After a late night yesterday, I was running late in the morning and ended up getting the bus up to the running room after making myself a chai latte with syrup I'd taken home from work yesterday. There was a visit planned from some high up people in the organisation, so management were in panic mode and we all had to make sure absolutely everything was really tidy and correctly labelled etc. This was pretty tedious, but luckily was regularly interrupted by customers so I was happy to check hangers were correct all morning. One girl I helped with shoes was a girl from run club who has done legs of the ultras I have planned before and told me about some other races in the area. Haven't seen her in a while though and now she is moving to Vancouver. Another lady wanted to exchange a pair of shoes and bought her daughter with her for opinions/moral support. As there was a colour choice of the shoe she liked, she actually ended up exchanging one pair of shoes for two. Her daughter had never been in the Running Room before and thought it wouldn't sell anything she wanted, she ended up buying a few things, then they were both talking about pedometers and I mentioned the Polar Loop. Both of them then ended up buying one! They had originally gone out for groceries and ended up spending several hundred dollars!
On my lunch break I was going to pop out and buy another chai latte (mostly because Jenn had been talking about going at the end of her shift) but when I got there, they were closed due to flooding! I decided this was probably a good thing as it would save me some pennies and I didn't really need the caffeine. It turned out that the tupperwear tub I'd pulled out of the freezer to eat for my lunch wasn't something I had cooked, it was some sort of lentil soup and not quite as filling as I was expecting.
As I'd been endlessly tidying all morning, I didn't fancy doing that all afternoon too and looked for any distraction I could. This was surprisingly easy and the afternoon passed well - at one point the distraction was discussing 80s punk rock. I think Rachel had some particularly nasty customers to deal with though and I wanted to check she was OK but didn't really get time as things kept coming up. I was getting pretty peckish and was very grateful when Michael suggested I just pop out and buy myself a cake before the end of my shift (when it would be too close to run club'o'clock). I got myself a yummy lemon cake and bought him a cookie as a thank you. I sort of made up the time as I wrote out the board showing what each group is doing at run club and it took me passed 5:30. This was the point when the Running Room VIPs finally showed up (originally expected at 2:30), just when things started getting busy, muddy and untidy before run club. Robyn was due to finish work at 5:30 but had to stay til beyond 6pm as a consequence.
We were running six hills again tonight. I certainly felt like I had some energy back after yesterday's slump. The hills were still exhausting, but if they're not then you're not doing them right! It was nice that it was still light out when we started running, although I slightly regretted the lemon cake and had a bit of a stitch for a while.
Once I got home, I had the sticky toffee pudding and custard I'd bought at the British shop for my dinner! yum yum yum!
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Day 177: tired and grumpy
I managed to get up with a bit of a struggle, but felt exhausted. I had been planning to try out an exercise class at 11am and maybe run round the track a bit too, but just couldn't face it. I'm guessing this is due to all the recent running. Instead I did some housework, had a look online for jobs to apply to, and had a bit of a snooze before I needed to head out to work at 3pm.
I snuck a few caffeinated drinks while I was on shift because I was just feeling grumpy and tired and I didn't care if it meant not sleeping later. it was nice to see a guy from the running club turning up for a coffee though! I quite like when my "other" life crosses into Starbucks.
As I suspected, I got home late, had some more faffing to do, was struggling to stay awake but then couldn't sleep for a while once I actually turned my light off.
I snuck a few caffeinated drinks while I was on shift because I was just feeling grumpy and tired and I didn't care if it meant not sleeping later. it was nice to see a guy from the running club turning up for a coffee though! I quite like when my "other" life crosses into Starbucks.
As I suspected, I got home late, had some more faffing to do, was struggling to stay awake but then couldn't sleep for a while once I actually turned my light off.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Day 176: Winter whinges
I had breakfast and got ready for my run at 9:30. not all of my kit had dried yet so I had to throw a few things in the tumble dryer. Laundry is a constant battle.
It seemed colder than yesterday afternoon, but as usual it was warmer in the sheltered river valley. We crossed the bridge and headed inland this time. This park looks like it could be another planet even and there are definitely lots of different paths to explore. We ended up running along a road at the top of the river valley before heading back into a different ravine, which eventually turned into familiar territory again. Jimmy had been utterly exhausted after yesterday's run and had collapsed in the back of the car, but today all his energy was back and I was forced to fight with him for sticks as this was his game of choice.
We again took the stairs back up to Saskatchewan Drive, and again it was really hard work, but in general I hadn't felt to bad on this run at all and I'll keep practicing stairs and I'm sure it will get easier. (or not easier but over faster). Today I hadn't been wearing my windproof tights, and I definitely noticed how much colder I was so I didn't hang about and just ran straight home to warm up in the shower.
I checked facebook and saw a lot of people posting about the current temperature and how winter never seems to end so I posted about my three runs in 24 hours as a "quit your moaning, wrap up, and go outside" response. Saying that, I enjoy a good whinge myself. mostly about how long it takes to get ready to go outside, or how blindingly bright it is (and my eyelashes get glued together by ice anyway so I can't see regardless!) but the river valley is amazing and I would far rather deal with the cold than the torrential rain and floods back home. Most people who replied to my post just reminded me that I'm crazy, which is a fair point.
After a massive lunch, including bananas and custard, I headed out to work at the Running Room. There were hardly any customers, but there were two different talks we had to set up. I spent some of the time checking all the clothes were on the right size hangers and some of the time trying on sunglasses as I might use my gift card from the race for that.
We all agreed how much we love our job, for example Robyn got to go running with the clinic group and get paid for it, and I got to try out my new free trail shoes that morning, which were very grippy and pretty light. I also found a lot of expired protein bars so we all got to take them. As my dinner break was 5pm, I was starving by the end of my shift so ate one straight away.
It seemed colder than yesterday afternoon, but as usual it was warmer in the sheltered river valley. We crossed the bridge and headed inland this time. This park looks like it could be another planet even and there are definitely lots of different paths to explore. We ended up running along a road at the top of the river valley before heading back into a different ravine, which eventually turned into familiar territory again. Jimmy had been utterly exhausted after yesterday's run and had collapsed in the back of the car, but today all his energy was back and I was forced to fight with him for sticks as this was his game of choice.
We again took the stairs back up to Saskatchewan Drive, and again it was really hard work, but in general I hadn't felt to bad on this run at all and I'll keep practicing stairs and I'm sure it will get easier. (or not easier but over faster). Today I hadn't been wearing my windproof tights, and I definitely noticed how much colder I was so I didn't hang about and just ran straight home to warm up in the shower.
I checked facebook and saw a lot of people posting about the current temperature and how winter never seems to end so I posted about my three runs in 24 hours as a "quit your moaning, wrap up, and go outside" response. Saying that, I enjoy a good whinge myself. mostly about how long it takes to get ready to go outside, or how blindingly bright it is (and my eyelashes get glued together by ice anyway so I can't see regardless!) but the river valley is amazing and I would far rather deal with the cold than the torrential rain and floods back home. Most people who replied to my post just reminded me that I'm crazy, which is a fair point.
After a massive lunch, including bananas and custard, I headed out to work at the Running Room. There were hardly any customers, but there were two different talks we had to set up. I spent some of the time checking all the clothes were on the right size hangers and some of the time trying on sunglasses as I might use my gift card from the race for that.
We all agreed how much we love our job, for example Robyn got to go running with the clinic group and get paid for it, and I got to try out my new free trail shoes that morning, which were very grippy and pretty light. I also found a lot of expired protein bars so we all got to take them. As my dinner break was 5pm, I was starving by the end of my shift so ate one straight away.
Day 175: Hypothermic Half Marathon! (plus more running)
Alarm went off at 4:30 and it took me a little while to muster the energy to get out of bed, but I did it and started sorting out my run kit.
At 5am, I started watching the hockey in the living room with Salim and eventually Tim too although the tiredness did make it a bit difficult to concentrate. I did really like the idea of sitting in a bar with an awesome breakfast and something alcoholic and that might have been fun if I didn't have a race to go to. Its crazy that they changed the licencing laws especially for this game, but it leaves all these strange gaps: bars will be open until 2am, closed for a couple of hours, opened again at 4:30, then I guess closed again after the game until 11 or something.
I made some porridge after the first period and got dressed after the second period. Canada seemed to be destroying Sweden but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the whole game. Turned out I did, it was 3-0 and I left the house to catch the LRT at about 7:25, no problems transferring onto a bus and managed to figure out which way to go to get to the race.
I managed to bump into a few people I knew before the race started and it turns out this may be the coldest Hypothermic Half they have ever done! it's around -30C, mostly not too much wind, but when there is its arctic. I'm happy about this as it's more of a new thing and a challenge that way. I'd be disappointed if I ended up running in a measly -5C or something. I remember the race I did in the arctic circle being on an unusually warm day, so I ended up carrying most of my kit and it was probably warmer there than back home. This will be much more of a story (or thing to boast about), although I suspect most people will just think I'm crazy.
As soon as I set off, I realised two things within the first couple of miles:
1. I had been planning to eat an energy bar but forgot, breakfast was hours ago thanks to the hockey and now I was starving.
2. I had shin splints so had to stop and stretch, then drag my legs along at a much slower pace and wait for them to go away. bah!
I've had this problem with shin splints before and I'm hoping its just because I only recently had a sports massage and didn't warm up properly, but it did go away after around 5 miles so I could pick up the pace.
The route was two laps, it started with a lollypop shape, then passed the start line again and had a shorter out-and-back. this meant there was one water station but you passed it four times. The cups were filled with hot water to stop them freezing! There were some lovely views out over the river valley and the marshals were utterly awesome! with three start times for the race, they had to stand around in the bitter cold for so many hours but they were still cheering.
Towards the end, my buff froze solid and I couldn't pull it back up again, so I had to make sure I finished the race before my face froze. A little sprint to the finish line and I was greeted by Robyn waiting to hand out medals! She has a "Jayne" hat (from Firefly) to keep warm and for bonus geek points. Darcy from run club and his brother were also there as they'd only finished a minute before me. I didn't hang about too long before going inside, grabbing my bag and getting changed into clean dry run kit, although I couldn't be bothered to change my tights, far too much hassle.
Then finally I got to eat the buffet brunch! I piled up my plate as much as I could with pastries, fruit, cakes, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausages, bacon, French toast and maple syrup, then grabbed a cup of tea and some juice too. I chatted to the lady sat next to me, who recognised me from the store and she is also doing the Banff-Jasper relay, and then, midway through eating a pastry, they called out my race number in the prize draw! I never win anything and was happy enough with a free toque and glove set and copious amounts of food as part of the race fee, so to win a $25 gift card for the running room was amazing!
I thought of getting another plateful of food, but remembered that I was going to be running again shortly so it probably wasn't a good idea. instead I grabbed a couple of blueberry muffins, a banana and another cup of tea all for taking with me. Then I chatted to two of the clinic instructors that I know until I got a message from Daniel that he had arrived. He was picking me up for my second run of the day, exploring one of the ravines further south. I checked my finish time as I was leaving (I forgot to stop my watch) and think it was 1:55:55. slower than I'd like, but perfectly happy with that anyway.
Daniel drove us to a car park at the top of the ravine and straight away I was running fairly slowly as my stomach was still digesting the delicious brunch. The trails we followed led us to be running along the river, as in actually on the frozen snow-covered water! this made me a bit nervous but there were clearly lots of other footprints. it sounded very different to trail running with each footfall and sometimes the crackly sounds made me feel uneasy so as soon as we saw a tiny trail off the river, we took it. It wasn't a trail as such, but it took us out on the edge of a ski hill so then we could follow legitimate paths round and back onto the trails again. There was a lady out running with her two dogs and the "polar bear" dog made great friends with Jimmy for a bit. Daniel started recognising a few things from where he'd taken Jimmy for a walk the other day and we found some incredible trails with wonderful views. Edmonton really is a beautiful city. After scrabbling our way up a hill and admiring the view back down, we then saw a pair of woodpeckers with red Mohawks. We ran along gawping at some posh houses for a bit, then down into the trails but this time we managed to end up back somewhere we recognised and headed back the way we came.
