Ella Update

Thanks so much to everyone who sent positive thoughts for my family! I really appreciate it. The poor baby headed home today from the hospital. She was there from Sunday to Wednesday because she kept running a fever and they couldn't figure out why. All the crazy tests they took came out negative so I guess it was just a virus or infection that her little 3 week going on 4 week body had a hard time with. Let's just hope the fever stays away!

Need Positive Thoughts

My three week old neice< Ella, is in the hospital. She has a fever and they don't know exactly what's wrong for her. I feel like there's nothing I could do to help, but realized positive thoughts from others might help. Prayers, mantras, regular old postive thoughts sent her way -- I'd really appreciate anything.

LC's Back!

Last summer my friend LC was my stable training buddy until she got pregnant, which was super happy news. Now she's back to training, which is great news for me! I need someone to help me get out there. So, with her help, this was my training week.

Monday - Swim, one mile
Tuesday - 45 minute run
Saturday - 1 hour run (3-2s)
Sunday - Tomorrow I'm riding with my other training buddy LA, should be about 25 miles

Could have been better considering I was planning to ride on Wednesday and planning to swim on Friday and neither happened thanks mostly to work, but overall, not so bad.

A Late Mother's Day Post

The only remaining reader of this blog, my mom, has pointed out that she goes to the Potato Vine every day to find zip. So, in her honor, here's a late mother's day post.

My inclination is to organize my thoughts in honor of my mom using words that remind me of the woman who I'm lucky enough to have as my mother. So, here it goes.

Strength - My mom raised my brother and I by herself for about 7 formative years. I was two and my brother was an infant when my biological father and my mom split. It would be a tough task for anyone to raise two young ones on her own and yet my mom did it with such style and grace. I learned a tremendous amount from her just observing how she lived her life.

Fun - I love to travel with my mom and do pretty much anything with her. She's adventurous! I'll never forget the time in Mexico that she jumped off this incredibly high cliff to water below. Unfortunately, her legs came out from under her and she ended up with a huge bruise on her poor ass, but she never regretted it for a minute! I could only laugh with amazement from a safe distance. I didn't have the guts to make such a plunge!

Appreciative - One of the greatest things about experiencing things with my mother is that no matter what it is that she's doing it is "the very best _____ I've ever tasted/had/did!" I mean this seriously. I can't tell you how many times she's told me that a salad was the very best salad she's ever had in her life. Every new scenery she experiences, she says its the most beautiful thing she's ever seen. It is so nice to be with someone who appreciates things so genuinely.

Catholic guilt - Sorry, ma, but no one's perfect. She's an absolute champ at both feeling it herself and doling guilt out on others. You ask for some examples? "Little One, how can you live in California, so far away from your family?" "Little One, how can you not have come to visit in so long?" "Little One, have you called your brother lately?" It's always in the name of love though!

Kindness - My mom is one of the kindest souls that I'm blessed to have in my life. She cares deeply for her family and generally dotes on children.

Determination - I was very proud of her for fairly recently making a commitment to get healthy and losing a good amount of weight. She got on an exercise regime and has really stuck to it! I'm super impressed by her.

You've probably guessed that my mom is a very special person. People are continually surprised that we talk on the phone everyday, but I couldn't imagine my life without her in it on a daily basis. She's a rock for me in many ways and me for her. We're a team. We've made it through this life that way and we're very lucky to have done so. They say we don't get to pick our parents, but if I had any say, I would have picked my mom every single time.

That Cow's Killing You!

Hey. Sorry for the long silence. Had to pass this story on. A major thorough study indicates that the people who eat a good deal of "red and processed meat" will die sooner. Stop eating it! Or if you must, at least eat less! Your body, the animals, and the environment will thank you.

Sunday Wrap-Up: Week 4

This was a pretty good week. I guess after the ridiculousness of actually gaining weight the week before shocked me into seriousness!

