background) tuna & mayo lunch was one day. And karma brought him the gift below!

Moist wipes, canned tuna, Baconnaise, Nutella and apple mint jelly. Yep, that's BACONNAISE in the picture. For realz! Ahahahahahahahah!

Nike Women's Marathon San Francisco 2010

Finally!  I'm posting my race report. Soooooo...

On October 17, 2010 I completed my first marathon, the Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon!

I came. I saw, I conquered. Wooo! I ran my first marathon! The end. Ha! Just kidding.

So the day started at 5 a.m. I stayed at the Parc 55, so it was a short walk up to the start line. Neeks came and met me in the lobby at 6 and we both set off. Nervous and excited.

The night before I almost bailed on the race. At the end of the day I couldn't walk on my feet because of pain and it had been that way for over a week. I planned to start with Neeks, bail at a first-aid station along the race route and catch a medic ride to the finish, cry and wait.

Looks like I'm having too much fun doesn't it?

The first first-aid station didn't even have a tent! No way was I bailing at mile 2. NO WAY! I kept going. I decided to just keep going until I couldn't. It hurt my feet less to run than walk and the Nike music stations were too good anyway. I was even running faster than Neeks! Wow. I became her personal cheerleader. I'd run ahead and then stop and wait and when I saw her coming up I'd start cheering her on.

Mile 6 - The not-so-big hill. Thanks to WWU10KRUNNER who helped with training (WWU10KRUNNER called me the night before to wish me luck - Thanks DS!! It meant so much. AF was really impressed too!). This hill was easy. Yah, easy! I just zipped up it. I did so many hills on the Sunshine Coast that this hill was NOTHING!!!

Mile 11 - I ran off on Neeks. She gave me a really uplifting pep talk the night before. "We'll finish it together even if you have to crawl!" I felt sooooo bad. But I saw my pace-bunny pass me. And then another, and another, and another. FRIK! So I told myself, "Winnie, this is no silly, little game of hopscotch. Go, go, go!" 

Thank you Neeks and Duane for being there! I really, really appreciate you two. AF too. It's hard rushing from cheer-station to cheer-station, standing in the rain and waiting. Thank you.

Mile 18 - Oh yah! My feet hurt. Heck!!! They hurt! I finally stopped at a first-aid tent at mile 18. Chatted with a volunteer, signed a waiver and took 2 Tylenol.

Miles 19 or 20 thru to 23 were the hardest. This part of the route takes you around Lake Merced. At about mile 22 there were men practicing shooting. There's shooting practice. Shooting! Guns! That was kind of neat.

Mile 23-24 has got to be my favourite. There was a cheer-station hosted by Power Balance. They had the BEST music. I just wanted to stop there and dance.

I finished 5:32:19 which is WAY over my goal time but gosh! This crazy girl finished!!! I got my blue Tiffany box from a very handsome fireman in a tux and Nike sneakers. I put my necklace on right away. 

I really hope to get into the Nike Marathon again if not I hope to get into NYC marathon. For now I start training for the April Fools day half on the Sunshine Coast and the BMO Vancouver Marathon :-D

PS. I found the best fast food place at Westfield. It's called the Loving Hut. Vegan! But not gluten-free. (This was before I found out I was allergic.) I highly recommend it. I was so impressed! A vegan fast food joint in a SHOPPING MALL!

New bucket list item

Heli-skiing.

Adding it to my bucket list.

For now I'm just going to pretend that I just jumped out of a helicopter with a pair of fat skis on in this picture. I said pretend!

My play list for a GOOD TIME

I first heard this song driving up the Sunshine Coast. We were fiddling around with the radio looking for a good radio station and I think we found a college-like radio station out of Nanaimo. And how perfect is it? Have you heard it yet? That's all I want to do! Have a GOOD TIME! ALL THE TIME! This is so appropriate for my running play list. Because man! I have a good time when I'm running.

Here are few more on my play list

• Ce Jeu - Yelle
• Je Veux Te Voir - Yelle
• Paper Planes - M.I.A
• Suburban War - Arcade Fire
• Stadium Love - Metric
• Gimme Sympathy - Metric
• Phantom Limb - The Shins
• Ageless Beauty - Stars (Because I feel so young when I run)
• Kids - MGMT, MGMT gets heavy rotation on my ski play list. I had never listened to music while skiing - how do you hear the lovely scraping noise of skis against packed snow??? AF recommended it. AND OH MY GOD WHY DID I NEVER THINK OF IT BEFORE?!?! IT'S AWESOME. Oh, yes I'm posting my run playlist - let's continue
• Time to Pretend - MGMT
• Electric Feel - MGMT

• Way I Are - Timbaland
• Rainin in Paradize - Manu Chao
• Welcome to Tijuana - Manu Chao
• La Vida Tómbola - Manu Chao
• Else - Built to Spill
• We Own The Sky - M83 (Because sometimes I feel like I'm flying when I run)
• Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cindy Lauper
• Typewriter,Tip, Tip, Tip - Asha Bhosie & Kiore Kumar - (A fun song to remind me that this thing that I'm doing - running is supposed to be fun!)
• Under Pressure - Queen
• These Are They Days Of Our Lives - Queen
• Seven Seas of Rhye - Queen
• A whole bunch of DJ Tiesto (reminds me that I gotta stop coasting and run faster!)
• Huddle Formation - The Go! Team 
• If I Ever Feel Better - Phoenix
• Home - Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (I like this when I'm getting close to the finish or home. Home is a great feeling.)
• Emotion 98.6 - Mylo (For after finish)

This is just a small sample of my running playlist. Oh, and hey! If you've got any great songs you think I should add to my playlist let me know! I love love music and love discovering new bands.