When we got near the ski hill, we decided to try heading around the other side of the ravine and ended up on a thin trail on the edge of a hill that reminded me of the Cleevewold 14 race that I did last year. Daniel had to wait ages at the bottom of the hill as I was being very wussy and going down on my hands and knees. This also meant I ended up covered in mud! Although I realised that the free race gloves were actually surprisingly warm.
We ran along a few more relatively neat and pretty trails, and "off-roaded" again a little bit to get back across the river and find our way to the car. All in all we'd probably only run 8k and it had taken 90 minutes or so, but this sort of crazy exploring on tired legs must be really good training for the races I have this year. And I'm sure we could have had less breaks for admiring views, taking photos, removing burrs, playing with Jimmy, making snow angels etc. and got back quicker.
At home I had a lovely long shower and set off a heap of laundry. Most of the day was gone, and I was pretty tired, but met up with a friend for tea and to watch "In Bruges" before going to bed relatively early. Before I did I showed off my medal to my housemates, who also think I'm crazy, and texted Daniel to arrange another run tomorrow morning!
At 5am, I started watching the hockey in the living room with Salim and eventually Tim too although the tiredness did make it a bit difficult to concentrate. I did really like the idea of sitting in a bar with an awesome breakfast and something alcoholic and that might have been fun if I didn't have a race to go to. Its crazy that they changed the licencing laws especially for this game, but it leaves all these strange gaps: bars will be open until 2am, closed for a couple of hours, opened again at 4:30, then I guess closed again after the game until 11 or something.
I made some porridge after the first period and got dressed after the second period. Canada seemed to be destroying Sweden but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to see the whole game. Turned out I did, it was 3-0 and I left the house to catch the LRT at about 7:25, no problems transferring onto a bus and managed to figure out which way to go to get to the race.
I managed to bump into a few people I knew before the race started and it turns out this may be the coldest Hypothermic Half they have ever done! it's around -30C, mostly not too much wind, but when there is its arctic. I'm happy about this as it's more of a new thing and a challenge that way. I'd be disappointed if I ended up running in a measly -5C or something. I remember the race I did in the arctic circle being on an unusually warm day, so I ended up carrying most of my kit and it was probably warmer there than back home. This will be much more of a story (or thing to boast about), although I suspect most people will just think I'm crazy.
As soon as I set off, I realised two things within the first couple of miles:
1. I had been planning to eat an energy bar but forgot, breakfast was hours ago thanks to the hockey and now I was starving.
2. I had shin splints so had to stop and stretch, then drag my legs along at a much slower pace and wait for them to go away. bah!
I've had this problem with shin splints before and I'm hoping its just because I only recently had a sports massage and didn't warm up properly, but it did go away after around 5 miles so I could pick up the pace.
The route was two laps, it started with a lollypop shape, then passed the start line again and had a shorter out-and-back. this meant there was one water station but you passed it four times. The cups were filled with hot water to stop them freezing! There were some lovely views out over the river valley and the marshals were utterly awesome! with three start times for the race, they had to stand around in the bitter cold for so many hours but they were still cheering.
Towards the end, my buff froze solid and I couldn't pull it back up again, so I had to make sure I finished the race before my face froze. A little sprint to the finish line and I was greeted by Robyn waiting to hand out medals! She has a "Jayne" hat (from Firefly) to keep warm and for bonus geek points. Darcy from run club and his brother were also there as they'd only finished a minute before me. I didn't hang about too long before going inside, grabbing my bag and getting changed into clean dry run kit, although I couldn't be bothered to change my tights, far too much hassle.
Then finally I got to eat the buffet brunch! I piled up my plate as much as I could with pastries, fruit, cakes, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausages, bacon, French toast and maple syrup, then grabbed a cup of tea and some juice too. I chatted to the lady sat next to me, who recognised me from the store and she is also doing the Banff-Jasper relay, and then, midway through eating a pastry, they called out my race number in the prize draw! I never win anything and was happy enough with a free toque and glove set and copious amounts of food as part of the race fee, so to win a $25 gift card for the running room was amazing!
I thought of getting another plateful of food, but remembered that I was going to be running again shortly so it probably wasn't a good idea. instead I grabbed a couple of blueberry muffins, a banana and another cup of tea all for taking with me. Then I chatted to two of the clinic instructors that I know until I got a message from Daniel that he had arrived. He was picking me up for my second run of the day, exploring one of the ravines further south. I checked my finish time as I was leaving (I forgot to stop my watch) and think it was 1:55:55. slower than I'd like, but perfectly happy with that anyway.
Daniel drove us to a car park at the top of the ravine and straight away I was running fairly slowly as my stomach was still digesting the delicious brunch. The trails we followed led us to be running along the river, as in actually on the frozen snow-covered water! this made me a bit nervous but there were clearly lots of other footprints. it sounded very different to trail running with each footfall and sometimes the crackly sounds made me feel uneasy so as soon as we saw a tiny trail off the river, we took it. It wasn't a trail as such, but it took us out on the edge of a ski hill so then we could follow legitimate paths round and back onto the trails again. There was a lady out running with her two dogs and the "polar bear" dog made great friends with Jimmy for a bit. Daniel started recognising a few things from where he'd taken Jimmy for a walk the other day and we found some incredible trails with wonderful views. Edmonton really is a beautiful city. After scrabbling our way up a hill and admiring the view back down, we then saw a pair of woodpeckers with red Mohawks. We ran along gawping at some posh houses for a bit, then down into the trails but this time we managed to end up back somewhere we recognised and headed back the way we came.
When we got near the ski hill, we decided to try heading around the other side of the ravine and ended up on a thin trail on the edge of a hill that reminded me of the Cleevewold 14 race that I did last year. Daniel had to wait ages at the bottom of the hill as I was being very wussy and going down on my hands and knees. This also meant I ended up covered in mud! Although I realised that the free race gloves were actually surprisingly warm.
We ran along a few more relatively neat and pretty trails, and "off-roaded" again a little bit to get back across the river and find our way to the car. All in all we'd probably only run 8k and it had taken 90 minutes or so, but this sort of crazy exploring on tired legs must be really good training for the races I have this year. And I'm sure we could have had less breaks for admiring views, taking photos, removing burrs, playing with Jimmy, making snow angels etc. and got back quicker.
At home I had a lovely long shower and set off a heap of laundry. Most of the day was gone, and I was pretty tired, but met up with a friend for tea and to watch "In Bruges" before going to bed relatively early. Before I did I showed off my medal to my housemates, who also think I'm crazy, and texted Daniel to arrange another run tomorrow morning!
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Day 174: Sometimes I love my job
It was slightly late when I started leaving to go to work, but I bumped into Salim in the doorway and he was planning on going curling via MacDonald's for breakfast... MacDonald's is right next to my work... he was driving there... hooray! A lift there meant I was really early so I thought I'd treat myself to a second breakfast as I've never had MacD's breakfast before and coffee would certainly help me get through the day. The food was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. I was also greeted by Michael throwing loads of free stuff at me! The Brooks trail shoes I was expecting, but there were also some Tim Horton's (coffee chain) gift cards that I wasn't expecting. So much excitement for so early in the morning!
It was fairly busy at work due to people (including me - more free stuff!) picking up their race packs for the half marathon tomorrow, but just steady not overwhelming. The day still seemed to go slowly though, but maybe I was just looking forward to my couscous for lunch and whatever excitement I decided to do that evening. I did get to take my time with any customers and chat about running a lot, which is lovely. At the end of the shift I didn't get away until about 20 minutes late but apparently it was a pretty exciting day for the sales figures. There were certainly a lot of people coming into the store just before closing, and several trying to get in after closing too!
By the time I got home, it was quite late and I was quite tired so I tried figuring out how I could get to the housewarming party I had been invited to but it was a bit silly on public transport. Everyone was also very excited about watching the Olympic Hockey men's final, which would be on at 5am here and it seemed like my duty as a tourist to do that. I decided maybe it would be better to get some sleep and then just watch the hockey instead of staying up all night, while already tired, the night before a race! Even getting anywhere to meet people for that was a bit too much of a logistical nightmare as I'd need to also get to the race afterwards but Tim and Salim were planning on watching it at home, so that seemed like a better idea, even though I wouldn't get to meet up with various people I wanted to see. Decision made, I started sorting out some of my kit then went to bed. It was already a little bit late due to all this faffing, maybe 11pm, and my alarm was set for 4:30!
It was fairly busy at work due to people (including me - more free stuff!) picking up their race packs for the half marathon tomorrow, but just steady not overwhelming. The day still seemed to go slowly though, but maybe I was just looking forward to my couscous for lunch and whatever excitement I decided to do that evening. I did get to take my time with any customers and chat about running a lot, which is lovely. At the end of the shift I didn't get away until about 20 minutes late but apparently it was a pretty exciting day for the sales figures. There were certainly a lot of people coming into the store just before closing, and several trying to get in after closing too!
By the time I got home, it was quite late and I was quite tired so I tried figuring out how I could get to the housewarming party I had been invited to but it was a bit silly on public transport. Everyone was also very excited about watching the Olympic Hockey men's final, which would be on at 5am here and it seemed like my duty as a tourist to do that. I decided maybe it would be better to get some sleep and then just watch the hockey instead of staying up all night, while already tired, the night before a race! Even getting anywhere to meet people for that was a bit too much of a logistical nightmare as I'd need to also get to the race afterwards but Tim and Salim were planning on watching it at home, so that seemed like a better idea, even though I wouldn't get to meet up with various people I wanted to see. Decision made, I started sorting out some of my kit then went to bed. It was already a little bit late due to all this faffing, maybe 11pm, and my alarm was set for 4:30!
Day 173: Pyjama Day
Well, this was already quite a while ago now so I don't really remember what I did on Friday.
I started with a nice cooked breakfast of eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes on toast, then cooking as I wanted to put everything in the slow cooker all day, the plan was to make a Moroccan style chicken stew. Then I tried to find other ways to procrastinate looking for new jobs, I can't remember what I found to do instead, probably housework, but I filled in enough time to get me through to lunch with only listing a few jobs I'd found online. Lunch was leftovers from yesterday's Vietnamese dinner.
After that, I chopped up some fruit for later and then couldn't find any more avoidance techniques so I sent some emails to apply for jobs. Then I had to actually get dressed finally, it was really nice having a pyjama day I haven't had one for ages! I made some couscous to go with the Moroccan chicken and it all worked really well! slow cookers are genius.
One of my friends had offered me a ride to the party at Steve's house this evening and in return I offered him some dinner.
It was a leaving do for Yumi, so it was mostly couchsurfers and we all spent a fair amount of time ogling Steve's world map and talking about places we want to go. The theme was "drinks from around the world" so I had bought Pimms, including all the paraphernalia. There were a lot of different kinds of beer and some Sangria and some people bought food instead. We mostly played card/board games and I completely lost track of time, suddenly it was about 4am and I thought it was probably a good idea to give up and go home so I could get a few hours sleep before work.
I started with a nice cooked breakfast of eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes on toast, then cooking as I wanted to put everything in the slow cooker all day, the plan was to make a Moroccan style chicken stew. Then I tried to find other ways to procrastinate looking for new jobs, I can't remember what I found to do instead, probably housework, but I filled in enough time to get me through to lunch with only listing a few jobs I'd found online. Lunch was leftovers from yesterday's Vietnamese dinner.
After that, I chopped up some fruit for later and then couldn't find any more avoidance techniques so I sent some emails to apply for jobs. Then I had to actually get dressed finally, it was really nice having a pyjama day I haven't had one for ages! I made some couscous to go with the Moroccan chicken and it all worked really well! slow cookers are genius.
One of my friends had offered me a ride to the party at Steve's house this evening and in return I offered him some dinner.