Monday: 50 minute run. Oh, yeah! It was a group run and my buddy LA was supposed to join me, but she got stuck at work. That sucked because we run at about the same pace. Well, honestly, right now she's a much stronger runner than me, but she's nice enough to stay with me. Without her, I was by my lonesome, but my coach rode next to me for awhile. Actually, that was a mixed blessing. He was riding his bike next to me so I felt bad stopping for my intermittent walking. Hence, I went about 18 minutes and 30 seconds before he rode away and I had a well deserved break. So, I didn't systematically work in walking breaks. It was basically a 50 minute run with a few one minute walking segments.

Tuesday: one hour spinning class at the gym. It felt pretty good really.

Wednesday: at work until late

Thursday: One hour swim - 2,000 yards. I came home from that work out and told CC, "The Little One is back!" That's right people. I'm back in business.

Friday: Just my commuting to work exercise

Saturday: ride with LA for 2 hours and 29 minutes and we went 30.7 miles. It was pretty great. We went to a small town that is up a fairly steep hill. I felt good but definitely was getting tired on the way back. I noticeably slowed down. Still, I didn't wake up this morning with sore legs to that's good news!

Sunday: Wanted to do yoga, but missed the time slot so, I ran. The good thing about running is that you can do it at any time. I did one of the loops in the park close to my house. I ran 35 minutes and 30 seconds. I ran 10 minutes and walked 1 minute and repeated. I was proud of myself for getting out there without the group or a friend to entice me. I need to do that more.

Weigh In: 124! At least we're now moving in the right direction! Just 10 pounds to go. Geesh, that sounds like a lot. This one pound lost was hard earned.

At the end of this week I'll be in L.A. for a work meeting. When ever I travel, it is difficult to stick to the exercise and food plans, but I'm going to have to be serious.

Vancouver Day Four: Part 1, Ah, the Sun!

Our Saturday in Vancouver was the day to really see the city and we were so excited to get beautiful weather! CC's last obligation was over a little after 10 AM and we were planning on leaving a little after that. But, we couldn't go out and be tourists on an empty stomach! So, first some breakfast.

Fortified we walked from our hotel to almost the entrance of Stanley Park. I had finally convinced CC that it would be a good idea to rent bikes to tour around. I'd asked him to do it on several trips and he was never very enthused. This time though we would be riding around in a park and he loves parks so he said yes. Yippee!

The park was absolutely beautiful and big. The bike path goes all around the park, which is also all along the shoreline. You bike on what they call the sea wall.

The first park feature we came across was a series of totem poles (scroll down). They were beautiful and were a great way to honor the traditions of First Nations people.The view of city skyline from the park is breathe taking. As you go around the park, the views continually change. Here's the view from the totem poles area.
This little food hut in the park by a children's area had veggie dogs! So, of course, we had to get one of those!While I was generally a big fan of this park, the "petting zoo" really bummed me out. Why? I can't believe we send such bad messages to kids. It makes sense that children become okay with eating animals (if they ever examine it) because we've taught them since they were very young that animals are only useful in so far as they serve you. Hence, let's cage them up just so your little hands can pet them. What the hell? Great idea.

Back to the happy description of our wonderful day . . . the back side of the park was all in the shade because it was on the seawall behind a pretty steep cliff. I was so glad we had bought gloves! [Okay, so I know I try not to buy new, but our hands were freezing so I think it was a necessity and they became my only souvenir.]

Once we got all around the park, we decided we surprisingly up for still more biking. We had planned to return the bikes and cab it to Granville Island because I was interested in going to the Granville Island Market. I was happy though to skip a cab ride and continue on via pedal power. We continued all along the coastline. There were great bike trails/lanes for miles! Vancouver is really bike friendly.

We decided on a route that would take us through the 2010 Olympic Village. On our way we biked past the Vancouver's Science World. The museum is a really interesting structure and is right next to the Olympic Village.It was so neat to see the Olympic Village under construction. The athletes will have a beautiful view of the mountains where I assume lots of events will take place.

After a look around the development of the Olympic Village, we kept on heading to Granville Island. But, the description of our activities there and our final dinner will have to wait. We did so much that it's hard to get it all in one post without boring y'all. So, part 2 Vancouver Day 4 will have to come soon.