Bird's Eye View

After a tough week at the gym, Kev decided it was time for the other half of my birthday gift. Baye (Kev's sister) works at Ziptrek in Whistler and the three of us decided to go under the "family deal" that Baye can get for us.

Thanks Baye!

Baye and I!

Ziptrek: Basically, you start at the top of a tree or valley on a platform. Get hooked in by a harness to a strong wire that connects to the other side of the valley, then you "zip" across. The longest line that we did was 2200ft, which is more than twice the height of the Eiffel tower.

Getting ready to zip.

I'm not going to lie. I am not great with heights, but it wasn't a factor at all. It was so much fun... and so fast. We went upside down, spun, yelled and zoomed through the forest over the river.

Baye's a pro.

There are 5 lines in total. After the 3rd line, the main guide asked if I would volunteer to be pushed back into the middle, so he could test another guide's skills at getting me back to the platform. When he asked, Baye and Kevin's faces were priceless because they know how I am about heights. But it wasn't an issue on the lines at all.

Waiting to get "saved".

All in all, an amazing birthday gift, with amazing people!!

On a side note: This guy walking around the soccer field looks harmless right...

Maybe until he looks you straight in the eye.

Finally... Whistler

On Friday, our Calgary camp finished on a rather rainy note. However, when I arrived in Vancouver it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. despite what the weather reports predicted. Kevin came to pick me up at the airport, and we started the drive down to Whistler. We stopped at a bakery on the way and had a sandwich sitting by the ocean watching the boats.

It was a perfect end to a long week.

I love Whistler weather (most of the time). The weather is hardly ever predicted properly and it can switch at the drop of a dime. When we drove into Whistler it was still fairly sunny, but it felt like all of a sudden two rainbows appeared, and it started pouring rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The next day we decided to go on a hike! We searched Whistler weather (yet again) and it said it was currently raining... but looking outside there was hardly a cloud in the sky. Whister- 1... weather man- 0.

We started our hike, figuring out that:

1) My heart rate monitor adds our heart rates together if we are both wearing a monitor.

2) In order to get our heart rates high enough, we had to run down every flat section and downhill and hike quickly up every uphill.

3) Note to self: retire old, smelly shoes that gave me quarter sized blisters.

4) Bears are afraid of two people running clumsily down a hill, and trample quickly out of the way.

5) We should pose the question: Can a slug ever be attracted to a snake?

The views were beautiful. We hiked up a rock slide to sit at the top and have an aerial view of Whistler.

Kevin scrambled up the rocks and posed at the top of "our" rock.

AND it seems that... I'm a bit more afraid of heights than I thought. I (embarrassingly) crawled to the edge of the rock, and had to be persuaded to get out of my comfort position (a squat).

After our hike, I decided to take another shot at mountain biking. Kevin, Baye (Kevin's sister) and I headed out to the trails. After a few failed attempts at making it over rocks and walking across narrow bridges, it started to become a little bit more comfortable.

This morning everyone woke up early for FATHER'S DAY (Happy Father's day DAD- I wish you were here). The boys went for a mountain bike ride, while the rest of us cooked breakfast: french toast, fresh fruit, whipped cream, bacon, freshly squeezed juice and tea.

I love Sundays! AND I love the mountains.

It's about how hard you can get hit...

The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place... and I don´t care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently, if you let it. You, me or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But ain't about how hard you hit... It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward... how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That´s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you worth, go out and get what you worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying: You ain´t what you wanna be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain´t you! You´re better than that!" (Rocky Balboa)



VIDEO CREDITS: Kelly McBroom (kellymcboom.blogspot.com)

A Day In the Life...

We are now back in Calgary for another training block, meaning many hours in the gym and getting the work done. However, all week, Calgary was cold, overcast and rainy. Kelly and I took our chocolate chewable vitamin D pills and jumped head first into training. On Thursday, Kelly McBroom, Britt Phelan and I decided to go for a trail run for our cardio. "Rain" by Mika came on my ipod as the first song, and set the mood for the run. It was raining slightly as we headed into the woods. We found the trail and noticed a sign on the tree that said.. "Closed, Extreme Washout". Well, I guess you should always obey the signs. We decided to go anyways and experience the washout. I would know if someone was in front of me because of the slip marks in the mud and sometimes, the sound of falling. All in all a rewarding workout!
On Friday, we decided to get out of the dorm rooms and go out for dinner in downtown Calgary. Andrea Bliss (who used to ski with us) drove down from Edmonton to visit us for the night! Mitch, Mp and Eve
Me, Andrea and Colin

The next day we decided to go for a 3 hour hike for our cardio.Mp, Mitch, Eve, Britt and I headed to Canmore and met up with Anna and Shona! Once we got there, we learned that the first trail was closed, so we drove to another trail that Shona didn't know as well.We started hiking, excited for our outing, and a different form of cardio than running or biking.
However, very quickly, our hike became closer to a mountain climb.Eventually, we made it to the top, and it was worth every second of the climb. (Mitch and Eve) (Britt sitting at our lunch spot)
We stopped at the top for a lunch, sitting at what felt like the top of the world.I had carrots in my mouth (typical).
We weren't sure how we were going to make it back down the mountain, however we managed to find a nice trail and thought like mountain goats.
When we got down we sat in the cold river to regenerate our legs. With the sun on our faces, this was an amazing change from sitting in the metal cold tubs in the gym.
After our hike, we drove to Kelly's house for a BBQ for her sister's boyfriend's birthday. Enjoying the company, amazing burgers and ICE CREAM CAKE!Kelly decided to mountain bike for her cardio, and ended up "hiking a bike" through knee deep mud and deeper snow. However, she came back looking much more tanned than usual!
Kelly's amazing view!

I no longer need my chocolate chewable vitamin D. I love the sun, I love the mountains and... at this moment. This is my life.

Helps Me Get Through the Cloudy Days

NIGHTTIMEEEE... DAYTTTIIMMME.... NIIIGGHHHTTTIMME DAYTTIMME...
What are you doing?
Just having a game of night time day time want to play?




If only...



I hope these brighten your day. If not try saying outloud... NIIIIGHHHHHHTTIMMMEE DAYYYTIMMME...

Waterskiing

My birthday came and went... yet again. And I was remembering when I used to spend almost all of my birthdays at the Waterski Masters.
Here is a video from the Junior Masters that I competed it. See if you can find me!









* Look for a white and red suit near the beginning