Peach City 1/2 Marathon!

First, there is no rhyme or reason for the placement of the photos, "blogger" isn't photo friendly in terms of making it easy to put up photos and arrange them with some coherency. I will add captions for all of them so there is a sense of where they are and what's going on.

So, four months of training have come to this. Kas, Ash, and me all signed up for the 1/2 marathon training clinic January 8th, 2008. We did it through Running Room, which is something I recommend to ANYONE no matter what your fitness level is. In fact there are several different programs through the Running Room that one could take, walking, learn to run, 5k, 10k, 1/2 Marathon, and Full Marathon (the one I am doing next).
The training program brought us up gradually to the 21.1 distance we needed to be able to complete. We in fact hit a 22k distance in the program, which was really rewarding because we were told we were only going to run 20km and the extra two was bonus...and when I say bonus, I mean bonus that we learned we could run that far, truthfully no one wants to run that far, just for the hell of it! We trained in ALL conditions but heat (note that is important) we ran in snow, in rain, in wind, over HUGE hills across rivers, on ice and the list goes on!
We managed to make a friend through the running group, her name is Erin. She had previously run a 1/2 before and enjoyed it and wanted to train again. She ended up being an incredibly valuable resource, since she was a huge proponent of eating right and making your own snacks and also very conscious of how training should work!
Eventually, Rob joined in the training...didn't take too much convincing actually! He had previously run the Penticton 1/2, so it was great having his knowledge added to ours!
I completed in 2:44!!! WOOT!! The day was blistering hot! Normally for May long weekend there is rain or at least cooler temperatures, however, on this particular day May 18th, it was 30 degrees in Penticton!! Freakishly hot! And none of us were ready for it. Erin couldn't run for health reasons, which was sad because she had been with us all that time. Rob didn't bring a water belt and had a cold (can we say pure misery?). The aid stations that promised water, sports drink and ice, only had water and sports drink and were space every 3km apart, except for two which were 4km apart. Consider how far apart that is, and how long that would take you to run it...sucks being that long without refreshment TRUST ME! At the turn around point which was at kilometre 13, the aid stations ran out of water...they ran out ALL THE WAY TO THE END!!! 30 degree weather and no water...my water belt got me to the turn around, but I didn't expect to not be able to fill it up with water...I took advantage of the sports drink but it was far from thirst quenching and no matter what sports drink it is, drink too much of it and it will rip up your gut!!
In the end, the moral of the story is that I, and my fellow runners, completed the marathon, we were upright and for the most part we were smiling! CONGRATULATIONS!!! And now on to the pictures!



Ashley is an inspiration. She went from absolutely NO RUNNING, NO EXERCISE to running in January and 1/2 marathon in May! She is most definitely a woman who should never be underestimated...at yet people continue to underestimate her! Their folly!

We both had no previous training, no experience with running long distances and I would add that we were certainly underdogs in many different ways, but we slogged it out and kicked that roads ass!


This is a picture of our group that ran. Me on your left, Ashley, Rob and Kasondra. We are basking in our glory and stories of how gruelling the run had been for all of us!

Ashley bringing it home lady style! Always with a smile that girl...she makes running look fun!

Of course everything is better when it is over! Time for some cold water and some foot massages...sadly only got water!

This is me with Erin, the girl who couldn't run because of health problems. This is the beginning of the race, when I was completely naive about what lay before me. I really had no idea what to look forward to. I don't know Penticton well and definitely couldn't even begin to imagine what the course would be like (nothing like I imagined). I even had myself turned around at this point, since I was convinced that Skaha was where Okanagan lake is...sadly, not the case! Almost cried when I put it together and realized I would have to run across the city before I even saw the lake that I was meant to run beside!!! GUH!

This picture is after I came in and across the line. We were waiting for Ashley and I was babying my poor left foot that had some tendon irritation OUCH!


some more pictures of us after finish.

Kasondra coming to the finish. She is the reason I took up the training in the first place. I think in October she asked me if would like to train with her for the 1/2, to which I responded with laughter, LOTS OF LAUGHTER. You see up to this point I hadn't ever run! Aside from running in highschool, there has never been a desire in me to run. I thought it was boring and cruel punishment. I had up to this point getting up and cycling and working out with weights and losing weight. But I had no inclination to be a runner at any point. She left for Ontario in December and I decided to give it a try to run. I ran for 45minutes straight for my first time and I didn't mind it and I didn't hurt...so I kept it up. I decided to give the training a try and incorporate running a 1/2 marathon in to my goal! WOW, thankyou Kasondra! I discovered I LOVE running and I am going to go even further and try and run a full marathon!!