Well trained...

[11:30] Yeo: I need your opinion
[11:31] Taquito Coordinator: no, your ass does not look fat in that outfit

I was going to ask him a programming question... but ok, I'll take it. :-)

Have an awesome weekend!

Summer!!! I’m setting off for quick vacay up at the cabin. Yaaaay! I’ll swimming, riding and running. :-)
Oh and I’d like to add a massive THANK YOU to @WWU10KRUNNER and @playingforkeepz for their patience and help with hill work yesterday.
As my department's intern would say, “Peace out, home slice!”

Oh great!

I just agreed to do TWO sets of this. Damn you @WWU10KRUNNER!


Track and Field Videos on Flotrack

OK, so where are my abs of steel? Where are they? I can't see them! ಠ_ಠ

Beautiful day for a run!

"Beautiful day for a run!" is what a guy said to me when I ran passed him. I didn't have time to respond but he was right!

I was doing an easy 6 miles as schedule by @WWU10KRUNNER (he's an awesome guy and he's helping me with my training!)

Anyway, let me tell you why it was so awesome.

First, I was still super happy and giddy about my intro diving lesson at the Diving Locker the night before. I loved it! Bucket list item #8. I loved it and I'm looking forward to learning more - but not till after my first marathon (bucket list item #3) is done and I have a bit more time. I'd also like to add that our instructor Annie was pretty awesome. :-)

Second, on the way home I heard, "Thump thump thump thump thump!" I walked towards what I thought might be the sound of a big drum. I walked right into a little parade and outdoor street concert put on by the Ottoman Jannissary Military Band. Yah! Right on Granville at Robson! Right there! An Ottoman Military Band! I found out from a Turkish man on the street that the band who actually consists of around 40 members of which only seven are here touring Canada. They were just in Edmonton and stopped in Vancouver before heading over to Victoria. According the Turkish man they were invited by the city to share their music.

I love music! I hung around watching and listening for about 30 minutes. Then rushed home to get ready for my run. Which leads to my awesome day item #3. I set off for my usual 10k route along the seawall from Yaletown. Weather was warm, a bit humid and a bit hazy from the over 400 wild fires burning in B.C. at the moment. So everything looked soft and a bit yellow-orangey coloured. Running along the seawall passing restaurants, clinking sounds of forks on plates and dinner chat (their dinners smelled so good!). I was just starting to get into my run when I heard the sound of a saxophone. A dread-locked man was playing his saxophone underneath the Burrard Bridge. Aaaah! More music for my ears! I slowed down a bit in order to enjoy his music longer.

Now for #4. After passing the Burrard Bridge there was African drumming. Big, deep, echo-y drumming sounds. "Tam tam tam-tam!" I could have stopped and done the African walk with them. But onward with my run!

And finally #5, Running into the very orange sunset at about the 4 mile mark I had to stop and listen. I had to stop and listen to a woman singing a Russian song accompanied by a man playing the accordian. Sweet! I stood there with a big smile on my sweaty face. I clapped and thanked them for the performance when they were done. I wish I had at least my iPhone to take pictures!!

Oh! I also did stand-up paddle surfing on Monday. I saw people doing this on my trips to Maui and said to myself that I'd try it the next time I'm down there and never did. So, I did it on Monday morning. My friend and I biked out to Jericho and took a 1-hour lesson with Windsure. It was SO EASY!

A few great things happened on my paddle surfing trip. A seal popped his head out of the water and greeted me as I pushed my board out. Then a fish jumped over the tip of my board! I didn't fall and I was as fast as the guys in my class. Yep, I'm strong! ;-)

Woke up with this song playing in my head

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros "Home" from Edward Sharpe on Vimeo.

I woke up this morning with this song playing in my head.
I have lots to do today and I'm putting of a 13 mile run. I hope I'll have time to do it later this evening.
I feel like I'm paying the price for eating a lot of foods I'm not supposed to yesterday today. Feel so sluggish and yucky.

Boy on brussel sprouts

J: 'healthy' is overrated
AF: 'unhealthy' is the definition of bad for you.
J: it depends
AF: how so?
J: brussels sprouts are bad but they're not unhealthy
AF: not "bad" but "bad for you"
J: hahaha
J: totally didn't read it that way
AF: i realize that now. funny
AF: i can't believe we're friends and you don't like brussels sprouts
AF: i will have to reevaluate my friend screening process :P
AF: they are the best tiny cabbages served at thanksgiving dinners nation-wide
J: they smell like feet
J: and taste about the same
J: i feel like throwing up just thinking about brussels sprouts
AF: i'll remember that for the future
J: why is that worthy of remembering for you?
AF: in case we are in a life threatening situation and the only solution involves vomit
AF: it's good to know how to get a ready supply
AF: "oh no! the emergancy door release is behind that new glass that can only be broken by the acids in human vomit!"
"quick, J! Think about brussel sprouts!"
"blrrrrgggggggggghhhhhh"
"we're saved!"
J: i don't know anyone quite like you
AF: i'm going to take that as a compliment



///////



ME: how did the conversation start with healthy?
AF: we were talking about the voodoo involved in calculating BMI and she asserted that gyms suck and health is overrated
AF: to which i uncharacteristically took the side of health advocate
AF: also i was pretty proud of my line "unhealthy is the definition of bad for you"
AF: even though it caused confusion
AF: i felt clever in my mind
ME: where do you come up with that stuff?
AF: the many hundreds of hours i've spent alone in a room have helped me build an active imagination and warped perspective
ME: the hundreds of hours I've spent alone running have helped me build an active imagination but not a warped perspective

Just another manic Monday... ?