It was a leaving do for Yumi, so it was mostly couchsurfers and we all spent a fair amount of time ogling Steve's world map and talking about places we want to go. The theme was "drinks from around the world" so I had bought Pimms, including all the paraphernalia. There were a lot of different kinds of beer and some Sangria and some people bought food instead. We mostly played card/board games and I completely lost track of time, suddenly it was about 4am and I thought it was probably a good idea to give up and go home so I could get a few hours sleep before work.
Vindaloovians!
Friday, 21 February 2014
Day 172: Making the most of time off
My alarm went off. I went back to sleep. I woke up again, looked at my watch and thought "oops". It was 7:45 and I was supposed to be meeting Daniel for a run at 8am. I texted and we rescheduled to 9:30 (to avoid traffic) so I crawled out of bed and ate breakfast.
It was colder than I expected and I could definitely feel my legs after yesterday's running but it was still enjoyable. We headed south and tried out a trail along the edge of Fort Edmonton Park, at the end of a trail was a strange wooden snowman, but when I tried to take a photo my phone was too cold or too low on battery or both and didn't want to play. On the way back I decided to run all the way up the slope to the road without stopping even though I was tired and when I got to the top, my nose felt frozen. Daniel was also pretty tired as he's used to sprinting off down the hills and getting plenty of rest breaks but today was a wider, flatter trail and he ran pretty much continuously. He had also bought a tambourine with him, which was fun, and he came up with a good plan for a Sunday afternoon run.
I managed to get a lot of laundry and housework done, as well as a trip up to Safeway so that I can cook tomorrow (although I also bought four doughnuts that I ate on the walk home - oops), then at 3pm I met up with Lee again for a second attempt at going to the festival in Hawrelak park as he has the day off work today.
It was actually a bit different to the other winter festivals and nice to wander around. I also went through a maze to an ice slide and during the wandering we saw a fair amount of wildlife - best of all a woodpecker, but also some squirrels, and I noticed a birdfeeder which I've never seen at running speed. Here are a few photos:
After the park, we went to get some Vietnamese food and then on to Cha Island for the Couchsurf meetup. After saying at the start of January that I'd never be able to go again, I feel like I've actually been quite a lot and it was great to go. It turned into a bit of a Christmas reunion as Kaidi and Yitao came to the meeting for the first time as they are on reading week and Ajay, Michael and Steve were also there. I met some new people, one of which had bought a card game with him that was a lot of fun! Natalia then suggested going to the salsa club downtown, I knew I shouldn't as I should be saving my pennies but I wanted to go and catch up with people so I was talked into it, but ended up not actually staying very long and getting a lift home.
All in all I feel like I got a lot of things done today plus running and socialising.
It was colder than I expected and I could definitely feel my legs after yesterday's running but it was still enjoyable. We headed south and tried out a trail along the edge of Fort Edmonton Park, at the end of a trail was a strange wooden snowman, but when I tried to take a photo my phone was too cold or too low on battery or both and didn't want to play. On the way back I decided to run all the way up the slope to the road without stopping even though I was tired and when I got to the top, my nose felt frozen. Daniel was also pretty tired as he's used to sprinting off down the hills and getting plenty of rest breaks but today was a wider, flatter trail and he ran pretty much continuously. He had also bought a tambourine with him, which was fun, and he came up with a good plan for a Sunday afternoon run.
I managed to get a lot of laundry and housework done, as well as a trip up to Safeway so that I can cook tomorrow (although I also bought four doughnuts that I ate on the walk home - oops), then at 3pm I met up with Lee again for a second attempt at going to the festival in Hawrelak park as he has the day off work today.
It was actually a bit different to the other winter festivals and nice to wander around. I also went through a maze to an ice slide and during the wandering we saw a fair amount of wildlife - best of all a woodpecker, but also some squirrels, and I noticed a birdfeeder which I've never seen at running speed. Here are a few photos:
After the park, we went to get some Vietnamese food and then on to Cha Island for the Couchsurf meetup. After saying at the start of January that I'd never be able to go again, I feel like I've actually been quite a lot and it was great to go. It turned into a bit of a Christmas reunion as Kaidi and Yitao came to the meeting for the first time as they are on reading week and Ajay, Michael and Steve were also there. I met some new people, one of which had bought a card game with him that was a lot of fun! Natalia then suggested going to the salsa club downtown, I knew I shouldn't as I should be saving my pennies but I wanted to go and catch up with people so I was talked into it, but ended up not actually staying very long and getting a lift home.
All in all I feel like I got a lot of things done today plus running and socialising.
Wednesday, 19 February 2014
Day 171: lovely lovely running
I slept in a little bit this morning but eventually crawled out of bed, made a lovely omelette, then crawled back into bed to check my emails.
I had arranged to meet Aimee at the museum at about 12 for a lunchtime run. I would be running there and back to get a nice longer run in. As soon as I left home I slipped a few times and regretted not wearing my spikes, but mostly it was fine. I could certainly feel my legs after yesterday's massage and I probably set out too fast as well (as I left late) and got slightly shin splinty but luckily it went away after a brief stretch. I went what I thought was the most direct route there, which meant mostly on sidewalk rather than river valley and I met Aimee in the main entrance of the museum.
She took me along a bit of river valley trail I haven't seen before, which eventually joined into a bit I recognised but it was a whole different route for me. we even ran up one flight of stairs twice, which was definitely hard going and I will have to practice stairs a lot more. there was a very light snowfall the whole time I was out, which was lovely and it was great to catch up on what Aimee has been up to since new years and swap stories.
After we said goodbye, I headed back via a different route, which I made up as I went along. I ran round one of the nice crescents with posh houses and noticed a set of stairs down into the ravine. I ran up the ravine for a bit, then up and along the road and down the next ravine. The trails then took me back to Hawrelak park via the footbridge and back home via yet another set of steps. It was a really good run and good to get some distance in. I'm glad I've had time to stare at my map of the trails and feel like I'm getting to know them fairly well.
I washed my hair and decided it was time to rub off the paint tattoo on my arm now, then ate a salad/hummus/left-over-fajitas type lunch because I didn't want to wait for something to cook.
I spent the afternoon doing laundry and looking for higher paid jobs online. I hate job hunting, but at least it's sandwiched between awesome running.
After a quick snack I got ready for more running, then headed out to the Running Room.
This week we were doing six hills, although some people were recovering from Sunday's half marathon and some people were tapering for next week's half marathon. I was with the select few "keeners" (to use a Canadian expression), who are just seeing the half as part of training and not racing it, so no tapering needed. It was nice that the half marathon training group were also doing hills (three) so there was a big group of us pegging it up and down Emily Murphy and all cheering each other along, including one dog.
I popped into the store briefly after the run as my hands had started to get a bit cold. I had been wearing my new freebie run jacket, which is pretty good for running, but has no flexibility in it at all if you want to stretch or do anything other than running, so I headed off home to stretch properly once I got there. I decided I was too hungry to have anything other than pizza for dinner: 14 minutes in the oven while I shower, then dinner is served!
Tim had been learning the English names (as opposed to American) of various things in the supermarket while he was in Hong Kong so it was interesting talking about that while he made his much more elaborate dinner and I ate my pizza.
What would have been the most productive thing to do next, would be a trip to the supermarket so I can do some cooking tomorrow in the slow cooker, but I was pretty tired from all the running. I'm calling the lunchtime run 18k (6 there, 6 with Aimee, 6 home) and the hills 10k. I wish I could get away with not working more often, as it was great doing this much running and getting to catch up with Aimee!
I had arranged to meet Aimee at the museum at about 12 for a lunchtime run. I would be running there and back to get a nice longer run in. As soon as I left home I slipped a few times and regretted not wearing my spikes, but mostly it was fine. I could certainly feel my legs after yesterday's massage and I probably set out too fast as well (as I left late) and got slightly shin splinty but luckily it went away after a brief stretch. I went what I thought was the most direct route there, which meant mostly on sidewalk rather than river valley and I met Aimee in the main entrance of the museum.
She took me along a bit of river valley trail I haven't seen before, which eventually joined into a bit I recognised but it was a whole different route for me. we even ran up one flight of stairs twice, which was definitely hard going and I will have to practice stairs a lot more. there was a very light snowfall the whole time I was out, which was lovely and it was great to catch up on what Aimee has been up to since new years and swap stories.
After we said goodbye, I headed back via a different route, which I made up as I went along. I ran round one of the nice crescents with posh houses and noticed a set of stairs down into the ravine. I ran up the ravine for a bit, then up and along the road and down the next ravine. The trails then took me back to Hawrelak park via the footbridge and back home via yet another set of steps. It was a really good run and good to get some distance in. I'm glad I've had time to stare at my map of the trails and feel like I'm getting to know them fairly well.
I washed my hair and decided it was time to rub off the paint tattoo on my arm now, then ate a salad/hummus/left-over-fajitas type lunch because I didn't want to wait for something to cook.
I spent the afternoon doing laundry and looking for higher paid jobs online. I hate job hunting, but at least it's sandwiched between awesome running.
After a quick snack I got ready for more running, then headed out to the Running Room.
This week we were doing six hills, although some people were recovering from Sunday's half marathon and some people were tapering for next week's half marathon. I was with the select few "keeners" (to use a Canadian expression), who are just seeing the half as part of training and not racing it, so no tapering needed. It was nice that the half marathon training group were also doing hills (three) so there was a big group of us pegging it up and down Emily Murphy and all cheering each other along, including one dog.
I popped into the store briefly after the run as my hands had started to get a bit cold. I had been wearing my new freebie run jacket, which is pretty good for running, but has no flexibility in it at all if you want to stretch or do anything other than running, so I headed off home to stretch properly once I got there. I decided I was too hungry to have anything other than pizza for dinner: 14 minutes in the oven while I shower, then dinner is served!
Tim had been learning the English names (as opposed to American) of various things in the supermarket while he was in Hong Kong so it was interesting talking about that while he made his much more elaborate dinner and I ate my pizza.
What would have been the most productive thing to do next, would be a trip to the supermarket so I can do some cooking tomorrow in the slow cooker, but I was pretty tired from all the running. I'm calling the lunchtime run 18k (6 there, 6 with Aimee, 6 home) and the hills 10k. I wish I could get away with not working more often, as it was great doing this much running and getting to catch up with Aimee!
Day 170: plentiful mints!
My first day of the week with no work and I have an appointment bright and early at 9am to get the day started. Its possible that Salim thought my "tattoo" was real this morning when I was coming out of the shower. So when I said, "yeah, I got it done on Sunday night in a bar when I was drunk" he must think I'm a lunatic.
I made it to the Sports Massage clinic in plenty of time and met April, who is apparently pretty brutal. She admitted to thinking my tattoo was real! She also kept pointing out bruises I had, which I thought was strange, alright, I know i'm a bit clumsy, turns out she does this so people don't accuse her of leaving them, so I told her that I quite often get left with bruises after sports massages back home and explained about Gisela, her competition in the brutal massage league. April also regularly makes people cry she claims. more often men than women. Surprisingly my right leg was worse than my left so she suggested I see if I usually put all my weight on one leg when I'm standing around and try not to. Other than that, it wasn't too bad, but I should be doing more stretching.
Then I met up with a couchsurfer for a pot of tea to recover a bit before heading to the supermarket for groceries. I chucked some falafel in the oven for lunch, with hummus, wraps and salad then set off to tick a few more things off my list.
Alana had told me where there was a cheap hairdressers on Whyte ave, but unfortunately this required a really long wait. I broke it up a bit by popping to the cash machine and buying a hot chocolate and eventually got to have a quick trim to tidy up all the destruction from straightening. She didn't even charge me full price as it was only a bit of a hair cut, so that was good!
As it was only a few blocks further, I also walked up to the British shop and marvelled at the exciting things they had (bought some more extra strong mints!) then went to Bulk Barn to buy some dried fruit for my cereal. Its pretty warm out today, some people were wandering around in just a hoodie so I was a little overdressed but it was a good day for walking around and saving pennies of bus money.
When I got home I made a fajita dinner kit, ate a few wraps and froze the rest of the chicken for future meals. Then I went to Remedy café with a couchsurfer to look at holiday photos. I also tried an alcoholic mango lassi, which was delicious.