Okay, these series of photos are very important. The woman running beside me and pretty much in front of me, is the reason why I sprinted over the finish line, rather than doing a nice slow jog that demonstrated how much pain I was in!! She had walked a large part of the last portion of the race and her and I kept playing a game of passing eachother. On the last kilometre I had pulled ahead of her, but she caught up at the half way point to the finish line. She was running beside me for a bit and then she decided to go faster, so I went faster and then she went faster so I went faster and so forth, eventually it got treacherous if my legs could possibly go faster so I had to let her go ahead of me!! GRRR!! NEXT YEAR LADY...NEXT YEAR!!
But really I am grateful to her, I would have totally snailed my way because of the pain I was feeling and she made me push beyond my muscle fatigue and dig in and really have a nice photo finish!


And here is Rob! You wouldn't know that he hadn't trained for more than a month and that he was suffering from a cold and seriously HUGE blisters UNDER his feet?? Oh and possibly dehydration since he didn't run with a water belt! Yeesh! If only I was in that good of physical shape! Seriously the guy is a machine and he has no idea!

here we are, crowded and waiting for the gun to go off and start the journey...I decided to chill myself out and roll back into my head and not think about what was before me, but rather day dream about anything random!

At last! A finish I enjoy! I will never forget this, I will always cherish it and remember it at every finish line I meet!

Arbitrarily devining...

...sometimes I have echoes of a philosopher dancing around in my membraneous skull...but that's all it is--echoes

I don't know, I just got to thinking, there are these things I am doing, these things I am attached and these words I use to identify and none of them are based on anything more than what my culture has dictated. Then I got to thinking how all of us are linked by the need to breath oxygen, digest food and at some point be part of a community and it's what drives us all, and yet on every piece of land on this globe, we manifest how we do that differently and consequently separate ourselves, based on arbitrary decisions on how best to survive....

And that would probably be why I was cranky pants yesterday, because I sunk into the crevices of my skull, the places where my soft spot fused together and yet leaves room for vulnerability...

Heh, and I haven't done anything creative for a while and I long to...so it eeks out of me, leaky, drip, drip, drip...like chinese water torture, but the release of each drip is so exquisite that I could liken it to one of my best sexual experiences...

I want to write a book...a rumination, a walking through and digestion of experience...I once went to a reading by Robert Kroestche and there was a poem he recited and I can't remember the aim of the poem, but there was a brief line that spoke to me, it was about walking and I started to day dream about how I have to this day, experienced my life on my feet, through my ability to stand and to walk and that some of my best experiences have happened because I walk....

Okay....

Canada's Genocide

"Unrepentant: Kevin Annett and Canada's Genocide" http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-6637396204037343133&q=unrepentant&total=204&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

This is a documentary ALL Canadians should see! I am often confronted with people who feel like what happened in the past is the past and why are we still paying for it today? However, that position is wrong and uninformed! First off, the blatant disregard and attempts to dismember First Nations people is not something of the past, it is very much part of the Canadian present! What is even worse is we, Canadians, continue to prosper off the continual suffering of First Nations people. And I have heard the typical responses about prominent historians and about how average white men are no more privileged than an Aboriginal man, and I call bullshit! I say get off your apathetic backside white privileged backside, put down the remote control, stop playing the fantasy games and start asking some questions, start reading material from the other side of the argument...what do you have to lose? and how much do you have to gain?
Watch this video, respond if you will, spend some time asking questions.

Ignorance and denial has served Canada well...NO MORE!

A puppets exploration of D(d)eath

Last night, some friends and I went to the Rotary Arts Centre to see a show titled, "Famous Puppet Death Scenes". I have heard about the show, on CBC, and was intrigued by the possibility that imagination has to roam on such a topic. Puppetry has a long history, globally. There are some accounts that the art form predates actors and goes back as far as 3,000 years! Here is a link to Wikipedia (not the most reliable, but a good place to start) about puppetry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppet

The performance lasted an hour and was hosted by a puppet named, Nathanial Tweak. I found Nathanial to be the most compelling character of the show, primarily because of his poised words surrounding the concept of death and our (humans) ultimate fear of death. There was a certainty that through Puppet Theatre there would be a cure for the fear of death. Personally, I am not afraid of death...that is not me saying I want to die, I just have finally reconciled that death happens, there is no predicting it, planning for it or denying it, so why not get to the business of living and let death be what it is. I've digressed. Nathanial touched me in a couple of places, one that we all do die and that there is a distinct possibility that our lives could come to an end by the end of the play. The other place that Nathanial went is to the place of Love and the impulse some of us have to state our love for one another, immediately. He was good at positioning this sentiment as not so much a need to love or be loved, but a recognition that our time living is, in fact, short and that length in of itself can't be measured or predicted. I know, for myself, I espouse a continual vocal reinforcement of how important others are in your life, that in the event I do die, none of my friends (or family) will doubt how I feel about them. And he asked to be loved for he was lonely behind the stage. Nathanials quick note of lonlieness intrigued me, because death and being close to death is a lonely place, and isolating space. Perhaps I read too much into his narration and hosting duties, but I found his articulation of death to be superb and to speak to the places where I've experienced death of a loved one and am keenly aware of how suddenly life extinguishes.
The play was certainly entertaining and required a suspension from reality...mostly because you could see the puppeteers and well you're watching puppets die! "...dying for us so we would no longer be afraid of death". For me some scenes were a struggle to understand, either because of a language barrier or complete confusion as to what the scene is trying to impart. Overall though, I understood the stories, enjoyed the creativity and marvelled at the strength of the artform of puppetry. I found myself imagining this ancient art and all the various forms it has taken throughout the centuries and in different countries and cultures. The power of storytelling has always held me captive and the use of art and imagination only furthers the captivation!
There is a website for the company that has created this play: http://theoldtrouts.org/index.html
I recommend reading the "history" component as you will find another reason to be proud of Canada and the increasingly creative population we have in this country. Also check out where they are performing next, hopefully close to you, because the performance is certainly worth the money!
Thankyou to The Old Trouts for imagining, creating and performing!

Miss Champagne Sparkles

For those of you who have not had the pleasure of, in some measure, knowing about Miss Champagne Sparkles, here is a picture of her: (I took liberty of taking the picture from her website, so thankyou to her photographer)



In case the face and name intrigue you, here is her website http://www.champagnesparkles.ca/

I had the opportunity to see Miss Sparkles perform at the Habitat back in April of 2007. A friend of mine had seen a poster for a Peep, peep, peep show featuring an opening act of the Kabuki Guns and the main dish being Cheesecake Burlesque Revue (by far the better of the two). So we wrangled up another friend (minus the rope and spurs) and went to the Habitat to see the performance. I had a great time watching the Cheesecake Burlesque Revue and for a moment became inspired to be a burlesque performer...reality is, I have no dancing background and had a significant amount of weight to loss. (not all is lost, I am losing the weight and I am currently in bellydancing classes, who knows? my future is bright). Recently I decided to google my blog to see what kind of hit it would get and both hits were about my review of the evening (not that I am any actual critic or anything, I just wanted to put out there how great it was to have burlesque in Kelowna and how great Cheesecake was--certainly less calories!)
Anyways, Miss Sparkles and M. Colada both responded to my post!!! I was blown away and quite excited! So I felt it was necessary to put it out my love for burlesque and for the ladies who do it so well and to update their information for any one who might be reading. Miss Sparkles, I am watching my comments section now!! *smile*
Anyways, I am not sure about venues...Habitat is a wonderful supporter of such acts as burlesque. I may be a bit tainted on my view of Kelowna (been here too long), but the overall sentiment is very conservative here. Now that the University of British Columbia has moved into town I have high hopes that the Okanagan - Kelowna - will be busted out its shell and desire a more eclectic and electicfying flavour!
My suggestion outside of the Habitat would be the Rotary Arts Centre, there is a lovely stage there and the seating is elevated so everyone can equally see the show...I also feel like the RAC is becoming and is more progressive.
I will spend some more time pondering this, especially if there is hope that the Revue will be back in Kelowna soon! It wouldn't be hard to sell out the show even! (or two? *hopeful smile*)

The Cheesecake Burlesque

Hmm, I think it would do me some good to back and review some of my older posts and I completely missed the comments that the performers from Cheesecake shared with me. Which is any of you wonderful ladies are reading this now, you're most welcome and I am SO happy you came to Kelowna! And now I wonder if you will be coming again?
I wish Kelowna arts culture supported more performances such as the ones Cheesecake does. Thankfully because of UBC-O, the Rotary Centre for the Arts now has a Distinguished Speakers series, which I believe to be brilliant. The community needs more venues to become informed and educated about their local and global community. And also "famous puppet death scenes" have finally made their way into the valley, after much critical acclaim and press...FINALLY!!
However, I want the burlesque back!
So with that I add the website for the Cheesecake ladies...yes, they are ladies, talented and beautiful marked with a great sense of humour!!!