Had a bit of strange encounter today. Got my adrenaline rushing. My blood boiled a bit.

I was standing in front of a shop at the corner of Georgia and Granville Streets waiting for AF when a guy started to harass me. I told him to fuck off to show that I wasn't scared of him but I think that gave him fuel for his hate of me and my slanty eyes.

I stood my ground and didn't move as he put his face really close to mine and threatened death at me by gesturing slitting the throat and told me to go back to Hong Kong and China.

He went on to thank me and my people for building the railway and gestured slitting the throat again and hammering nails. He walked around a bit and continued to gesture the hammering nails and slitting throat.

I stood there silent and just faced him. I didn't want to show fear or weakness.

He asked if I knew how I and my people treated dogs - by frying them in peanut oil.

He walked back up close to me again.

He gestured again slitting of the throat and strangling and said something about fishing lines and something about thin eyes.

I couldn't hear him anymore because my anger and adrenaline was taking over and all I could hear was my heart pounding.

At that moment I really wished that I was physically strong. I wanted to pick him up and slam him on the ground. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him sorry. I wanted him to know and feel the hurt. But he didn't even deserve that. He didn't deserve any of my energy. He wasn't worth it. He's not worth it. It's not worth perpetuating such a negative energy.

His life already sucks. He chooses to carry the burden of hate and anger.

Listen to the lyrics of Matisyahu in the above video.

Have a wonderful weekend!

I'll leave you with this great photo. Sometimes people race their horses along side the cyclists on the Tour de France. I think I saw it at Stage 8 last week and then again with 2 horsies at Stage 11! In Montana, they've got this guy!

Have a great weekend!

Summer!!!

Just wanted to say yaaay! Summer is here! I've been really busy with work and it's draining! I have a project that I'm pushing to have complete by summer's end. When days are rough I just look at this picture (notice that it's my background too? haha!). It's back on Maui with our best friends. Good friends and good times. How lucky am I to have all that? :-) Oh! Or this picture!

Seattle Rock N Roll Race Report: NOT YET!

I haven't got around to writing my race report from the sidelines yet so read my training buddy's race report at Confessions of  Lazy Athlete.

Note to MJ: Thank you so much for your patience and humour and for driving us around to wherever we wished! You are GREAT!!!

Hey AF, while I'm away...

and you're hungry and missing my cooking and getting hungrier while you stare at the refridgerator and then stare at the stove and then back at the refridgerator and then at Mila while she meows at you...

You can skip all that and look here http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com/

I heart this

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix? Do you know this guy? André Michelle. If you do, can you thank him? 

I can't stop! I've created my own personal musical masterpiece between these three

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/superellipse

http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix
 and
http://lab.andre-michelle.com/pulsate

Boys and kale Boys, Kale & Unicorns

An email to me from AF

Peter brought in baked kale for everyone today. It’s so crispy and salty.

And the aftertaste! It makes my coffee breath seem like fresh dew mixed with fabreeze and unicorn breath (which I’m told smells amazing)

AF

My "found-internet-art" addition to this email...  FIERCE!

Sunday Brunch: Pasta Frittata!

This is what I made for Sunday brunch after my hill running on the Sunshine Coast. This brunch was AF's idea. He requested an omelette made with leftover ravioli. We wanted to carry as little leftover food as possible back to Vancouver in our car. Especially if the lineup for the ferry ended up a two sailing wait in the hot sun.

6 eggs
leftover items from previous night's dinner

• leftover pasta - in my case this was leftover ravioli in mushroom & garlic alfredo sauce
• a dallop of leftover sauce
• sauteed mushrooms
• sauteed zucchinni
• you can add some grated cheese - but I wanted to keep this light and omitted the cheese

First, run hills for about 2 hours. Jump into icy lake. Stand in lake for about 15-20 minutes. Admire nature. Get inside, dry off.

Then heat a 9" cast iron fry sautee pan at medium. Layer the mushrooms, zucchini and then pasta in pan. Beat eggs and leftover sauce together. Poor egg mixture over pasta and veggies. I let it sit there about 10 minutes before remembering that I was supposed to put it in the oven.

Place in 350 degree oven about 15minutes. Let sit for a bit before serving. Serves 4-6.

Tada!!! Pasta Fritatta! I served the frittata with half a "Everything" bagel and mimosas, YUM!!!

Sorry, I don't measure when I cook. But now that I'm writing down the recipes, I think I will start measuring so that it's easier for you to try out and improve.

Would you like to join me for some fine champagne?