I had left my phone at home by mistake, and when I got back I noticed red alerts for northern lights tonight, but I was pretty sleepy so hopefully there will be other opportunities. I think it was a bit cloudy anyway.
I made it to the Sports Massage clinic in plenty of time and met April, who is apparently pretty brutal. She admitted to thinking my tattoo was real! She also kept pointing out bruises I had, which I thought was strange, alright, I know i'm a bit clumsy, turns out she does this so people don't accuse her of leaving them, so I told her that I quite often get left with bruises after sports massages back home and explained about Gisela, her competition in the brutal massage league. April also regularly makes people cry she claims. more often men than women. Surprisingly my right leg was worse than my left so she suggested I see if I usually put all my weight on one leg when I'm standing around and try not to. Other than that, it wasn't too bad, but I should be doing more stretching.
Then I met up with a couchsurfer for a pot of tea to recover a bit before heading to the supermarket for groceries. I chucked some falafel in the oven for lunch, with hummus, wraps and salad then set off to tick a few more things off my list.
Alana had told me where there was a cheap hairdressers on Whyte ave, but unfortunately this required a really long wait. I broke it up a bit by popping to the cash machine and buying a hot chocolate and eventually got to have a quick trim to tidy up all the destruction from straightening. She didn't even charge me full price as it was only a bit of a hair cut, so that was good!
As it was only a few blocks further, I also walked up to the British shop and marvelled at the exciting things they had (bought some more extra strong mints!) then went to Bulk Barn to buy some dried fruit for my cereal. Its pretty warm out today, some people were wandering around in just a hoodie so I was a little overdressed but it was a good day for walking around and saving pennies of bus money.
When I got home I made a fajita dinner kit, ate a few wraps and froze the rest of the chicken for future meals. Then I went to Remedy café with a couchsurfer to look at holiday photos. I also tried an alcoholic mango lassi, which was delicious.
I had left my phone at home by mistake, and when I got back I noticed red alerts for northern lights tonight, but I was pretty sleepy so hopefully there will be other opportunities. I think it was a bit cloudy anyway.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Day 169: Family Day
This is a holiday in Canada, so most people get a long weekend and no work. I just get my shift slightly altered as the shop has shorter opening hours. today work was 11 til 6:30 and for quite a few hours on the morning it was crazy busy and I did not leave the shoe pit. These few hours also corresponded with all of my hangover symptoms (not too bad as I didn't drink loads, but still, not great timing!) I had been very careful to try and keep the paint on my arm intact in the shower and it was nice knowing that it was there under my t shirt.
When I finally managed to escape and have a break, I got to eat a lovely leftover chicken sandwich and then it was much quieter for the rest of the shift so we managed to get everything done and leave early.
I had been in touch with a group on facebook who were planning to start regular Monday night hill sessions at 7pm and thought I would try and find them as a way of meeting local runners, even though I wont be able to go again once my shifts go back to normal. However, I was feeling a bit lazy and remembered that there were quite a few things I needed to do as well so decided to wuss out and get some shopping instead. Turns out it was cancelled anyway but I was also given another link to find potential running buddies which I will have to investigate.
I had the remains of the left over chicken with some pasta and then mostly stayed sat on my bed checking stuff online and trying not to get too distracted by facebook.
Now I will get a whole four days off to try and make the best use of. I have a few plans and some things pencilled in my diary so it will probably fly by.
When I finally managed to escape and have a break, I got to eat a lovely leftover chicken sandwich and then it was much quieter for the rest of the shift so we managed to get everything done and leave early.
I had been in touch with a group on facebook who were planning to start regular Monday night hill sessions at 7pm and thought I would try and find them as a way of meeting local runners, even though I wont be able to go again once my shifts go back to normal. However, I was feeling a bit lazy and remembered that there were quite a few things I needed to do as well so decided to wuss out and get some shopping instead. Turns out it was cancelled anyway but I was also given another link to find potential running buddies which I will have to investigate.
I had the remains of the left over chicken with some pasta and then mostly stayed sat on my bed checking stuff online and trying not to get too distracted by facebook.
Now I will get a whole four days off to try and make the best use of. I have a few plans and some things pencilled in my diary so it will probably fly by.
Day 168: ooodles of running
The weather has warmed up a little at the mo, so I wore slightly less clothes than I have been and was very glad to be awake and not hung over. On my way out I caught Oscar getting thrown out of the upstairs flat! his territory is expanding and he's not such a scaredy cat after all.
Run club was great, although there were less people as so many are doing the half mara today. The route was 23k but we went the wrong way a bit so got back to the shop before some of the guys who were ahead of us. There were some lovely valentines cookies and hot chocolate which made it all worth it, and then I ran back home again, so I still ran about 25k in total. I love running.
After showering I turned some of the leftover chicken, potatoes and tomatoes into an omelette, adding in some frozen peas too. it was really yummy. Tim also came up with putting my leftover blueberry bars in the oven to heat them up and un-sog them a bit. They would have been amazing with custard or icecream, but we made do with yoghurt instead, which didn't really work but was still yummy.
I managed to get all my laundry done and straighten my hair, then met Lee for tea in the nearby hipster tea shop similar to the one we went to before. We were planning to meet up with Natalia as well for another ice festival but time wasn't on our side in the end.
Next, I was meeting up with Leif for my second run of the day at 6pm. We ran the loop from one bridge to another that I have done before, but I felt quite silly as I hadn't thought to bring a torch with me and the sun was already on its way down. At least with everything being covered in snow and there being a full moon it was easy enough to see where the path was, but difficult to see what the terrain was like so I took it quite easy as I don't really want to injure myself.
I was undecided about going out this evening as i'm worried about my loss of income next week, but as I hadn't had a chance to meet up with Natalia earlier, and Steve had suggested pre-drinking at his house, I decided to go. I also decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and wear a dress! Lee gave me a lift there, which was good as public transport options were limited, and there were seven of us having a bit of a catch up at Steve's, including one new person and a birthday girl, before heading out to Whyte ave.
Steve had suggested going to this particular place earlier today as they were advertising free body art, so I headed straight over to the corner where that was happening. it was actually spray paint and templates instead of face paint and brushes, so new and exciting! I asked for a lizard on my arm and he turned it into a giant multi-coloured thing over the whole of my upper arm:
This encouraged a few other people to get something as well:
And then I went back and asked for something on my face too:
Then we drunk out of a bucket and changed locations so we could go dancing, including playing with glow sticks, which I haven't done in ages so it was a pretty great time!
Run club was great, although there were less people as so many are doing the half mara today. The route was 23k but we went the wrong way a bit so got back to the shop before some of the guys who were ahead of us. There were some lovely valentines cookies and hot chocolate which made it all worth it, and then I ran back home again, so I still ran about 25k in total. I love running.
After showering I turned some of the leftover chicken, potatoes and tomatoes into an omelette, adding in some frozen peas too. it was really yummy. Tim also came up with putting my leftover blueberry bars in the oven to heat them up and un-sog them a bit. They would have been amazing with custard or icecream, but we made do with yoghurt instead, which didn't really work but was still yummy.
I managed to get all my laundry done and straighten my hair, then met Lee for tea in the nearby hipster tea shop similar to the one we went to before. We were planning to meet up with Natalia as well for another ice festival but time wasn't on our side in the end.
Next, I was meeting up with Leif for my second run of the day at 6pm. We ran the loop from one bridge to another that I have done before, but I felt quite silly as I hadn't thought to bring a torch with me and the sun was already on its way down. At least with everything being covered in snow and there being a full moon it was easy enough to see where the path was, but difficult to see what the terrain was like so I took it quite easy as I don't really want to injure myself.
I was undecided about going out this evening as i'm worried about my loss of income next week, but as I hadn't had a chance to meet up with Natalia earlier, and Steve had suggested pre-drinking at his house, I decided to go. I also decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and wear a dress! Lee gave me a lift there, which was good as public transport options were limited, and there were seven of us having a bit of a catch up at Steve's, including one new person and a birthday girl, before heading out to Whyte ave.
Steve had suggested going to this particular place earlier today as they were advertising free body art, so I headed straight over to the corner where that was happening. it was actually spray paint and templates instead of face paint and brushes, so new and exciting! I asked for a lizard on my arm and he turned it into a giant multi-coloured thing over the whole of my upper arm:
This encouraged a few other people to get something as well:
Day 167: twelve hours of Running Room
I kept forgetting stuff this morning and ended up having to call up again to say I was going to be late. It was even fairly busy today as people were coming to collect their race kit for the Hypo Half tomorrow. Lots of people entered the race in store too, which meant we had extra things to sort out after closing and the store was also particularly dirty so mopping was a mission. On the plus, our vouchers arrived from the Christmas sales promotion so I got to pick up a free run jacket!
Straight after work, we had training with the Saucony rep. The training was supposed to involve a run in a pair of Saucony shoes but they had not been delivered in time so he just had to talk a lot instead. We will still get to keep a free pair of shoes eventually though so that's pretty good and the food provided was delicious. I took a tray of leftover chicken, potatoes and salad home with me and ate quite a lot of the yummy mini cakes.
The training session finished at 9pm and then I was supposed to go over to the pub for a work social gathering, however, as I had a massive bag of kit with me (for the run we didn't do) and the food, and I'd been in the store all day, I really didn't feel like it so I just went home instead. I'd far rather save my pennies and not risk missing run club again.
Straight after work, we had training with the Saucony rep. The training was supposed to involve a run in a pair of Saucony shoes but they had not been delivered in time so he just had to talk a lot instead. We will still get to keep a free pair of shoes eventually though so that's pretty good and the food provided was delicious. I took a tray of leftover chicken, potatoes and salad home with me and ate quite a lot of the yummy mini cakes.
The training session finished at 9pm and then I was supposed to go over to the pub for a work social gathering, however, as I had a massive bag of kit with me (for the run we didn't do) and the food, and I'd been in the store all day, I really didn't feel like it so I just went home instead. I'd far rather save my pennies and not risk missing run club again.
Saturday, 15 February 2014
Day 166: Valentines
With working til late on Thursday I just did not want to get up when my alarm went off and I snoozed for ages and ended up rushing out of the house for work at gone 11am.
When I arrived, Luis asked me if I had a lighter and then asked me to block him so he could get a cake out of the fridge unnoticed. It was Alejandro's birthday, so my shift started with singing and candle-blowing!
It was busy, but in a fun way, and I got to show off my new apron. A bit later Luis bought each of the girls on shift a rose for valentines (from some students selling them for charity nearby). There was a whole tray of blueberry bars that had just expired so I got to take them home, as well as some mocha syrup. Once we had finished cleaning at the end of the shift, we ate some birthday cake and I also had a cinnamon Danish because it had "expired" as well.
I walked home quite slowly trying not to spill everything but left a trail of rose petals. Then Lee came round so we could go to the cinema with my free tickets ( I hadn't twigged that it was Valentines when I suggested today, but. meh, its just Friday)
By the time we got to the cinema, there weren't any films we wanted to see for ages, so we bought our tickets, then went to find some dinner in the food court and then some sort of coffee shop to kill the rest of the time. I'm always so busy it was nice to just be able to hang out. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with lots of other people next week as I'm not working as much. I'll be a bit poorer but I may as well make the most of the time.
We saw American Hustle, which was very funny, especially the "science oven", and really awesome with a surprisingly happy ending.
When I arrived, Luis asked me if I had a lighter and then asked me to block him so he could get a cake out of the fridge unnoticed. It was Alejandro's birthday, so my shift started with singing and candle-blowing!
It was busy, but in a fun way, and I got to show off my new apron. A bit later Luis bought each of the girls on shift a rose for valentines (from some students selling them for charity nearby). There was a whole tray of blueberry bars that had just expired so I got to take them home, as well as some mocha syrup. Once we had finished cleaning at the end of the shift, we ate some birthday cake and I also had a cinnamon Danish because it had "expired" as well.
