Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Running

It is is obviously time for me to start running again. Last night I was feeling quite restless so I decided to go for a little walk. Not a very long one, it was only about a 3 km loop. Just something to get me out of the house for a few minutes.

Once I was out on the path by the river, I no longer felt like walking. I wanted to run. Just run flat out and stretch my legs, watch the scenery fly by me. I felt the need to move.

Only problem was, I wasn't dressed for running. No matter how tight I do up my belt, my pants still slip. I was wearing skater shoes and a hoodie as well. No, I wasn't dressed at all for running. And I ran anyway.

I ran until my pants were falling down and lungs were hurting. Then I pulled up my pants and ran a bit further. I did this for the whole 3 km and I realized that I must have fallen in love with running even though I haven't run since the half-marathon a year ago. I never would have thought that it was possible for me.

I went home, and I fell asleep. And when I woke up this morning and saw the rain, I thought - I can run in this. It's not that bad.

So, I need to set a reasonable goal. I want to start, but being able to run the full 3km loop I did last night. I'd like to do it in under 15 min.

Then I am going find a 5km route and practice that till I can run it straight through as well. And then I am going to keep going. Moving up the distance, trying to shorten the time. I'd like to be able to run a 10 km race in under an hour.

Yup. I have goals. And those little goals are going to get me to my next half-marathon. The Hypothermic Half in Calgary in Jan/Feb.

Oh, and as a bonus, my foot only bothered me a little bit during and after the run. Whatever is wrong with it, it's not doing too bad so away I go.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Adventures of the Midnight Walker

Last night, I went for a walk in the rain. I hadn't planned on walking in the rain, but when I left my place at 19h30 to head out to games night I knew that it was a real possibility. There was also a possibility that one of the guys might be able to give me a ride home, but I wasn't counting on it. The Doc had given me the okay to walk and I was going to do just that. Games night was a great success, played a couple of fun games and had a good time. Win or lose, I usually have a great time because every usually plays fair.

22h20 and the night was over. It had started raining earlier and none of the usuals were around to give me a ride home. That was okay, I came from a rainy place and my ancestors came from a rainy place. I wasn't going to melt.

I donned my hoodie and hiking shoes and off I went. It wasn't pouring buckets, it was just a nice moderate rain. Almost a light rain at times. The slight breeze was a problem, but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't just ignore the slight chill.

It wasn't long into the walk that I noticed the mist. Although it hadn't been a warm day the surface temperature was obviously much higher than that of the rain. In the sickly orange glow of the street lights - and the occasional more welcoming glow of a porch light - I could see the soft cloud shifting and dancing it's way across the road.

As the wind picked up the dance became more violent and towers of mist rose up towards their brethren in the sky. Not quite reaching high enough before disappearing. The occasional passing car stirred the mist up even more.

It was this beauty that I wondered at as I walked. I ignored the pain in my heel from where my shoe rubbed against it. I ignored the chill of the wind and the pervasive dampness that numbed my skin. I focused on the little bits of wonder around me.

Eventually I was home, soaked to the skin, heel bleeding, but pretty much happy all the same. Happy and with a hot drink in hand.

I was happy because of the mist that kept trying to reach for the sky. Happy that I was able to walk at all.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Adventures of the Socially Inept

Just the other day I went plant shopping with a friend. There was a wholesale greenhouse that was having a one day retail sale. We decided to go check it out. Neither of us needed much, but it was something to do.

When we got there she realized that the greenhouse only took cash or credit - no debit. I gave her the okay to abandon me to go find some cash so I wandered around on my own for a bit. Mostly sticking by the herbs and veggies since I have a preference for useful plants.
A very tall and rather cute guy started talking to me. He had volunteered to help out at the sale (the proceeds were going to local highschool sports team). He was joking around and of course I played along.

Every time he walked by he made a point of talking to me. Mostly joking, sometimes leaning towards serious. When my friend returned he left, but every time she walked away to check out another plant, he was back talking to me.

He even made a joke about how he should have worn a muscle shirt and walked around flexing his pecs as he asked people if they needed help carrying things. Unfortunatly, we left soon after and my friend turned to me to asked if I had gotten his name and number.
"Wait, so he was hitting on me?" I stopped and frowned. "I was wondering about that. I mean, he could just be nice. But he really was cute wasn't he?"

My friend rolled her eyes and just walked on ahead,

So there you have it my friends. I spent fifteen minutes chatting with a hot guy who was hitting on me and I didn't even realize. Perhaps if I had, I'd be going out on a date this friday instead of staying home like always.

Friday, May 11, 2012

365 Photos: Days 7, 8, 9 & 10

Day Seven - May 5th, 2012



I spent the entire weekend waiting on puppies. Ended up reading the entire Hunger Games trilogy as I waited for my dog to go into labour. By the time I realized there was no puppies coming this day, the sun was setting over the town.

Day Eight - May 6th, 2012



And here is where I spent a good deal of the weekend. Sunday night didn't involve much sleep. Almost no sleep really. Although I left this comfy recliner for a bed, I should have just stayed in the chair. It would have come to the same thing.