This weekend was awesome! AWESOME! My boyfriend and I went up to the family cabin with intentions of biking lots, hiking lots, kayaking lots and running lots. Oh and maybe even a dip in the lake. OK, maybe it was just me with intentions of doing all that. Really, who can fit in that many activities in ONE weekend? My boyfriend's only goal was to get one hike in and lots of rest. Or so I thought...

So Saturday, we spent the morning putting our bikes together and fiddling around with them. I think we were both nervously stalling. You know, like this...
ME: Are you ready?
AF: Yah sure I'm ready if you're ready.
ME: You go first.
AF: No, you go first.
ME: No, you!
AF: Are you ready?
ME: Yah, I'm ready.
AF: Let's go already!!!
ME: OK, um sure.
AF: Oh wait, I think I need to adjust my seat.
ME: Oh ok. I'm going to change my shoes...
We pushed our bikes up the super steep driveway and realize that the smooth, beautiful road is REALLY STEEP!

Running the hills is much easier than pedaling up these hills! HOLY SHIT! We rode around till it wasn't fun anymore. We swore more than ride. Really it's just oh, the first 10 hills you have to get over then it's smooth sailing and then there's more hills. They aren't small hills either. They are BIG! Such noobs! What babies! Everything is HUGE when you're new on a bike. I generally have no fear. I just don't think that way. But two stupid meetings over 10 years ago between my bike and two different cars in one week has got it stuck in me that bikes are a bit scary. I know I'll get over it, it will just take a little bit of time. NO FEAR!

We abandon the idea of riding out to Garden Bay to get a few things for breakfast from the general store. Instead we run to the comfort of our motorized vehicle. Roll down the windows and let the wind blow in our hair... and (ahem) dry off our sweat. Of course we laugh at ourselves on our great adventure. We will have to try again next time. heheh

We finish breakfast, pack lunches and head out for our hike. My boyfriend had been super stoked for this hike all week. He talked about how his family often did this hike up Mount Daniel when they were kids. He was SUPER STOKED.

Let me tell you something about AF. We are COMPLETE opposites. I run run run a-run run run and he sits. I get up at 5 or 6 a.m. and he sleeps in till past 10 a.m. and if I don't bother him he will sleep till 1 p.m. In my world he's lazy, in his world I'm crazy. If there's a mountain, I say, "Let's go climb it!" He'll say, "Nah, let's go home and take a nap." It's perfect. If I'm doing a very long run, he'll wake up just in time to pick me up. Or if it's a shorter run. He'll be up just in time to go for coffee. So I was really happy about going on a hike! TOGETHER!! I thought that maybe he had come around to my side. He LIKES hiking!

Anyway... we make it up to the top of Mount Daniel! (about 45 minutes). Look at the view!

Here in this picture I'm lying on a rock looking over Garden Bay and Pender Harbour. This is where AF says, "Let's take pictures!" So, I tell AF to take a picture and to try make it look like I'm lying dangerously at the edge of a cliff. Dangerous! He takes a few pictures and tells me to turn around so that he can take more pictures of me facing the camera with the view in the background. I turned around but I don't see the camera. It looks like he's kneeling to take a picture of me. But he's not taking a picture of me. Instead AF's got a silver bell in his hand and I think to myself, "Is that a silver bear bell? Why is he showing me a silver bear bell? Where is the camera? Why is the bear bell silver? Is it a bell?" AF's got a big smile on his face. I'm still thinking about the bear bell, wondering where the camera went and wondering in general. WHAT. IS. UP?

AF opens up the silver bell and says, "Winnie, will you marry me?" so then the light bulb finally turns on and I scream, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!? OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!" He was down on one knee holding out a silver Birks Silver Bell Box not a bear bell!!! I didn't fall off Mount Daniel but I did start crying and laughing at the same time. I said, "Yes!" Of course, only because I was there on the edge of a dangerous cliff!

To top it all off, AF snuck up a bottle fine champagne to celebrate. AF is so wonderful. :-)

For Karen

Hi Karen!

This is for you! http://shitmykidsruined.tumblr.com/
Happy Wednesday! 

Happy Weekend!

This week has been rough! Will it ever stop raining? What are you doing for the weekend? I'm really excited that Friday's about to end and the weekend is about to start! AF and I are going away to our little retreat from the city up on the Sunshine Coast. We don't get up there enough. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being up there!

We're going to ride our bikes, hike and maybe get a little bit of kayaking in if there's time. I'll run of course, it's taper time so it's just 18km this Sunday. Maybe I'll see bear cubs again. Oh, that reminds me I should pack my bear whistle. Aaaaand I might jump into the lake. BRRRRR! Maybe not.

If it rains, we'll chop some wood and put on a fire, relax and read.

My boyfriend and I were fighting today Unicorn and bear fight

And this is how we fight... we weren't really fighting today but if we did, that's how we would.

Before and after a run Part 2

I forgot to write about pre and post run food aside from the pasta. FOOD!!!! I love food!!!!

Morning of run:

• A bowl of oatmeal, a dash of cinnamon and almond milk and sometimes I add dried cranberries and half a banana, or
• Toast (manna bread) with almond or peanut butter with homemade jam.

After run:

• Oranges
• Chocolate soymilk - my favourite is the So Good brand. I buy one every time on the ferry. 
• If I'm starving, my boyfriend and I go to my favourite breakfast diner, Deacon's Corner! Biscuits and gravy, baby!!
• Pineapple -YUM!
• Grapefruit
• Young coconut juice
• The other half of the banana

 Of course I don't eat all of that at once! Though I'd love to be able to! NOM NOM NOM!