I walked home quite slowly trying not to spill everything but left a trail of rose petals. Then Lee came round so we could go to the cinema with my free tickets ( I hadn't twigged that it was Valentines when I suggested today, but. meh, its just Friday)
By the time we got to the cinema, there weren't any films we wanted to see for ages, so we bought our tickets, then went to find some dinner in the food court and then some sort of coffee shop to kill the rest of the time. I'm always so busy it was nice to just be able to hang out. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with lots of other people next week as I'm not working as much. I'll be a bit poorer but I may as well make the most of the time.
We saw American Hustle, which was very funny, especially the "science oven", and really awesome with a surprisingly happy ending.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
Day 165: Fully Trained Barista!!
I managed to get out of bed reasonably early and had enough time to do my laundry at least. Laundry is a constant and endless battle while there is winter running going on.
My plan was to go to campus much earlier than normal and try a different exercise class to decide whether to join it after the Reading Week break as my Tuesday class has finished now. After this I would go to my normal bootcamp, then meet Fabio for a catch up, then go to work. Sounds simple enough but there were complications:
1. Oscar - who decided to play under my bed just when I wanted to leave, so I had to try and lure him out with a bit of ribbon.
2. the two classes not being in the same building so I had to throw my clothes back over the top of my smelly gym kit, trek across three roads, then undress again.
3. the showers being really creepy and apparently out of order, so I had to trek back AGAIN to the main building to use the showers there.
4. me not remembering what the cafés near campus were called, so I had to give Fabio vague and cryptic directions
Apart from that though, it all worked out. I had a nice Panini and a cinnamon bun, felt pretty tired but in a good way and then headed to Starbucks.
When I arrived, Kate announced that today I would do my certification test. dun dun duuuuhn!
For quite a while it was really busy as there weren't many of us working. I also found out I've been making Americanos wrong the whole time, which made me feel bad. I was trying to think how many I've made and I don't think its too many so hopefully not too many people fell asleep due to lack of caffeine. I had a couple of chances to practice for the test in between the rushes.
At one point, I was making a vanilla latte and I thought I recognised the guy who ordered it. Then it clicked who he was - Wade, who I had met during the Iron Horse last year and sung Monty Python songs with! I thought that was pretty amazing! it was great to see a fellow Ultrarunner. He had spotted that I had entered CDR and he is also doing it so that's another familiar face and source of moral support. This encounter left me feeling really happy. There was also a Linkin Park track on the music today, which reminded me of being seventeen. And I got to try an apple Danish. I also got the other girls laughing at me by trying to say things in Chinese. So much excitement all in the same shift, then it was time for my test: I made the five drinks given to me and was signed off as an official Starbucks barista! A proud moment indeed. I was presented with my two green aprons and a pin badge which will take pride of place on my "mantelpiece" (in lieu of my Northbrook trophies). I also found out that the two other girls working that day had never actually taken an official test, they had just been given an apron eventually. Still, this just made me laugh and didn't take away from how pleased I was.
I wonder whether the tiny amounts of caffeine I accidentally drink during a shift were maybe enhancing my mood somewhat. who knows! I strongly suspect I won't get up early enough to run tomorrow morning, but we'll see.
My plan was to go to campus much earlier than normal and try a different exercise class to decide whether to join it after the Reading Week break as my Tuesday class has finished now. After this I would go to my normal bootcamp, then meet Fabio for a catch up, then go to work. Sounds simple enough but there were complications:
1. Oscar - who decided to play under my bed just when I wanted to leave, so I had to try and lure him out with a bit of ribbon.
2. the two classes not being in the same building so I had to throw my clothes back over the top of my smelly gym kit, trek across three roads, then undress again.
3. the showers being really creepy and apparently out of order, so I had to trek back AGAIN to the main building to use the showers there.
4. me not remembering what the cafés near campus were called, so I had to give Fabio vague and cryptic directions
Apart from that though, it all worked out. I had a nice Panini and a cinnamon bun, felt pretty tired but in a good way and then headed to Starbucks.
When I arrived, Kate announced that today I would do my certification test. dun dun duuuuhn!
For quite a while it was really busy as there weren't many of us working. I also found out I've been making Americanos wrong the whole time, which made me feel bad. I was trying to think how many I've made and I don't think its too many so hopefully not too many people fell asleep due to lack of caffeine. I had a couple of chances to practice for the test in between the rushes.
At one point, I was making a vanilla latte and I thought I recognised the guy who ordered it. Then it clicked who he was - Wade, who I had met during the Iron Horse last year and sung Monty Python songs with! I thought that was pretty amazing! it was great to see a fellow Ultrarunner. He had spotted that I had entered CDR and he is also doing it so that's another familiar face and source of moral support. This encounter left me feeling really happy. There was also a Linkin Park track on the music today, which reminded me of being seventeen. And I got to try an apple Danish. I also got the other girls laughing at me by trying to say things in Chinese. So much excitement all in the same shift, then it was time for my test: I made the five drinks given to me and was signed off as an official Starbucks barista! A proud moment indeed. I was presented with my two green aprons and a pin badge which will take pride of place on my "mantelpiece" (in lieu of my Northbrook trophies). I also found out that the two other girls working that day had never actually taken an official test, they had just been given an apron eventually. Still, this just made me laugh and didn't take away from how pleased I was.
I wonder whether the tiny amounts of caffeine I accidentally drink during a shift were maybe enhancing my mood somewhat. who knows! I strongly suspect I won't get up early enough to run tomorrow morning, but we'll see.
Wednesday, 12 February 2014
Day 164: giggles at work
It was a bit of a nightmare getting to work this morning. As I was leaving the house I couldn't find my house key, so I went back inside, rummaged around and still couldn't find it. I was late by this point but still had the option to catch the bus so I just thought I'd have to leave the door unlocked and hope it was OK. Then I found that the gate was shut so I couldn't get out, meaning a scrabble round to the back of the house and I would definitely miss the bus as well!
Luckily the manager wasn't too fussed and was grateful that I called to let him know. It was pretty quiet in the shop anyway. It was also quite cold and I got colder and colder until Doug reminded me that I had my running kit with me, which meant an extra layer I could put on. this helped a bit but I was still cold so I decided to go and tidy the shoe boxes into OCD size order. This was actually quite nice to do today. The bonus was eavesdropping on the conversations the two boys working in the back were having. hilarious. we also had a discussion about British culture and Eurovision. I laughed a lot and still managed to get half of the shoes into a much better arrangement. Then it was time to get ready for run club.
This week we were doing four hills, so I really tried to sprint as hard as I could. There was a new guy looking for training buddies who I had spoken to on the phone last week, he runs marathons in around 2:30!! Yikes.
Afterwards, there was hot chocolate again and I hung around for a bit discussing the Banff-Jasper relay as well as chatting to a couple of people doing ultras this year. This meant it was quite late when I started walking back and I needed a few groceries so I ended up buying a couple of samosas for my dinner so I didn't have to wait til I got home.
Salim was showing me some photos from his trip to HK. They have a "Snoopy world" theme park there now, I must remember to mention that to my Aunty Lorainne.
Luckily the manager wasn't too fussed and was grateful that I called to let him know. It was pretty quiet in the shop anyway. It was also quite cold and I got colder and colder until Doug reminded me that I had my running kit with me, which meant an extra layer I could put on. this helped a bit but I was still cold so I decided to go and tidy the shoe boxes into OCD size order. This was actually quite nice to do today. The bonus was eavesdropping on the conversations the two boys working in the back were having. hilarious. we also had a discussion about British culture and Eurovision. I laughed a lot and still managed to get half of the shoes into a much better arrangement. Then it was time to get ready for run club.
This week we were doing four hills, so I really tried to sprint as hard as I could. There was a new guy looking for training buddies who I had spoken to on the phone last week, he runs marathons in around 2:30!! Yikes.
Afterwards, there was hot chocolate again and I hung around for a bit discussing the Banff-Jasper relay as well as chatting to a couple of people doing ultras this year. This meant it was quite late when I started walking back and I needed a few groceries so I ended up buying a couple of samosas for my dinner so I didn't have to wait til I got home.
Salim was showing me some photos from his trip to HK. They have a "Snoopy world" theme park there now, I must remember to mention that to my Aunty Lorainne.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Day 163: dragging my feet still
it took me a long time to muster the energy to get out of bed, then with all the housework I needed to do (that I probably should've done Sunday or Monday), I ended up leaving later than I should have for my exercise class. I really didn't feel like doing lots of running round the track so was taking my time and ended up with only twenty minutes of running time before the class started.
As soon as I start running I remember that I like running and really I do want to do this, but I couldn't find the energy beforehand! on the plus, I was a bit faster on each interval this week, although I only did two reps.
I enjoyed the class too, and tried to go for a higher weight whenever I could. it's the last week so I will have to try and figure out what to replace it with from now on. Next week on campus is reading week so there will be very few (if any) classes. hopefully I will find something.
I went the quick way home again, set laundry off, washed my hair and ate lunch, then started getting ready for Starbucks.... then remembered the laundry and quickly threw it all in the drier.
Starbucks was really busy for pretty much the whole evening and I was on the till so I barely moved from my spot. Maybe everyone has deadlines before reading week and needs more caffeine. Its possible I accidentally gave someone a mocha instead of a decaf mocha as I can't remember which button I pressed. It's not the worst mistake I've ever made in my life, but if I did get it wrong and they end up wired all night, I feel a bit guilty about that.
As soon as I start running I remember that I like running and really I do want to do this, but I couldn't find the energy beforehand! on the plus, I was a bit faster on each interval this week, although I only did two reps.
I enjoyed the class too, and tried to go for a higher weight whenever I could. it's the last week so I will have to try and figure out what to replace it with from now on. Next week on campus is reading week so there will be very few (if any) classes. hopefully I will find something.
I went the quick way home again, set laundry off, washed my hair and ate lunch, then started getting ready for Starbucks.... then remembered the laundry and quickly threw it all in the drier.
Starbucks was really busy for pretty much the whole evening and I was on the till so I barely moved from my spot. Maybe everyone has deadlines before reading week and needs more caffeine. Its possible I accidentally gave someone a mocha instead of a decaf mocha as I can't remember which button I pressed. It's not the worst mistake I've ever made in my life, but if I did get it wrong and they end up wired all night, I feel a bit guilty about that.
Monday, 10 February 2014
Day 162: wasted weekend?
I did not want to get out of bed on Monday morning. I want to get into a habit of going for a run in the morning but this week I think I'm still catching up from Amie's party. I ended up snoozing til pretty late but heading out to work very early and going via Remedy café for a chai tea. I don't get paid until Friday and I really should be being much more frugal, but I just really wanted one.
I was working 1-9:30 but with the cold weather it's still pretty quiet in the store. At the end of the day it turned out there were 25 customer transactions ALL DAY. I also found out that I was the top sales person in the store last month! very weird, but I get to choose either a $25 store card or $25 coffee shop card. go me! I'm not sure which to go with as I don't really need anything in the store at the mo so I'd just look for something to buy for the sake of it. If Remedy do store cards, I could get some free lunches for a while, but there aren't really any other coffee shops nearby.
I found out Andie has signed up for the Banff-Jasper relay race too and we will probably be room mates for the trip, it should be lots of fun! She was talking about potentially dressing up for it!
Robyn gave me a ride home afterwards, which meant I didn't have to walk home in the cold without a scarf (currently waiting to be washed) and I got home earlier. Tim then gave me a really posh box of chocolates as a thank you for looking after Oscar... they did not last long! ooops.
So, no training at all, and much lazing about eating junk. This can be fun sometimes, but I'm sure I should be taking training way more seriously than this. Tomorrow will be more sensible. probably.
I was working 1-9:30 but with the cold weather it's still pretty quiet in the store. At the end of the day it turned out there were 25 customer transactions ALL DAY. I also found out that I was the top sales person in the store last month! very weird, but I get to choose either a $25 store card or $25 coffee shop card. go me! I'm not sure which to go with as I don't really need anything in the store at the mo so I'd just look for something to buy for the sake of it. If Remedy do store cards, I could get some free lunches for a while, but there aren't really any other coffee shops nearby.
