March 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
(Run)
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We blew through the blizzards in Mt Vernon and Bellingham…. When we arrived in Vancouver, the clouds disappeared and the sun was shining. We went for a jaunt on the seawall to kick off Girls Weekend. The West End of Vancouver is a high-density, urban center. It is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever seen… And, I can’t get over how many people have DOGS living with them in apartments. All shapes and sizes of dogs. Good on them for doing what it takes to get the poochies out for some exercise. Walk on!
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/30/2008
- Total Time: 00:46:00.00
- Distance: 5.09 miles
- Average Pace: 9:02.17/mile
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March 29th, 2008 at 9:24 am
(Run)
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Dorrie arrived by plane from Calgary! We stopped at Green Lake to do a short run (so she can stay on schedule for her marathon training) - and got a coffee! What a grand start!
Up to Vancouver we go. We’ve got tickets to a reception with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love (an extraordinary book!)… A swank hotel is booked with a guaranteed view of the ocean and Northshore mountains. We’ll meet up with Paula for some fine dining and wine…. Toes may be painted…. Sleeping in is a definite plan…. Lots of laughs are a must….. And we’ll be sure to visit the best coffee shop in the world, Delaney’s on Denman.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh………………………………………
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/29/2008
- Time: 09:24:34
- Total Time: 00:39:00.00
- Distance: 4.25 miles
- Average Pace: 9:10.46/mile
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March 27th, 2008 at 8:43 pm
(Swim)
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The tri gang was swimming later - but I could barely stay awake after work…… So, we hit the pool earlier and scored a lane to myself. We did a mile - making sure we paid homage to Mark (coach extraordinaire) doing a dose of drills. The dragging-thumbs drill……the distance-per-stroke drill…..the one-eye-out-of-the-water drill……… I know they work however I sure feel like Sport Goofy doing them….clumsy, clumsy, clumsy. One day they’ll feel easy and smooth??? :-)
Whatever it takes, right? 
Workout:
- Type: Swim
- Date: 03/27/2008
- Time: 20:43:25
- Total Time: 00:45:00.00
- Distance: 1,742.4 yd
- Average Pace: 2:33.79/100yd
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March 26th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
(Run)
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As if the Girl Scout pushers and their delicious Thin Mints aren’t enough. March also brings Easter……which brings Cadbury Mini Eggs (and the evil (and yummy) facsimile: Hershey’s Eggs). Good grief. A girl only has so much will power.
Good thing the rain broke. Bean & I went for a good run on the trail. Bring on the eggs! (Eggs are good for us, aren’t they?)
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/26/2008
- Time: 13:31:31
- Total Time: 00:58:00.00
- Distance: 6.1 miles
- Average Pace: 9:30.52/mile
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March 25th, 2008 at 11:05 am
(Cycle)
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This God-Mother gig is the best! First it was being the first person to get a giggle. Then it was taking her to ‘water-babies’ class…..and NOW, it’s Baby Loves Disco. These moms sure have it figured out! One Saturday afternoon a month, the dance club called “Heaven” in Seattle transforms itself into a rockin’ disco for moms and dads - and the respective 80’s flashback god-parents!- to let loose! Our next outing is April 19th - and I can’t wait! They play the classic 70’s disco and new-wave hits from the early 80’s! Oh yeah!
Down with Barney! Good-bye Wiggles! Let’s get those kids singing the best of Depeche Mode and Erasure! How proud would I be to hear something from New Order as the kidlet’s first song!!!! Ahhhh, such high hopes!
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/25/2008
- Time: 11:05:26
- Total Time: 00:30:00.00
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March 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am
(Run)
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I love that adding sprints kicks up my ‘average pace’! Now, if only……………….
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/25/2008
- Time: 10:54:17
- Total Time: 00:30:00.00
- Distance: 4 miles
- Average Pace: 7:30/mile
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March 24th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
(Cycle, Run)
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There they are. Every spring! The tulips in my back yard have poked their heads up to say ‘We’re Here!’ Just today I realize how much I’ve come to rely on them. I rely on them to bring in the message of longer days, sunnier afternoons, and to put away the winter wear. I rely on them to put a smile on my face. I rely on them for a sense of well-being. I rely on them to have me stop, take a breath, and remember that (try as we might to force it), all good things do come in time ~ and, moreoften without any help from us forcing them!