Before and after a run

Before
I masta hava pasta! If I go out for dinner, I have to go to the Cactus Club and I must have the Rob Feenie signature Prawn & Scallop Spaghettini. Yah, I know! I'm too young to be stuck in my ways! Maybe, I'm just on the cusp of being old enough...

If I eat at home then I make brown rice pasta with truffle olive tapenade (Mmmm! Truffle!! Mmm! Olive tapenade, can you believe I used to make this by hand, with NO food processor?!? Crazy, I know!) or with a simple tomato sauce with whatever's in my fridge. That's all I do for a carbo-loading meal. I also like to have an early dinner, like at 3 or 4pm, I wake up extra early on race days or long run days.

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would feed my brothers and me lots of pasta or rice. They wanted to make sure my brothers ate well before their big hockey games. They also told us that we would grow taller if we ate all the rice in our bowls. Or they would tell us that our future boyfriends or girlfriends would look as pock-marked and ugly as our dirty dishes. Or the other story was that we were privilege we had rice to eat, because when my mom was a child all they had were sticks, stones and roots to boil. OOOOR when my dad was a kid, if he didn't sell shaved-ice treats from his bicycle before his ice block melted he wouldn't have money to help buy food for the family. Whatever story it was, we were good kids and cleaned our bowls! I'm not as tall as I'd like to be and my boyfriend isn't shiny like my cleaned bowl but he isn't covered in pock-marks or pimples either. But I've learned a bad habit, I clean my plate or bowl still and often do so way after being full up to my eyeballs. Still trying to unlearn this habit.

Next, water. I hydrate. I drink lots of water. I bet wait-staff are disappointed with my drink orders, "lots of water with lemon, please!" and a big smile.

I literally chug water, I really like just plain, filtered tap water. I know there are some people who don't like plain water, claiming that water doesn't have any flavour. Have they tasted water in other parts of the world? Vancouver water tastes awesome! It's sweet! It's not a candy, sugary sweet but it's a nice clean sweet. I'm not sure if anyone would understand. I'm not sure how else to describe it but I've tasted water in different parts of the world and I have to say, we Vancouverites have the BEST drinking water in the world.

Sleep. A good night's sleep. Most nights I don't sleep well. I have a great bed. I lie there, stretch, breath and hope to drift off to sleep.

After
I drink lots of water and I crave oranges and chips. OK, not just chips, I crave baked Cheetos! Yes, that's right. That gnarly, florescent orange crunchy stuff. I wonder if my gut turns orange...

I also crave Korean spicy hot instant ramen! Yes, Korean-make-me-sweat-and-sniffle-spicy-ramen! Mmmmm ramen. What I really crave is salt. So, I'm trying out nuun portable electolyte hydration (lemon-lime flavour) to avoid the extra calories. I like that it doesn't have any sugar and it's a little bit fizzy if you drink it right after it's done dissolving.
I also like to drink San Pellegrino and POM - a fizzy drink treat! Oh POM, just like your tagline, you are so wonderful. I'm so glad there is juice drink like you.

Roll, roll, roll my IT band with a foam roller. And look!! The foam roller comes in PINK!!! Mine's blue. :-/ Aaannyway, the colour doesn't really matter. I roll almost daily combining the foam roller and a wooden rolling pin. Yep, a wooden rolling pin. I sit on my yoga mat with my feet out in front of me and roll out my quads. Rolling hurts but it's a good kind of hurt. I sit there, "ooooh! grunt! grunt! ow ow ow!" and roll.

Yoga! Power yoga! I really think that power yoga has helped me become a stronger runner as well as stretches me out. Yah stretching! It's good. :-)

Most recently I've purchased the hot pink CEP compression socks I've been coveting. I know, what a weirdo! I should be coveting shoes and bags! Like those gals on SATC, right? Hey, I'm a running girl!

My boyfriend bought them for me on Saturday. Yah, he buys me compression socks like other guys would buy a girl flowers! LOL. I was so happy I kept them in my purse with me after we left the store. And I had them with me when we went out for dinner and then I tried them on in the car. Then I pranced around the house on Sunday after my long run. I guess they worked because I don't usually prance around the house after a long, long run. I'm such a dork.

My bucket list

Thinking about all the things I want on my list is taking a while. I’ve done a lot already like live abroad, travel across Canada, or hitch-hike.
Or lie in the middle of the road at night to watch the stars. I was with my friends and the road was still warm from the sun earlier in the day.
Or go skinny dipping! My friend and I decided on a spur of the moment to rush up to Horseshoe Bay to see if we could catch the last ferry to Langdale. We drove up the Sunshine Coast to a friend's cabin and stopped at one of our favourite lakes. We ran down to the beach and we didn’t have ANYTHING with us, not even towels. (Now if I had known the rule as stated in the Hitch Hikers’ Guide to the Galaxy, I wouldn't have had this towel problem) We turned our backs to each other stripped down and ran into the water, WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Anyway, here's my list so far, in no particular order:

1. Learn to golf  did this summer of 2008
2. Run a half marathon - did my first one Feb. 2009! And did 4 more after that! Woo! 
3. Run a full marathon - Done! Oct 17, 2010 - Nike San Francisco Women's Marathon!!!
4. Run a marathon that I have to qualify for - this is going to take a looooong time
5. Do a cycling competition
6. Do a bicycle touring trip
7. Rock climb
8. Scuba dive - I’m taking lessons!!!
9. Snorkel
10. Surf
11. Get tattoos - Get some more tattoos
12. Wind surf
13. Sail - not sure how I would do this because I get motion-sick, real sick
14. Swim with dolphins like Bree Wee does 
15. Earn my own kayak - what I mean by earn is kayaking often enough to warrant buying my own, I love kayaking!
16. A canoe trip - travel up to the Yukon and kayak/canoe back down
17. Complete a triathlon
18. Complete Ironman - this one will take a long time too
19. Hang glide/paraglide
20. Road trip - Oregon Coast? I've already done Canada...
21. Sky dive - thinking about this just makes me weak in the knees
    
22. Lake-swimming in the rain
23. Climb a very tall mountain - oh maybe I'll start with Mount Kilimanjaro
24. Help build a school
25. Live in a foreign country - live in another foreign country
26. Live in Hawaii a few years - I really really want to do this 
27. Sit atop Haleakala and watch the sunrise (I know, such a touristy thing to do but I still want to do it. I regret not doing so the last few times I was there!!)
28. Relearn French, Japanese, Serbo-Croatian, Mandarin and German
29. Learn Spanish and Russian - dunno why I haven't picked up anything other than "Prvet"
30. Become a Yoga instructor
31. Go back to being vegetarian - maybe even vegan again.
32. Travel the path of Siddartha Gautama through India and Nepal - this has been on my list forever!
33. See more of Beautiful British Columbia
34. Hike the West Coast Trail
35. Go to Tofino - can't believe it's taking me so long to get to this one. If you're interested in taking me, I've always dreamed of staying here www.wickinn.com
36. Heli-skiing - check it out www.whistlerheliskiing.com no jumping out of helicopters like in the Warren Miller videos!
37. Raise bees and make my own "artisanal" honey
38. Dogsledding!
39. Learn to drive. Yes, that’s right. I DON'T drive... and it’s really hard to do a road trip if I don’t drive :-/ so ashamed to even admit it. But seriously I've biked, bussed and walked everywhere!
40. Skinny dip! (like mentioned above, I've ready been skinny dipping)
41. ...
    

Travel - the places I want to see

• Tibet
• Nepal
• India
• Rajasthan
• Angkor Wat
• Vietnam
• Malaysia - meet my grandma and family
• go back to Japan
• Hong Kong - see my grandparents again before they go
• go back to Paris
• go back to Belgrade
• Scotland
• North and South Africa

Funny headlines: Poll blow for South Korea leader

Tee hee hee poll blow...

Summer to-do list

It's the first long weekend in a while and I'm SICK!
So I've had some time to think about all the things I'd like to do this summer.

• Rock-climbing: this was on my "to-do with boyfriend" list last year but we were consumed with apartment-hunting and our summer just flew by.
  

• Scuba-diving lessons: I'm really excited about this one! I bought an intro scuba-diving course through the Diving Locker for only $25(!!!) through Groupon. 
  
• Cycling: I got through step one of this - I bought myself a used bike. A Trek 1000! I'm still apprehensive of riding around traffic. I used to bike everywhere but just over 10 years ago I was hit twice in one week when I was living overseas. The last time was a SUV, I only remember getting really mad at the lady and picking my mangled bike and throwing it at her car and walking over to the curb to sit down and cry and then walking home.
  
• Swim lots: My goal this summer is to be able to swim over to "Pirate's Island" up at the family cabin on the lake. I'm a weak swimmer, so I've got lots of swimming to do!
  
• Camping: I really like sleeping under trees, being able to see the stars, swimming in fresh water and I'd like to get more use out of my new tent or I'll have to set it up in my office and play pretend camping (again).
  
• Run, ride and swim Sunshine Coast lots when I'm up there
  
• Grouse Grind! I'm planning on going on Tuesdays or Wednesdays with Mark (IT guy at work - w/o him I would almost die) and maybe Thursdays with my boyfriend and Paul, one of the guys I was running with on our Web Dev run team.
  
• Spend some more time on the beach! I love the beach and YES, I like romantic walks on the beach. But my friends and I usually end up leaving our boyfriends at home to their computers and go ourselves and enjoy romantic walks and picnics on the beach. (Our boys have got to get their priorities in order, right?!?) 
• Get another bike: I'm thinking of following my little brother's (ok not so little, he's way taller and bigger than me) and play around with a BMX. He does flatland competitions but I don't intend to go that far. I just want a little bike for fun and errands. 
• Skydiving: this one's been on my list for a while. I'm chicken, OK? Plus it's expensive. 

I only appreciated the city after leaving it for 3 years of traveling. Our city has so much to offer. Everything is close by, the mountains, ocean and clean air, oh and the people aren't too bad :-). I love Vancouver.
I'm not sure if I'll get through this entire list, it's not a long list but I'll try. I need to fit these activities in between all the concerts, festivals and other fun things that summer brings to the city!