I found out Andie has signed up for the Banff-Jasper relay race too and we will probably be room mates for the trip, it should be lots of fun! She was talking about potentially dressing up for it!
Robyn gave me a ride home afterwards, which meant I didn't have to walk home in the cold without a scarf (currently waiting to be washed) and I got home earlier. Tim then gave me a really posh box of chocolates as a thank you for looking after Oscar... they did not last long! ooops.
So, no training at all, and much lazing about eating junk. This can be fun sometimes, but I'm sure I should be taking training way more seriously than this. Tomorrow will be more sensible. probably.
Day 161: Oscar time
Unsurprisingly, I did not make it to run club. I woke up at about 10:30 and then never really moved much for most of the day. I managed to do some laundry and ate chocolate, pizza and crisps.
It was actually really nice to just hang out with the cat. As soon as a cat sits on you, it gives you a perfect excuse not to move, so I got lots of cat-cuddles from poor attention-starved Oscar.
Eventually I managed to have a shower and get dressed as I had to go to the Running Room for some training after the store closes. Its really cold outside today, so maybe it was good I didn't make the run.
As part of the training session, we got free pizza and hot chocolate, which went down well. We got told lots of stuff about Nike shoes and clothes but this time there were only a few freebies, not for everybody and none for me.
A friend came round for a bit of a chat and Tim came back from holiday, although without his suitcase until tomorrow! Oscar is starting to get a bit braver with new people but he was very pleased to see Tim returning.
I don't know why but I had some really bizarre dreams on Sunday night and kept waking myself up.
It was actually really nice to just hang out with the cat. As soon as a cat sits on you, it gives you a perfect excuse not to move, so I got lots of cat-cuddles from poor attention-starved Oscar.
Eventually I managed to have a shower and get dressed as I had to go to the Running Room for some training after the store closes. Its really cold outside today, so maybe it was good I didn't make the run.
As part of the training session, we got free pizza and hot chocolate, which went down well. We got told lots of stuff about Nike shoes and clothes but this time there were only a few freebies, not for everybody and none for me.
A friend came round for a bit of a chat and Tim came back from holiday, although without his suitcase until tomorrow! Oscar is starting to get a bit braver with new people but he was very pleased to see Tim returning.
I don't know why but I had some really bizarre dreams on Sunday night and kept waking myself up.
Sunday, 9 February 2014
Day 160: party party
When I woke up I felt really tired, so I decided to "borrow" some coffee from my housemate. I was still really tired at work so drunk more coffee on my lunchbreak as someone had brewed some in the staff room. It was really cold in the shop and I was so cold, even once I wrapped up in my coat, that I also went to McDonalds straight after work and bought myself a mocha to try and warm up more. Or maybe I've developed a caffeine addiction.
I did some shopping, got home, fed the cat, ate dinner, got changed and ready and headed out to get the bus up Whyte ave to Amie's house for a party. It's silly cold today, so I wanted to wear a dress but was stuck in jeans again to avoid hypothermia. I got to the party at about 10pm and it was clear I needed to catch up so started drinking my wine quite quickly. It was a really good party and lots of fun and somehow it ended up being 5am!!
chances of making it to run club tomorrow dramatically reduced, which is a shame because the Calgary marathon race director will be there.
Here are some photos from the skiing with me, Natalia and Erica. Edmonton and the Muttard in the background:
I did some shopping, got home, fed the cat, ate dinner, got changed and ready and headed out to get the bus up Whyte ave to Amie's house for a party. It's silly cold today, so I wanted to wear a dress but was stuck in jeans again to avoid hypothermia. I got to the party at about 10pm and it was clear I needed to catch up so started drinking my wine quite quickly. It was a really good party and lots of fun and somehow it ended up being 5am!!
chances of making it to run club tomorrow dramatically reduced, which is a shame because the Calgary marathon race director will be there.
Here are some photos from the skiing with me, Natalia and Erica. Edmonton and the Muttard in the background:
Friday, 7 February 2014
Day 159: Free Ski Friday!
My intentions were good, my alarm was set, but then I just snoozed for an extra hour or so instead of getting up and going for a run. I think I needed it though. I ended up rushing to leave for Starbucks and it's my first Friday shift there so I didn't want to be late.
It was a very different team, with a lot of Spanish speakers and a couple of Chinese speakers. As it's a shorter day, there was a lot of overlap between the morning team and evening team. With so many people working at the same time, it was hard to know who was doing what and where I needed to be. It was busy as well and often confusing, but kinda fun. it stayed busy til the end, so there is no chance of finishing early on a Friday, but this is still much better than finishing at 9:30 at the running room.
Natalia was going to pick me up from the university at 5:30, but she was delayed so I got the train downtown (one stop across the river) to make the journey easier for her. We then went to the Edmonton Ski Club, which is just nextdoor to the Muttard Conservatory (glass pyramids) in the centre of town. I could have even got a bus there but that would have taken a lot longer.
The first Friday of every month they have free skiing. You have to pay $10 if you want to hire gear and $10 if you want a lesson, but you also get a ticket for free hot chocolate.
I felt pretty stupid and had no idea what I was doing. I got my gear and couldn't even walk. While we were queuing for the rope to pull us up the easy slope, I nearly fell in a ditch because I had no control at all so I just backed out. There was no way I would be able to cope if I couldn't even cope at the bottom of the hill. I thought I'd maybe go back in and pay for a lesson, or just get my hot chocolate and watch everybody else. I just couldn't seem to get it at all. Then a nice lady who was there teaching a group of kids took pity on me and taught me how to walk around, she got me to walk up the hill a little bit and practice going down with "pizza slice" skis and stay in control of things. Then she persuaded me to grab the rope to take me half way up the hill, she followed up right behind me, which was good because the first time I didn't get it at all and she had to catch me and go backwards down the hill holding my hands. The second time I wasn't as bad but I was glad to have her there helping. She also taught me how to do turns and after a couple more goes at just going half way up the hill like a total wuss she encouraged me to go all the way to the top. Being pulled up by the rope wasn't as terrifying as I initially thought, and there were wonderful views of the Edmonton skyline, including the hotel that looks like a castle. The Muttard is also lit up at night and looks pretty spectacular. I will add in a few photos later as Natalia took some. I only went slightly out of control, then managed to stop myself and take in the scenery. The coach appeared again and watched me try to do a couple of turns. I'm really grateful for her help, I don't know why I was being such a scaredy cat. It's only a little hill but it seemed really big when I had no idea how to get down it other than rolling the whole way! Less than a minute, even at my slow wimpy speed, and I was at the bottom again. I felt much more confident now though and went round a few times, but always really slow. There were some other people there that Natalia knew who were snowboarding, maybe next month I should try that, but with a lesson as I've never done it before at all.
I guess having a ski slope downtown is brilliant for beginners, but any good skiers would want longer hills. it looks like a good place to learn snowboarding too as they had lots of jumps and half pipes and rails that we saw people attempting. I don't think i'd be doing any more than learning how to get down a hill if I gave it a go though, clearly these are just not sports I have any natural ability at!
Once we'd all reached our limit of skiing we went to get our free hot chocolate, then one of the other guys suggested we go to a bar downtown where some of their friends were. It was actually a couple I had met before, I even went to their house for a party in December so it was nice to meet them again sober. They were at a different branch of the Brewster's pub (the one with its own microbrewery) so I tried a couple of samples of barley wine and had a small drink of a different beer. I didn't feel like having a whole pint and I felt quite sleepy now I was inside in the warm. I got a lift home from Fred and Lucy as I remembered that their party was just up the road from me so that was really nice.
Hopefully I will still be able to get enough sleep before work tomorrow.
It was a very different team, with a lot of Spanish speakers and a couple of Chinese speakers. As it's a shorter day, there was a lot of overlap between the morning team and evening team. With so many people working at the same time, it was hard to know who was doing what and where I needed to be. It was busy as well and often confusing, but kinda fun. it stayed busy til the end, so there is no chance of finishing early on a Friday, but this is still much better than finishing at 9:30 at the running room.
Natalia was going to pick me up from the university at 5:30, but she was delayed so I got the train downtown (one stop across the river) to make the journey easier for her. We then went to the Edmonton Ski Club, which is just nextdoor to the Muttard Conservatory (glass pyramids) in the centre of town. I could have even got a bus there but that would have taken a lot longer.
The first Friday of every month they have free skiing. You have to pay $10 if you want to hire gear and $10 if you want a lesson, but you also get a ticket for free hot chocolate.
I felt pretty stupid and had no idea what I was doing. I got my gear and couldn't even walk. While we were queuing for the rope to pull us up the easy slope, I nearly fell in a ditch because I had no control at all so I just backed out. There was no way I would be able to cope if I couldn't even cope at the bottom of the hill. I thought I'd maybe go back in and pay for a lesson, or just get my hot chocolate and watch everybody else. I just couldn't seem to get it at all. Then a nice lady who was there teaching a group of kids took pity on me and taught me how to walk around, she got me to walk up the hill a little bit and practice going down with "pizza slice" skis and stay in control of things. Then she persuaded me to grab the rope to take me half way up the hill, she followed up right behind me, which was good because the first time I didn't get it at all and she had to catch me and go backwards down the hill holding my hands. The second time I wasn't as bad but I was glad to have her there helping. She also taught me how to do turns and after a couple more goes at just going half way up the hill like a total wuss she encouraged me to go all the way to the top. Being pulled up by the rope wasn't as terrifying as I initially thought, and there were wonderful views of the Edmonton skyline, including the hotel that looks like a castle. The Muttard is also lit up at night and looks pretty spectacular. I will add in a few photos later as Natalia took some. I only went slightly out of control, then managed to stop myself and take in the scenery. The coach appeared again and watched me try to do a couple of turns. I'm really grateful for her help, I don't know why I was being such a scaredy cat. It's only a little hill but it seemed really big when I had no idea how to get down it other than rolling the whole way! Less than a minute, even at my slow wimpy speed, and I was at the bottom again. I felt much more confident now though and went round a few times, but always really slow. There were some other people there that Natalia knew who were snowboarding, maybe next month I should try that, but with a lesson as I've never done it before at all.
I guess having a ski slope downtown is brilliant for beginners, but any good skiers would want longer hills. it looks like a good place to learn snowboarding too as they had lots of jumps and half pipes and rails that we saw people attempting. I don't think i'd be doing any more than learning how to get down a hill if I gave it a go though, clearly these are just not sports I have any natural ability at!
Once we'd all reached our limit of skiing we went to get our free hot chocolate, then one of the other guys suggested we go to a bar downtown where some of their friends were. It was actually a couple I had met before, I even went to their house for a party in December so it was nice to meet them again sober. They were at a different branch of the Brewster's pub (the one with its own microbrewery) so I tried a couple of samples of barley wine and had a small drink of a different beer. I didn't feel like having a whole pint and I felt quite sleepy now I was inside in the warm. I got a lift home from Fred and Lucy as I remembered that their party was just up the road from me so that was really nice.
Hopefully I will still be able to get enough sleep before work tomorrow.
Thursday, 6 February 2014
Day 158: Thursday??
I do seem to lose track of what day it is at the moment.
I managed to get up reasonably early, feed Oscar, make sandwiches, do housework, and get ready to run. I was due to meet Daniel and his couchsurfer for today's run at 10:15, but his car ran out of petrol just up the road. a passing truck pulled in to let me know what had happened as I paced around trying to keep warm, then I saw them jogging up towards me. Well, I couldn't tell it was them at first, but saw Jimmy the dog bounding towards me having the time of his life, as usual.
We headed down into the trails and went north, over the footbridge and then north again. This was familiar territory to me for a while, until we reached the ravine I had run up last week and we went straight on instead. However, not long after this the trails started to get less well defined and occasionally had rivers of ice crossing our path, which we could mostly navigate by grabbing onto the tree branches and taking our time. It was "exciting" and I was very glad to be wearing my spikes. On at least one occasion, I went for crab walking on all fours to stay safe and at one point the only option was to slide down the ice on my bum. Daniel's couchsurfer is French and has been living in Vancouver so this is the coldest and snowiest run he has ever done. I think we picked a pretty good route to show off the river valley and another glorious sunny day.