Tulips, particularly closed ones, have long been my favorite flower. There’s something about their simplicity - held up by their sturdy stem - that reminds me that we don’t need much to be happy or beautiful…. and that beauty is all about growing towards light.
Hokey? Perhaps. But if you’ve ever seen the fields and fields and fields of tulips in the Mount Vernon, WA, area during the month of April, you know what I’m talking about.
Reliability is a good thing.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 03/24/2008
- Time: 13:51:32
- Total Time: 1:00:00.00
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March 23rd, 2008 at 5:42 pm
(Run)
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Yay! The rains finally broke! Although there were some bold headwinds, it was delightful to run hard in the sun! Happy Easter to all!
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/23/2008
- Time: 17:42:52
- Total Time: 00:53:00.00
- Distance: 5.6 miles
- Average Pace: 9:27.82/mile
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March 23rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
(Walk)
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I just returned from a coast-to-coast work trip that landed me in Suffolk, Virginia. I ended up power-walking for exercise as schedules (and time zones) had me off kilter. That said, I’m grateful! There was so much to see and learn. I was raised in Canada so I’m still learning the history of the US - and how it impacts so much of what we feel and do today.
One of the sights I took time to visit was ‘Riddick’s Folly’ - a beautiful home built in 1837. It has been turned into a museum - a labor of love - for one man named Lee, his wife, and their community. They have spent their energy and money finding original furniture and decor from the Riddick family - supplementing it with other period and regional pieces from the era. Oh my gosh, it was fantastic!
And - it wasn’t the furniture or the artwork that struck a cord… it was the history.
As Lee lovingly showed me around, he shared what the house had seen. He shared the letters that have been found from the Riddick sons who went off to fight in the Civil War, and the stories of the family left behind.
One letter particularly struck a chord… it was a letter written to his wife by one of the Riddick boys on the day before he died in battle. As he was reciting the story, my tour guide Lee was so moved he choked up. In his letter describing brothers fighting brothers, families fighting families, Young Riddick wrote, ‘our country is bleeding’.
I am so grateful for my tour guide Lee - and his passion for keeping this house alive for us to share. I am grateful that Lee is willing to keep telling the stories. I do not consider myself political - I’m a Canadian so I can’t even vote in this country. And, my wish is that we keep telling these stories so that we all can learn from them. No matter where we live. My wish is that one day we’ll learn enough from the past - that we will stop repeating it.
So - If you ever make it to Suffolk, call on Lee. As I mentioned, this post is no political statement… It’s just a random thought, no, a gut-feeling that Lee’s ties to the past are perhaps something we need to build a strong future. www.riddicksfolly.org
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 03/23/2008
- Time: 15:20:37
- Total Time: 2:00:00.00
- Distance: 7.8 miles
- Average Pace: 15:23.08/mile
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March 15th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
(Run)
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I’m still new to this ‘technology’ and social networking thing…… so I’m sure I’ve not yet learned how to take full advantage of all the ways it will save the planet.
That said, I have learned one thing for sure……It sure can suck you down.
I imagine it’s like falling into a crevasse on a glacier……… one minute you’re walking along, enjoying the view…. the next minute you’re slipping and falling 50 feet into the cold dark crack that keeps getting narrower and narrower……. The trouble is that nobody’s tied me in with ropes. I’m gone forever as the earth and the ice ebb and flow around me.
It is truly amazing how much crap you can find on YouTube………and how one little tidbit leads directly to another (equally enthralling) tidbit… to another….and another…. If it weren’t for food and water and biology, why would anyone ever need to come up for air? There’s comedy. There’s tragedy. There’s intrigue. There’s song and dance. There’s a ‘how-to’ video for the most expedient way to peel an egg. Who needs real life?
A whole world to explore and get lost in. Like a crevasse.
(Epilogue: I’m safely out. Phewf!)
Workout:
- Type: Run
- Date: 03/15/2008
- Time: 15:40:08
- Total Time: 00:41:00.00
- Distance: 5.2 miles
- Average Pace: 7:53.06/mile
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