Race Report: BMO Vancouver Half Marathon 2010

Laid out my race wear 4 days before race day. Yep, I was that excited. My favourite sports bra, TNT tank top, favourite shorts, Asics running shoes, favourite socks, Nike+ running pod and watch. Not shown, my fuelbelt with 2 bottles of water and 2 bottles of blue Powerade. (I didn't need this in the end because the weather was so cool but I carried it anyway)

Went to pick up my race packet with Anna on the Thursday before the race.
Side-note: Drove up to Budgies Burritos after race pack pickup to get burritos for lunch. Yum! BIG yummy burritos for cheap!

The night before the race Neeks, her bf, my bf and I went and pasta-piggy-partied it up at Cactus Club. Mmm mmm! Drank lots of water. Oh, and the Canucks won! I got a good night's sleep, my douchebag neighbours didn't party and keep me up, yay!!

On the morning of the big BMO Vancouver Half Marathon day, I woke up at 5am, drank more water, ate 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and jam which was enough to get me through the entire race. Walked over to meet Bonbons and Neeks at 6:30am. The weather was the way I like it, cool and overcast.

I should introduce Bonbons and Neeks. I met Bonbons and Neeks last year through Team In Training. The three of us trained for our first half marathons and ran our first halfs at the BMO Vancouver. We've continued train together and in fact, Neeks and I went to run the Disneyland Half Marathon last year and the three of us are signed up to run the Seattle RnR Marathon. ALSO Neeks and I won entries through the lotto for the Nike Women's Marathon San Francisco!!! Yes WE ARE RUNNING TWO MARATHONS this year!!!! We also swim together and hopefully we'll be biking together too.

Back to my race report, I was still in the porto-potty line-up when the race started but that's ok. I have this nervous pee thing where I always have to pee lots before running, and only for running. Anyway better to empty than to run while needing the pee after I've activated my time-chip. So, we counted down with the announcer and cheered everyone on. "Woot woot!"

We ran together till about for about 10 minutes or so. Neeks runs a slower pace but Bonbons and I run about the same pace so we went on pacing each other throughout the entire race.

Miles 3 and 4 run through what used to be Japantown and Gastown. Somewhere between 3 and 4 I remember smelling pot. That's so Vancouver. I wonder what visiting participants thought.

At mile 5 the route goes through Stanley Park, a beautiful forest park just over 1,000 acres at the edge of the city and surrounded by ocean water (and it's practically my backyard!). As I enter the park I can smell the trees and earth immediately, I love this part of the run. The air cools a bit and it just smells fresh and there's always a nice breeze coming off the water. I also note that there is a bit of a stabbing pain going up the bottom of the arch of my right foot. The route leads up to Prospect Point. I used to think that this was a pretty big hill but I ran it - no stopping!!! I met a woman named Laura from TNT NYC chapter and ran up with her. We ran together up until the top and then she had to pause because she was having what she called, "a moment." I remember last year I couldn't run up this hill. I walked a good portion of it. One girl raced up the hill passing everyone yelling, "It's just a small hill! You can do it! Come on! It's just a small hiiiill!!!" and that became my hill-climbing mantra. "it's just a small hill... it's just a small hill..." at the top I saw the girl again and yelled back at her, "Thanks! You were right, it was a small hill!" Glad coach made up run up that hill on our training runs.

After Prospect Point everything is easy. I remember wondering if I should pick up my pace, I do a little bit but hold back in case I need more energy later. My pain in my right foot is still coming and going.

I picked up my pace a little bit more at the 17km mark and then I think a bit more at the 19km. At the 19km mark last year, my legs didn't want to go anymore. This is why I was conservative with my pace. But this time I felt like I could run another 10 more kilometres. I don't know for sure because I didn't try.

When I saw the last 3 or 400m marker sign I began to run fast and really gunned for it when I saw the finish line. I was sooooo excited and happy and felt like I was running on air "weeeeeeeeeee! weeeeeee!" I was saying in my mind and then suddenly as I was coming up on the finish line right there just before it. A race marshall let a big group of spectators cross RIGHT in front of me! My lovely flying "WEEEEEEE!" came to a halt. :-( boooo! So I started yelling at the group, "Go, GO GO!!!!" My feet didn't want to stop! I was Speedy Gonzales! The slow-poke group picked up their pace a bit and hustled on across my path. I continued across the finish line, I pumped my fist in the air. "Beep beep beep!" as I run over the time-chip mats. I'm done! Woooooo!

In the finish area I picked up my medal (yay!) I think I got some water and then walked over towards the TNT tent where my boyfriend was supposed to meet me. He greeted me with, "You yelled at me! You were so angry!" (I might say I'm feisty) "I even get in trouble when you're racing." It seems that he was in that slow-poke group who crossed my angry race path.

How I knew I was too conservative with my pace: I cheered and jumped around a lot and thanked volunteers all along the route. I wanted to go and run 6km more so that I was on top of my marathon training schedule but my boyfriend (like at every run event) was adamant that we get me a proper breakfast. I just did run a half-marathon after all. But really, it's him that's hungry, not me. hahaha! We walked home, I cleaned and then we walked over to one of my favourite breakfast joints, Deacon's Corner. I ordered my usual classic breakfast but with a side of biscuit and gravy. MMMMMmmmm!

Funny thing, my boyfriend got sore feet from walking to and from home and race and then to and from home and Deacon's.

Chiptime

2:14:32

Next up Neeks, Bonbons and I will be running our first FULL marathons at the Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Marathon!!!