Eventually we came out onto the McKinnon ravine trails (paved) that I have run along before on Sunday long runs and we could actually see our bridge back over the river. I started thinking I might actually make it on time to my bootcamp class after all. We crossed the river, followed another trail, then headed up a flight of stairs to the top of the lovely Emily Murphy hill, which is pretty close to the University. We parted ways and I changed into the vest and shorts I'd bought with me in a backpack and had a great time doing endless star jumps and stuff before switching back to running kit and jogging home for around three hours of exercise in total. Daniel and co. were still stuck waiting for gas the whole time and only managed to get away when I was on my way to work!
The time went fairly quickly at Starbucks. I learnt a few more things and I feel a bit like I'm starting to get the hang of it. Whenever I made a frapuccino and had some left over, I poured it into a cup for me to try. Unfortunately this meant having small amounts of caffeine and I've not been getting the best nights' sleep as it is so I'm not sure it was such a good idea. It also made me feel really cold so I had to counteract it with hot milk, usually with added syrupy goodness under the excuse of wanting to try everything. There was an extra banana choc chip muffin left at the end of the night that I volunteered to give a good home to as well. maybe it will become my breakfast. bananas are healthy.
Again, Oscar the cat had not done any of the chores I had asked him to, but at least he was slightly less hyper this evening so I could actually get myself ready for bed without too much hassle. Earlier today he had been climbing and jumping all over me as he bounced around the room. Crazy cat.
I managed to get up reasonably early, feed Oscar, make sandwiches, do housework, and get ready to run. I was due to meet Daniel and his couchsurfer for today's run at 10:15, but his car ran out of petrol just up the road. a passing truck pulled in to let me know what had happened as I paced around trying to keep warm, then I saw them jogging up towards me. Well, I couldn't tell it was them at first, but saw Jimmy the dog bounding towards me having the time of his life, as usual.
We headed down into the trails and went north, over the footbridge and then north again. This was familiar territory to me for a while, until we reached the ravine I had run up last week and we went straight on instead. However, not long after this the trails started to get less well defined and occasionally had rivers of ice crossing our path, which we could mostly navigate by grabbing onto the tree branches and taking our time. It was "exciting" and I was very glad to be wearing my spikes. On at least one occasion, I went for crab walking on all fours to stay safe and at one point the only option was to slide down the ice on my bum. Daniel's couchsurfer is French and has been living in Vancouver so this is the coldest and snowiest run he has ever done. I think we picked a pretty good route to show off the river valley and another glorious sunny day.
Eventually we came out onto the McKinnon ravine trails (paved) that I have run along before on Sunday long runs and we could actually see our bridge back over the river. I started thinking I might actually make it on time to my bootcamp class after all. We crossed the river, followed another trail, then headed up a flight of stairs to the top of the lovely Emily Murphy hill, which is pretty close to the University. We parted ways and I changed into the vest and shorts I'd bought with me in a backpack and had a great time doing endless star jumps and stuff before switching back to running kit and jogging home for around three hours of exercise in total. Daniel and co. were still stuck waiting for gas the whole time and only managed to get away when I was on my way to work!
The time went fairly quickly at Starbucks. I learnt a few more things and I feel a bit like I'm starting to get the hang of it. Whenever I made a frapuccino and had some left over, I poured it into a cup for me to try. Unfortunately this meant having small amounts of caffeine and I've not been getting the best nights' sleep as it is so I'm not sure it was such a good idea. It also made me feel really cold so I had to counteract it with hot milk, usually with added syrupy goodness under the excuse of wanting to try everything. There was an extra banana choc chip muffin left at the end of the night that I volunteered to give a good home to as well. maybe it will become my breakfast. bananas are healthy.
Again, Oscar the cat had not done any of the chores I had asked him to, but at least he was slightly less hyper this evening so I could actually get myself ready for bed without too much hassle. Earlier today he had been climbing and jumping all over me as he bounced around the room. Crazy cat.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Day 157: Death race tips
Today was my day shift at the running room and it was reasonably quiet. I found myself a few jobs to do but there was a lot of just hanging about talking nonsense.
I forgot that I was going to pop to the ski shop nextdoor at lunchtime to buy some really thick socks but I was a bit sleepy. Someone popped out for coffee mid-morning and I got a mocha, which helped and made me feel a bit bouncier but there still wasn't heaps to do. Two of the girls I helped with shoes were in a team for Death Race and one had done it before so it was good to chat to them and they gave me a good lead for where to buy some of the kit I will need. I will investigate after my next pay cheque.
after work was run club. the scheduled session was 4x1.6k reps, which I was dreading slightly after last week's speed work as I could see myself being a good minute slower than I should be. however, because it was so cold out, they changed the session to 3 hill reps back on Emily Murphy. Only three meant we could hit each one really hard, but after three, a few of us said "why don't we do one more?". hooray! more running! it was amazing how quickly I felt warm once I started sprinting up a really long hill so one more seemed fine.
I also got offered a lift home, which probably helped a lot, as did the free hot chocolate that the store manager dug out for us all on our return. As it had been such a short set, I got home fairly early so had time to do laundry and finish the washing up.
I forgot that I was going to pop to the ski shop nextdoor at lunchtime to buy some really thick socks but I was a bit sleepy. Someone popped out for coffee mid-morning and I got a mocha, which helped and made me feel a bit bouncier but there still wasn't heaps to do. Two of the girls I helped with shoes were in a team for Death Race and one had done it before so it was good to chat to them and they gave me a good lead for where to buy some of the kit I will need. I will investigate after my next pay cheque.
after work was run club. the scheduled session was 4x1.6k reps, which I was dreading slightly after last week's speed work as I could see myself being a good minute slower than I should be. however, because it was so cold out, they changed the session to 3 hill reps back on Emily Murphy. Only three meant we could hit each one really hard, but after three, a few of us said "why don't we do one more?". hooray! more running! it was amazing how quickly I felt warm once I started sprinting up a really long hill so one more seemed fine.
I also got offered a lift home, which probably helped a lot, as did the free hot chocolate that the store manager dug out for us all on our return. As it had been such a short set, I got home fairly early so had time to do laundry and finish the washing up.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
Day 156: back to running
this morning I was not woken up to the sounds of Oscar whining and complaining. I was even slightly concerned that something might have happened to him, but he was there waiting for me as soon as I opened my door. maybe I am free of the cat alarm clock!
For my breakfasts I have been working through all the eggs left by my housemates and am hoping to have time to sort through the fridge properly as I think there is all sorts of food gone off or close to. My main task was to try and catch up on the pile of washing up left behind as it will just get nasty if I leave it.
I didn't leave as early as I wanted to for today's exercise class, so I didn't have quite as much time for running round the track beforehand. plus I lost count so i'm not sure how far I actually ran, but I did test out actually running in the minimal shoes I bought cheap for wearing at the Running Room. it wasn't too bad over a few short intervals, but I don't really have the right run technique so I imagine it would get painful on my feet after a while unless I change my running style.
There was a guy also running at the track who I recognised from the shop as he is a sponsored athlete so got his shoes for free. he's a Kenyan originally and crazy fast.
The class was good and I decided to try finding a different route home. I think it was quicker and I had time to cook a proper lunch and freeze leftovers as well as wash my hair before heading out to Starbucks.
I was dreading my shift, but it actually wasn't as bad as last week. Sometimes people spoke to me, and they even taught me a few things which was very helpful. I invented myself an off the menu frappucino, but then I was so cold I had to wear my jacket and make myself some steamed milk. It was lucky I had my jacket with me as its turned colder again this week.
They offered me the left over green tea that would otherwise get dumped, but I forgot to pick it up when I left.
When I got home I was worried about what I may find as I thought I might have accidentally shut Oscar in my room when I went out. I hadn't seen him in the flat and I usually have to throw him back inside as he tries to follow me out. Luckily what I found was Oscar sitting near the door and my room door open. I think this means he can open my room from the inside but not from the outside. Phew.
Early start tomorrow and I must remember to bring my running kit... hopefully i'll settle into a routine quickly.
For my breakfasts I have been working through all the eggs left by my housemates and am hoping to have time to sort through the fridge properly as I think there is all sorts of food gone off or close to. My main task was to try and catch up on the pile of washing up left behind as it will just get nasty if I leave it.
I didn't leave as early as I wanted to for today's exercise class, so I didn't have quite as much time for running round the track beforehand. plus I lost count so i'm not sure how far I actually ran, but I did test out actually running in the minimal shoes I bought cheap for wearing at the Running Room. it wasn't too bad over a few short intervals, but I don't really have the right run technique so I imagine it would get painful on my feet after a while unless I change my running style.
There was a guy also running at the track who I recognised from the shop as he is a sponsored athlete so got his shoes for free. he's a Kenyan originally and crazy fast.
The class was good and I decided to try finding a different route home. I think it was quicker and I had time to cook a proper lunch and freeze leftovers as well as wash my hair before heading out to Starbucks.
I was dreading my shift, but it actually wasn't as bad as last week. Sometimes people spoke to me, and they even taught me a few things which was very helpful. I invented myself an off the menu frappucino, but then I was so cold I had to wear my jacket and make myself some steamed milk. It was lucky I had my jacket with me as its turned colder again this week.
They offered me the left over green tea that would otherwise get dumped, but I forgot to pick it up when I left.
When I got home I was worried about what I may find as I thought I might have accidentally shut Oscar in my room when I went out. I hadn't seen him in the flat and I usually have to throw him back inside as he tries to follow me out. Luckily what I found was Oscar sitting near the door and my room door open. I think this means he can open my room from the inside but not from the outside. Phew.
Early start tomorrow and I must remember to bring my running kit... hopefully i'll settle into a routine quickly.
Day 155: February schedule
I made a start on housework and general catching up in the morning, then headed out to the running room. hopefully 1-9:30 will be a better shift than the Starbucks 10:30 finish. I certainly get to chat more as people will talk in English. There was even dancing today!
My Friday shift at Starbucks should also be a bit nicer as i'll finish at 5:30 instead of the 9:30 Running Room shift. An actual evening off!
I didn't bring any food so went to the café across the road and tried their veggie chilli on Robyn's recommendation, it was almost like a ratatouille as it had lots of yummy veg in it. I got my book back from Brent but lent it to Garrit next. Its nice to have people to share in-jokes with.
As it was fairly quiet, we managed to get everything done in record time and finished early, hooray!
I stopped by Safeways to get a few bits, which turned into quite a big shop. when I got home, the front door was ajar... I think Oscar has learnt how to open it but it's too cold for him to actually try and escape.
He must be very bored and lonely as he always wants loads of attention when I am home. I think i'm doing fairly well at keeping him alive but he has pulled up loads of the carpet outside my door while trying to wake me up in the mornings.
My Friday shift at Starbucks should also be a bit nicer as i'll finish at 5:30 instead of the 9:30 Running Room shift. An actual evening off!
I didn't bring any food so went to the café across the road and tried their veggie chilli on Robyn's recommendation, it was almost like a ratatouille as it had lots of yummy veg in it. I got my book back from Brent but lent it to Garrit next. Its nice to have people to share in-jokes with.
As it was fairly quiet, we managed to get everything done in record time and finished early, hooray!
I stopped by Safeways to get a few bits, which turned into quite a big shop. when I got home, the front door was ajar... I think Oscar has learnt how to open it but it's too cold for him to actually try and escape.
He must be very bored and lonely as he always wants loads of attention when I am home. I think i'm doing fairly well at keeping him alive but he has pulled up loads of the carpet outside my door while trying to wake me up in the mornings.
Monday, 3 February 2014
Day 154: superbowl sunday
I woke to the sound of Oscar's desperate meowing and jumping at my door, and panicked that i'd missed my alarm, but luckily no, he was just really hungry/bored and it was still very early.
I was getting picked up at 8:05 to go to the water park at the mall. Andrew had got tickets through his work for $5 each instead of the usual $35 or so, an offer not to be missed!
