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!