To do in Seattle: Buy new runners and check out a pair of Newton running shoes

To do leading up to race day: For two weeks leading up to the BMO Vancouver I rolled my IT band on a foam roller and also used my rolling pin. Gotta keep it up.

Playing for Change

Playing for Change is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. The idea for this project arose from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people. No matter whether people come from different geographic, political, economic, spiritual or ideological backgrounds, music has the universal power to transcend and unite us as one human race. And with this truth firmly fixed in our minds, we set out to share it with the world.

http://www.playingforchange.com/

HeARTS for Haiti

My friends and I have been working really hard to put together a benefit for the Haiti relief efforts. And our website has just been launched - Thank you so much to FCV who created the website!!! (I did logo - I gotta plug myself a little too) www.heartsforhaitivancouver.org Check it out!!! It's going to be a night of jazz and art. We've even booked Marla Goulien for the night!

Several local artists have stepped up and donated art pieces for our silent auction fundraiser event. One of my favourites is a friend Shehzad Noorani who is actually IN HAITI RIGHT NOW.

Our goal is to raise $10,000. 100% of the proceeds go to the Canadian Red Cross Haiti Relief efforts. I really hope you can come out and support our efforts.

Please don't forget Haiti, there is a lot of work being done right now but mid-March is the rainy season followed by the hurricane season. Tents that are working now as temporary shelters will not be sufficient. More help is needed. There is still a long road to recovery for Haiti.

I will try to update this post with a list of contributing artists and items on auction as they come in and are confirmed. Again, I have to say that I'm really excited about this project and I really hope to see you out at our event. Let's try to pass the $10,000 goal! Please purchase your tickets at www.heartsforhaitivancouver.org

Just the simple things in life

It's just the simple things in life that make me happy. My friends, running, the beach, good food, the sound of a ukulele, a pretty voice...

Have a wonderful weekend!

You gotta be here

Beautiful, laidback, sophisticated, it doesn't get more West Coast than this, some people call it British Columbia, Canada. But we call it home, my home, our home...
You gotta be here.

How lucky am I to live here?
Check out this video, You Gotta Be Here in 2010 – Super, Natural British Columbia

and then again, how lucky am I to live HERE?! ~ WOW!



You can buy a copy of this video at http://innerlifeproject.com

A really good sigh...

You can melt my heart anytime with an acoustic guitar, banjo or slide guitar... oh and the ukulele of course.

Sam Beam's music makes me think of sitting on the porch swing in summer time, swinging slowly and looking over the lake.

Have a great weekend!

I'll be daydreaming of sunny, warm days to come...

This picture was taken on one of our trips up to the family cabin about two years ago. I think this is one of the best representations of what I feel up there - carefree, a joie de vivre and happy.

My running gear

In the hall closet there is an Ikea wire basket clothes storage drawer. The top wire basket is where I store all my running gear and doo-dads. Here are the contents...

2 whistles – that I've lost in this basket. It may be inside another basket that sits inside the big basket... anyway I always carry a whistle when running on the Sunshine Coast because every now and then a bear or two may cross your path, or maybe even a Sasquatch! In my case I came across two very cute bear cubs up a tree. I stopped and cooed over how cute they were and watched them for a while. Until I realized that meant Momma bear must be around too. I walked backwards back the direction I came and still didn't see Momma and when I felt that the coast was clear, I bolted outta there like never before (like lightning!). I guess I could run with a bear bell too. But while hiking one summer a park ranger told me about using a whistle as a bear deterrent. Anyway, that experience was cool. I can now say, I saw bears while running.

Lululemon Brisk Run Gloves with the soft fabric on the fingers so I can wipe my snotty nose - Oh and the little pocket in the palm to stuff my snot rag!

Fuel belt

 

PowerBar Fuel gels
I can usually only stand the chocolate and coffee flavours and I really like the caffeinated gels. At almost every run event I've done they hand out strawberry/banana flavoured gels and it makes me gag. I think it's because that flavour reminds me of the flavoured flouride the dentist used to give me as a kid and it would ALWAYS make me sick until I discovered that you didn't actually have to choose a flavour and you could just go with NO flavour... why didn't the dentist tell me that?!?!

Nike+
I've gone through 2 shoe pods before I poured water down into my iPod insert by accident. I've run over 500km with this kit and now I'm just waiting for the Nike near me to restock on Nike+ Sportbands! Can't wait to treat myself to a new gadget. I really like tracking my running.

Toque – to keep my head and ears warm on cold days

White mesh running cap with red maple leaf (so that when I run in the US people yell, "Go Canada Go!") – to keep my head cool and keep the sweat from falling into my eyes on hot days and I'm Canadian, eh?

A headlamp – I mostly use this for camping and keep it in my running basket with the intention of using it on dark winter morning runs.

Fuelbelt High Visibility Vest
I really don't want to be road kill - it's not really my style. Dark, rainy, winter morning runs and cars can be dangerous. I use this for running on the side of the highway on the Sunshine Coast (which I haven't done yet, I just keep on planning to but I end up finding other routes to run.)

Ziploc bag – to hold my inhaler, tissues and cell phone

Oakley sunglasses - for the bright sunny days

Finally this wire basket drawer is the very top drawer and also is where my gym bag and its contents often rest.

Now should I tell you what's in my gym bag or the wire basket below where I keep my ski stuff??