There were five of us going and we started with the wave pool. The waves were actually surprisingly big! then when the waves stopped, we went to go on the rapids as we wanted to start off with the easy rides and build up to the big scary ones. There was quite a long line, but eventually we got our three-seater rubber rings and were sloshed gently back down again, although we crashed at the bottom. the stairs up to the flumes are a bit of a maze, so we weren't really sure which ride we were heading for next until we got there. Turns out it was a line for the most scary of all the rides, or a nice gentle twisty one. As there was no wait for the scary one, Andrew went round two or three times while we waited for the easier one. We weren't feeling brave enough yet. Even watching people get "launched" on the scary purple ride was pretty nervewracking as they are put into a clear tube, then there is a three second countdown and the floor disappears, dropping you vertically. There are two other vertical drop slides, but this one had an actual loop the loop!
The next one we chose was a really steep slope and you sit on a yellow board and get chucked down the slope and skim over the pool at the bottom. I don't know whether I was being especially wussy as I was tired and dehydrated but it was pretty scary! Awesome though!
The next one was another gentle twisty flume. By this point I had decided wearing goggles would be a better idea and felt much less scared. Then we went on a blue one that was a fairly short but steep tube opening out into a bowl, you end up shooting round and round the bowl a couple of times, so fast you are stuck as a starfish, then eventually you drop through the bottom into a pool. It was pretty funny watching people whizzing round from the top and fun to do as well.
Then we went on a purple slide that looked pretty scary. I feel less scared of the tubes than the open slides and this one had three big bumps on it, where you actually ended up launched off the slide and into mid air briefly each time. eeek!
We had another go on the blue bowl, but time was flying. I thought we'd be in the park a couple of hours and then home and I was planning on running in the afternoon to make up for missing run club. already it was nearly 12pm though. I thought I should be brave and go on one of the scary ones. I decided on the blue one, as it was a tube at least. It was next to an identically steep open slide, which I definitely didn't want to do, and I thought I needed more time to psyche myself up for the purple loop-the-loop one! Unfortunately, I went up the steps to the slide on my own, then realised this one also had the tube with the countdown and disappearing floor, so with no one to egg me on, I just snuck back down the stairs again. maybe i'll go back to the water park another time.
After we managed to get showered and dressed again, which was a bit of a nightmare as it was so busy, we decided to get lunch in the mall, I drunk about a litre of water which perked me up a bit, and then I got a cinnamon roll for dessert as well.
Alana wanted to spy on the bridal shops in the mall as it is her line of work, so we headed to that end of the mall, but kept getting distracted by chocolate shops and ice cream. Me and Emily bought an amazing ice cream as it was just too tempting: they take a vanilla ice cream on a stick and dunk it in white chocolate, then milk chocolate, then roll it in sprinkles! it was pretty magical!
Then we found the British store, which was exciting! there was a lovely Scottish lady working there and they had..... extra strong mints!!! hooray! my supplies (courtesy of Stas) had been running low so I was very very happy and bought several rolls.
After wandering past some dress shops for Alana's spying, we finally headed back to the car and home.
I had been invited round to Ian's for a Superbowl party, so I had to sort out my swimming kit and head out to his place with a bottle of wine and some cookies for sharing fairly quickly. Lee also reminded me that we were going to watch a film so I suggested later that evening after the Superbowl. The was only one person at Ian's place that I had met before but they were a lovely group of people and they had bought some really delicious food including calamari, yummy cheese filled filo pastry, veggies and dips. The Superbowl was on the telly and a few people were actually watching it, but mostly we were just chatting. It seems one team was much better at doing sport than the other team and scored a lot more, which made some people happy and some people sad. once the sport was finished I headed back home again, where I met Lee to watch possibly the worst film ever. It was actually incredible how bad it was, I was stunned and couldn't understand how this had happened. I was in equal parts horrified at how I would never get this time back and impressed that such a hilariously bad film exists. (its called The Room if anyone wants to make up their own opinions). Oscar mostly hid under Tim's bed but eventually he was coaxed out and even let Lee pet him a bit. shortly before Lee arrived, he had been really hyper and I was playing with him, watching him chase around the room like a luntic, then instantly, he bolted and hid under the bed, skulking so I could only see his glowing Gollum eyes. Once he got used to Lee, he came out of Tim's room, but still kept his distance and kept low, sneaking around behind the sofa. Bless.
It was a pretty hectic but fun day, and late by the time Lee left and I went to bed. As I had been so busy, I had done no housework or anything and I was quite tired, so I decided not to set my alarm too early and not to go running. I know i'm behind on my training but i'm still getting used to the crazy hours i'm working and I had a great weekend so its worth it.
I was getting picked up at 8:05 to go to the water park at the mall. Andrew had got tickets through his work for $5 each instead of the usual $35 or so, an offer not to be missed!
There were five of us going and we started with the wave pool. The waves were actually surprisingly big! then when the waves stopped, we went to go on the rapids as we wanted to start off with the easy rides and build up to the big scary ones. There was quite a long line, but eventually we got our three-seater rubber rings and were sloshed gently back down again, although we crashed at the bottom. the stairs up to the flumes are a bit of a maze, so we weren't really sure which ride we were heading for next until we got there. Turns out it was a line for the most scary of all the rides, or a nice gentle twisty one. As there was no wait for the scary one, Andrew went round two or three times while we waited for the easier one. We weren't feeling brave enough yet. Even watching people get "launched" on the scary purple ride was pretty nervewracking as they are put into a clear tube, then there is a three second countdown and the floor disappears, dropping you vertically. There are two other vertical drop slides, but this one had an actual loop the loop!
The next one we chose was a really steep slope and you sit on a yellow board and get chucked down the slope and skim over the pool at the bottom. I don't know whether I was being especially wussy as I was tired and dehydrated but it was pretty scary! Awesome though!
The next one was another gentle twisty flume. By this point I had decided wearing goggles would be a better idea and felt much less scared. Then we went on a blue one that was a fairly short but steep tube opening out into a bowl, you end up shooting round and round the bowl a couple of times, so fast you are stuck as a starfish, then eventually you drop through the bottom into a pool. It was pretty funny watching people whizzing round from the top and fun to do as well.
Then we went on a purple slide that looked pretty scary. I feel less scared of the tubes than the open slides and this one had three big bumps on it, where you actually ended up launched off the slide and into mid air briefly each time. eeek!
We had another go on the blue bowl, but time was flying. I thought we'd be in the park a couple of hours and then home and I was planning on running in the afternoon to make up for missing run club. already it was nearly 12pm though. I thought I should be brave and go on one of the scary ones. I decided on the blue one, as it was a tube at least. It was next to an identically steep open slide, which I definitely didn't want to do, and I thought I needed more time to psyche myself up for the purple loop-the-loop one! Unfortunately, I went up the steps to the slide on my own, then realised this one also had the tube with the countdown and disappearing floor, so with no one to egg me on, I just snuck back down the stairs again. maybe i'll go back to the water park another time.
After we managed to get showered and dressed again, which was a bit of a nightmare as it was so busy, we decided to get lunch in the mall, I drunk about a litre of water which perked me up a bit, and then I got a cinnamon roll for dessert as well.
Alana wanted to spy on the bridal shops in the mall as it is her line of work, so we headed to that end of the mall, but kept getting distracted by chocolate shops and ice cream. Me and Emily bought an amazing ice cream as it was just too tempting: they take a vanilla ice cream on a stick and dunk it in white chocolate, then milk chocolate, then roll it in sprinkles! it was pretty magical!
Then we found the British store, which was exciting! there was a lovely Scottish lady working there and they had..... extra strong mints!!! hooray! my supplies (courtesy of Stas) had been running low so I was very very happy and bought several rolls.
After wandering past some dress shops for Alana's spying, we finally headed back to the car and home.
I had been invited round to Ian's for a Superbowl party, so I had to sort out my swimming kit and head out to his place with a bottle of wine and some cookies for sharing fairly quickly. Lee also reminded me that we were going to watch a film so I suggested later that evening after the Superbowl. The was only one person at Ian's place that I had met before but they were a lovely group of people and they had bought some really delicious food including calamari, yummy cheese filled filo pastry, veggies and dips. The Superbowl was on the telly and a few people were actually watching it, but mostly we were just chatting. It seems one team was much better at doing sport than the other team and scored a lot more, which made some people happy and some people sad. once the sport was finished I headed back home again, where I met Lee to watch possibly the worst film ever. It was actually incredible how bad it was, I was stunned and couldn't understand how this had happened. I was in equal parts horrified at how I would never get this time back and impressed that such a hilariously bad film exists. (its called The Room if anyone wants to make up their own opinions). Oscar mostly hid under Tim's bed but eventually he was coaxed out and even let Lee pet him a bit. shortly before Lee arrived, he had been really hyper and I was playing with him, watching him chase around the room like a luntic, then instantly, he bolted and hid under the bed, skulking so I could only see his glowing Gollum eyes. Once he got used to Lee, he came out of Tim's room, but still kept his distance and kept low, sneaking around behind the sofa. Bless.
It was a pretty hectic but fun day, and late by the time Lee left and I went to bed. As I had been so busy, I had done no housework or anything and I was quite tired, so I decided not to set my alarm too early and not to go running. I know i'm behind on my training but i'm still getting used to the crazy hours i'm working and I had a great weekend so its worth it.
Day 153: Cat alarm clock
for some reason, my shift today started at 12 instead of 9:30, so I thought about getting up and going for a run but decided to try and sleep in instead. however, Oscar had other ideas and started meowing outside my door asking for breakfast from quite early in the morning. when that didn't get him anywhere he started trying to break the door down. I refused to get up for a little while, then eventually crawled out of bed to feed him and myself.
I spent the morning looking for potential new jobs and volunteer opportunities before rushing out to work. I had one particularly nice customer who was just starting to run outside in winter instead of on a treadmill so he needed a whole set of kit, and I persuaded him to join the free run groups as well.
After work, Ahmed was having a party for his birthday, so I was planning on heading downtown to join that once i'd eaten and looked after Oscar. Then I noticed that he was actually planning on going out to a club so I had to rethink my plans slightly. In the end, Steve came and picked up three of us on the way to Ahmed's place so I didn't have to get a train.
He and Walid live in a huge lovely apartment fairly close to downtown and right on the river valley. I learnt how to play beer pong, which me and Amie discovered we had a talent for, then we had cake and candles and singing for Ahmed. I also found out that Amie only came back from Germany fairly recently, 2nd September to be exact... on the same flight as me and Aimee!! wow!
We then all went to the club as Ahmed had arranged for us to get in for free. It wasn't a great club, but we danced (for some reason couchsurfers all end up salsa dancing etc. when we go out, whatever the music) and some Chinese dragons came out onto the dance floor as well. We had a fantastic time, but Steve took a few of us home quite early, at about 1:30 as we had to get up early the next day.
I spent the morning looking for potential new jobs and volunteer opportunities before rushing out to work. I had one particularly nice customer who was just starting to run outside in winter instead of on a treadmill so he needed a whole set of kit, and I persuaded him to join the free run groups as well.
After work, Ahmed was having a party for his birthday, so I was planning on heading downtown to join that once i'd eaten and looked after Oscar. Then I noticed that he was actually planning on going out to a club so I had to rethink my plans slightly. In the end, Steve came and picked up three of us on the way to Ahmed's place so I didn't have to get a train.
He and Walid live in a huge lovely apartment fairly close to downtown and right on the river valley. I learnt how to play beer pong, which me and Amie discovered we had a talent for, then we had cake and candles and singing for Ahmed. I also found out that Amie only came back from Germany fairly recently, 2nd September to be exact... on the same flight as me and Aimee!! wow!
We then all went to the club as Ahmed had arranged for us to get in for free. It wasn't a great club, but we danced (for some reason couchsurfers all end up salsa dancing etc. when we go out, whatever the music) and some Chinese dragons came out onto the dance floor as well. We had a fantastic time, but Steve took a few of us home quite early, at about 1:30 as we had to get up early the next day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)