Check them out: www.cheesecakeburlesque.com
www.champagnesparkles.ca

I would recommend keeping them busy and booking them...certainly worth every single one of your coloured Canadian dollars that is continually above parody these days!

all I have to say....

...is follow the link and become informed, become educated...ignorance is no longer an option and laziness is reckless disregard!

http://povertyolympics.ca/

http://www.warchild.org/ and http://www.warchild.ca/

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-4321574955310561251&q=god%20delusion&total=808&start=0

begin somewhere, anywhere, begin reading, become informed...all your excuses are just that excuses...

Orphan's Holiday 2007

So another year and another holiday...this year some of my friends and I decided to have an orphans xmas. It started with Rob asking what I was doing for the season and hatching the idea since neither of us were going anywhere this year to spend xmas together...then Ashley wanted in, which is GREAT and then Rob's old roomie was in town from Mexico and he wondered if he and his current roomie could join and I said SURE!
I got to make tonnes of food. A HUGE roastbeef that I cooked rare and juicy and succulently! Mashed potatoes with fresh garlic, stuffing made from scratch (none of that boxed crap), smashed carrots and squash, gravy made from the drippings of the roast and TONNES of butter tarts! And because the plan was to have many spirits and much merriment everyone was staying overnight, so for breakfast I made two bacon, mushroom, broccoli quiches!
Everyone suffered food hangovers and couldn't stop themselves from eating! It was beautiful! We laughed, we played games, we watched movies and generally goofed around!


For the season, I gave Rob this shirt:



And Ashley is a huge fan of pink and she wanted more comfie gear:


This picture was taken boxing day...we were all a mess, but the boys showed it the most!


These pictures are taken Xmas evening, before I set out dinner to be consumed...happy, happy faces!





I think this event tops the charts and made this particular christmas pleasant and memorable. I had a GREAT time, I met great people and had a great time hanging out with great friends.
Everything was cozy, fun, laidback...there was no back biting, bickering, expectations...simply put it was a group of people that came together happily and shared in food, drink and eachothers company! Certainly made up for past holidays were circumstances weren't so friendly or warm!
I find it refreshing as I make the changes in my life and institute new patterns of behaviour and make conscious decisions about who will be in my life and who won't, that coincidentally my current daily life is blissful and happy making. I am daily grateful for turning thirty and for finally coming into my own skin! I have finally dug out the bar and raised it up out of the ground and put it at a level that more than meets my expectations!

This summer...and now

This summer was an incredible summer. So much had happened and has carried me through to what can kindly be referred to as winter (what is up with the weather?). I made major transformations physically as well as mentally. During the summer I was practicing to put new patterns into place. I really was attempting to work without training wheels and I have subsequently been successful. I have stepped up to the plate of becoming a healthy person, both mentally and physically. Today, December 4th, I reached a goal that I had set for myself in the late spring. I had set out to do two things, one was to bike to Vernon and back and the other was to lose 50 pounds. I accomplished biking to Vernon, not only once but twice this summer! And I am hoping this coming summer to set another goal...maybe Kamloops? As for the 50 pounds I finally accomplished that goal as well...in fact I have lost 53 pounds. I also gave myself a reward: a massage (which I plan to collect at a later date). I also have another reward, but that one I will keep in my pocket for now *secret smile*
So what to do now? Well, why stop with one or two goals? Why not go for others? So I am. I am going for another 50 pounds. I figure at minimum if I seek to lose 10 pounds every two months, I can lose that 50 pounds by the end of fall next year, if not sooner. I have begun training to run, I am successful at jogging for 45 minutes straight, which tells me running isn't far behind! I am planning on taking belly dancing classes and I have friends who are interested in doing biking trips with me. Ultimately my goal is set to be achieved.
The weight loss has done other things for me, it has allowed me to face the places that have been filled with denial. The only way I can describe what is happening is that as the layers of fat melt away the layers of my onion like denial is also peeling away and exposing truths that I didn't acknowledge previously. I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and I feel like it is going to get better!
So, just to put a cherry on all this hard work and goal achieving...I have finally settled on the idea of doing a PhD. I have sought out the school I want to go to and also the person who I want to be my supervisor. Lucky for me my current supervisor knows the person I want to work with...and agrees with me that there would be a good relationship with me and this researcher! So now, I am laying down plans on how to achieve getting my PhD, things are ready to be set in stone!
And with all this moving and shaking, sometimes my eyes just do this....

Thanks Belva for catching me in my moment!

