Sunday, September 21, 2014

a double ugly birthday wod ...

so last week ince thought it would be a great idea to do a birthday 'fran'.   i disagreed.  the mighty one bettered it - let's do a birthday 'fran' and 'grace'.  so let's do 45 fucking thrusters, 45 fucking pullups, rest a bit and finish up with 30 clean and jerks at 95lbs!   gee thanks for throwing that idea into his head ince!  only thing missing was a bunch of fucking burpees (shaking fist) ...


and holy krap, as i was coming out of garden foods the other day, just LOOK what i spotted!  now that's a zucchini!  i had to take a pic for all my fatdawg buddies ...


wednesday i was able to sneak in a hike on the humber.   i hadn't been in here in a long time and i had forgot how beautiful it is ...



i felt like running somewhere different on saturday, so i drove up to mono cliffs.  i wasn't disappointed!


came across this guy and his buddies!


i guess this is why they're called mono cliffs ...


absolute beauty of a day ...


and i finished off the weekend with a short stomp thru palgrave around 5.   the sky was spectacular!


ahh!  life is good ...



Wednesday, September 10, 2014

haliburton 50 miler

i think i was one of the last runners to sign up for the haliburton 50 miler last weekend.   i was on the fence for ages.  what made me finally decide?  well, a few things.  first of all, i felt like putting myself back in the pain cave for a couple days.  second, i was experiencing a little bit of 'unfinished business' after fatdawg, so i wanted to complete something a bit substantial to boost my confidence.  and third, i wanted another fucking pizza.  seriously!  and besides, haliburton is a great great place to run!

i worked the morning and after packing a few things and loading up a cooler, i was on my way.  the good thing about driving for 3 hours, is that you basically eat for 3 hours!  man that was awesome!  even more awesome was the krazy rain and hail storm i hit on hwy 11 just south of 118!  it was nuts!  i actually had to pull off the road for ten minutes, and sat there listening to the huge chunks of ice bouncing off my car!  once that settled i resumed my journey and made it to base camp just after 4pm.   i got registered and hung around chatting for a bit before finally making my way over to my new buddy oliver's place.   he had offered me a room for the weekend, and i gladly took it.   especially considering how shitty it would have been sleeping in a tent with more thunder and rain storms throughout the night!  i do still feel kinda bad about backing my car into his house though ...


i was up pretty early saturday and got the to start around 5:40.   after giving birth to a small animal just before 6 i was good to go!  it was a little drizzly and somewhat humid, but overall a great temp for running.  the first hour or so was in the dark and a bunch of us ran together.  and of course it wouldn't be an ous race without a straw from this guy!  the incredible ronny gehl!


i also spent a lot of miles chasing these two - steve and adi - before ultimately having to let them go, as i was getting tired towards the end.
 

#bestcoachever - derrick - was at almost every aid station. i looked forward to and loved seeing his sorry mug each time i came in for water and snacks!


speaking of snacks - gary and aid station 6 rocked!  here's a shot of him, me, francesco and chris on the way back, or the way out, i can't remember ...


i was really happy to see this sign ...


and holy krap!  check it out!  rainbow chips ahoy cookies!  i for sure had to sample a few of these ...


my favorite trail in the forest ...


the last few miles were very challenging for me and i was lucky to have chris to run with.  he kept me entertained all the way around the normac loop and then on that final 6k of road.  he was doing the hundred, so after a hug and a picture, we parted ways so he could head back out ...


my time was 12:36 and i was okay with that.


i was real happy to sit my arse down on the bench for a few minutes ...


my only regret was that i didn't get to visit and spend time with 'skinny white boy', who was volunteering all weekend.  here is is with the amazing helen malmberg ...


so yeehaw!  another 50 miler in the books.  overall i can say it was fun, but i was suffering the last few miles.  and the really great thing is that i think i'm finally getting my mental toughness back.  so in other words, i can 'suck it up princess' once more ...


when i got back sunday i went over to gerrrrrr-rrrry and tara's house for a crossfit crew gathering.   mmmmm pool party and BBQ.   jason p brought his adorable little girl erica who was an instant hit with everyone!!


rose, anthony, gabriella and mike.  check out gabriella's frilly bikini ...


and of course i do NOT own a bathing suit, so gerrrr-rrry lent me one of his.  love this shot with kim n and josh!  hiiiiiiiiiiii josh !!


lori and tara ...



gerrrr-rrry and josh ...


i had a super great time and it sure felt good to soak my poor old legs in salt water for awhile!  thanks for inviting us guys - that was awesome!

so what's next - hmmm - maybe a trip to the east coast ...


Monday, September 1, 2014

labor day weekend ...

the legs were still a little tired, prolly more so from crossfit than fatdawg, but i totally had fun up in glen haffy and north of 9 today!


a little steamy, but couldn't keep the stooped grin off my face …


i ran into a group of hikers having a picnic right in the middle of the trail!  they generously donated a couple pieces of watermelon and sent me on my way!   awesome!!


the lookout …


the pond with the squawky geese that reminds me and nigel of one of his ex-girlfriends - the REALLY evil one …


kool mushroom thingy …


not the birthday tree, but almost as majestic …


great day, great trail, great run …


 and i always love getting back to my car and finding notes like this - one day you're gonna get caught ralph...


a huge congrats to my friend kathy who came SECOND at the crush games in florida!



i went for a short hike sunday and caught the sun setting over the pond in palgrave ...


monday i went for a foggy, drizzly run in albion for an hour.


goldenrod is starting to flower!!


i had good intentions for crossfit, but my little body was just too tired.  so i went in and rolled and stretched while ince and the assman did filthy fifty, and kathy grunted and exclaimed 'jeezuz murphy' more than a few times!


congrats also to one of my kindred running spirits - tone - who finished the deer lake 67k in newfoundland on the weekend!


and FINALLY, look who my brother ran into on the weekend !!!