Day Nine - May 7th, 2012



Although I went home to sleep, the actual sleep eluded me. Instead I got a call saying that my dog was starting some light labour pains. I called around for a ride, but no luck. So I decided to walk from my city to the town where my dog (and her breeder) live. I was maybe another thirty or forty minutes out when a pizza delivery guy offered me a ride. I had been walking for about 1h30m maybe 1h40m at that point.

Day Ten - May 8th, 2012



As you can tell from reading the clock, I took this picture on the way to work in the morning. It more represents the week and not just the day. Still, it was a yet another day of waiting on Naven to deliver the puppies.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

365 Photos: Days 4, 5 & 6

Day Four - May 2nd, 2012



Yet another exhausting day. Not so much because of work, but because I was Naven sitting. This isn't a very special or artsy picture. It's just a picture of the dog that will soon be mine, laying around with a belly full of puppies.

She's due any day now and I was on Naven watch just in case she went into labour early while my friend (and registered Standard Poodle breeder) took her show dog up to the handler to go to a show in Saskatoon.

Day Five - May 3rd, 2012



This is the night that I finally got some sleep. I didn't take a picture of that. I took a picture of the reason why my calves are killing me. Morning and afternoon break times are no longer the time where I sit at my computer and play on pinterest. Now I climb up and down those stairs for my fifteen minute breaks.

That's right, look at those five stories worth of climbing I'm doing!

Day Six - May 4th, 2012



This is my lunch hour. A leisurely stroll up a moderate hill. It's not much for me to do this, but it's still moving, it's still burning calories and as my walking buddy gets better at this hill, we'll start adding more distance to this walk!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Over 1/2 Way There

Today at my weigh-in I hit a new low. Or high. It depends on your point of view. I weighed in at my lowest weight thus far in my journey. In fact, I passed the 1/2 way mark of my journey.

Which means, I ought to celebrate. I don't know how to celebrate this milestone, but I really ought to.

I do have to say one thing. I thought I'd feel more triumphant. Invigorated to continue onwards - in truth, I'm just tired. It's been a hard week. I'm quite sore from busting my butt to walk 9km as fast as I could. And I'm feeling kind of "meh" about other areas in my life.

The first 20, 25 and 30 lbs. I felt more excited about all of those. I think I won't be feeling celebratory until I start registering a weight under 200 lbs. That is one of the things I know I've been looking forward to the most.

I've also got to start training for the half-marathon that I want to do in January/February. The Hypothermic Half in Calgary. That should be a goal that I am eager to get started on. Unfortunately, I haven't started training. Can't wait to see the results once I start training for that. I need to get started on it.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

365 Photos: Days 1, 2 & 3

In case you're wondering, I am doing some photo altering, nothing too hard. Basic stuff really.

Day One - April 29th, 2012




This was my thirty-first birthday and as you can see, this picture has nothing to do with that because I didn't celebrate my birthday. Actually, I never really celebrate my birthday. Not since I was sixteen at least.

What I did on this day wasn't much. It was my last full day in the Vancouver area as I had to drive home to Alberta the next day. I went to White Rock and said good bye to the ocean, I went to a fashion show, had dinner with my parents and packed for my early morning take off (gone before 6am).

As you can see, this picture represents my location, which is really what the day was all about. My last day with my family in the Vancouver area. This is the White Rock Beach pier. Good-bye ocean for at least a year.

Day Two - April 30th, 2012




All day we drove with only a few stops to stretch, sightsee, eat, switch drivers and fuel up. It rained for pretty much the entire drive through British Columbia. We took the old Crowsnest Highway - a much longer drive than taking the TransCanada and Yellowhead - which is a beautiful drive.

I could have chosen a lot of pictures to represent this day. From the road, to the mountains, to the ruins and windmills. I had a lot of choices. I chose this picture of the road and mountains through a rainy windshield. It really does represent the day the best. I like how the rain blurs everything. And in some ways the day really was a blur!

Day Three – May 1st, 2012




The first day back at work was a hard one. I was dead tired. Working through a fog, but I made it through! I even managed to restock my fridge and make myself a really simple meal.

I figured the best way to represent this day was a darkened picture of my desk at work. Kinda what it looks like through half closed eyes.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Thirty-one to Thirty-two: A 365 day photo challenge

April 29th was my 31st birthday. Or as I say, I'm 21 with 10 years experience. Although I spent that day on vacation and the following day driving back home, I decided that it was a good time to start my 365 day photo challenge.

Previously I have mentioned the <a href=http://aka-click.blogspot.ca/2012/02/101-things.html target="_blank">101 things in 1001 days</a> challenge. While many are in progress, few are complete. So here I am starting challenge #14.

No people will be shown in any of my pictures, but each picture will show an aspect, a highlight or a summary of the day. With each picture I will write something about the day and how the picture relates to the day or why I chose that particular picture.

I doubt I will post everyday, so every few days you will see a post with several photos tagged 365 photos. And maybe you might see some tagged other photos. I'll be taking a lot of photos so I am bound to have a few that may not work for the day, but they'll be pictures I felt like sharing anyway.

I hope you enjoy this view of my life from thirty-one to thirty-two.