Good company and great adventures

The hiking continues! We haven't been hiking as much, but we are still doing and we have added more people to the adventure! I have to say, my social life has taken quite a dramatic turn in the last few months and I really LOVE the time I am spending with the people in my life!

This picture is the beginning of a hike that we took outside of Peachland...mmm, well above Peachland! Before this photo was taken we had met an elderly man and asked his advice about parking. He was out walking his dog who happily jumped in the car and got Ashley dirty...something which we ALL laughed very hard about. The hike was great, and parts of it decently steep. I am certainly learning how far my body can go and I am greatfull that I have lost the weight I have before going on this hike, otherwise I think I would have been in trouble! There was a part of it that I refused to do and the others went ahead, while I re-walked the trail to keep up my momentum!

After the hike, we went for breakfast at IHOP. Because Kaz hasn't eaten at some of the franchises that are liberally spread throughout BC, we have been sampling different breakfast restaurants...this particular morning it was IHOP. Ashley ordered two breakfasts, of which she is still bugged about today! She's a trooper that girl and she makes me laugh! Towards the end Rob and Aaron happily snuggled into eachother. In fact I think they built quite a significant relationship in a short time...very touching indeed *wink*. No really, I think Rob and Aaron have the ability to get along with just about anyone, which makes them a perfect fit for being my friends!
I have been having a spectacular time lately...and meeting truly quality people, which is nice to meet so many of them in a short time frame. I think it has a lot to do with my new perspective on life, or more specifically my desire to be part of the living world. So in a sense I am bringing these people to me and I am also more tuned to finding them.
I also recently finished my interviews and now I am into the writing phase of my thesis, I am close to the end and it feels good and it feels scary! With the end I have also come to discover the desire to do my PhD! So much so that I have figured out where I am doing my PhD and who will be my supervisor! All of which is VERY exciting! I never thought I could go this far, or come this far and still have the momentum and will to go further. And the greatest part of this leg of my journey is that I am surrounded by warm and loving people who are as interested in my success as they are in theirs and I am in theirs! I would venture to call them "family" and often do think of them is those terms!

The first Dinner Club for Dorks

Well, it is official now. A small group of my friends have finally managed to make the dinner club happen. Rob initially came up with the idea in the summer to have a dinner club, much like a book club, but instead we share food and conversation! Brilliant idea and like every idea planning and implementing are necessary. Who knew those components would take so long?
The participants of the dinner club are all university based...it wasn't planned that way, since we all know people who are not academically linked in our worlds. However, for the purpose of numbers and ease everyone is from UBCO. In total the number is six, although the first one only had five. The number is relevant in terms of size of home of the person who is hosting and also number of items brought to the potluck meal. Turns out five courses is more than enough, in fact may be too much. Since all of us were full before the second entree was even served!
This dinner was hosted by Kaz and I and had a "spooky" theme...oh yah, all the dinners are themed. So everyone had to make items that are spooky...and let's keep in mind that imagination is a necessary part of the meal. Kaz decorated the place with hallowe'en paraphernalia, which ultimately rocked! And we also purchased pumpkins for everyone to carve...we didn't tell them they would be carving we just asked that they bring knives. The evening was full of laughter and great stories. Rob gave a speech filled with thankful and grateful sentiments.
Next dinner is next month and so far the theme is local food purchased and grown in BC. We also be investigating how we came to be eating the foods and develop questions to pose to the other participants of the dinner...a means of getting to know eachother and also become more aware of how we are involved in food production. So, when you think "Dinner Club for Dorks", it is because we are all interested in learning and expanding our knowledge on topics that may seem mundane to others.

Here is some pictures from the evening:



We are all ready to eat...Mark is busy getting the salad ready, we already ate the nachos.

Mark spookiness came in the form of a skull...we joked about whose skull that could have been! Former student perhaps? *wink*

Our dinner had rolls and wine and butter and voila pepper! It looked so European, with the exception of the Bostons glass.

Kaz is sharing with Mark a story about a bag of poo and a one night stand that ended with embarrassment.

And let the pumpkin carving games begin!







Ashley loved the core ball and attempted to be able to balance on it...she needed training wheels though.


I had shown Ashley an ab exercise with the core ball, which the boys than decided they wanted to be able to do. So Rob goes first and does fairly well...

Mark decides rather than work his abs he will just have a nice leisurely stretch...smart man!


MMM, Rob made a chocolate mousse pie from scratch...to accompany he made wildberry icecream and raspberry coulee and whip cream...YUMMMEEEEE...love a man who can make a decadent dessert *wink*