Bike Ride

It started out as a small little ride on a sunny afternoon.  No hills, just a quick little jaunt out to Lawrence Gallery...uh, at least that's what I thought it was going to be.  Then we hit Muddy Valley Road, and that's when the hills came in and they never ended!  At the half way point we decided to stretch (definitely needed) and took some stellar pics with the ol' camera phone.  It was a pretty ride, complete with bugs, very little traffic, and of course LLAMAS!

(Trying to pose without showing off our double chins)  

(TINA!  Come get your DINNER!)

We had a lot of fun despite it being a little more hilly than I had thought.  Definitely won't be able to ride that far for a while (darn knees) but it was totally worth it.  Here's to many more bike rides and even more laughs my bff Er-ca!

10K

It wasn't that I didn't think I could do it, I just didn't think I wanted to do it.  Paige convinced me that running a race would be fun.  She was running her first 5k.  I didn't really feel like waking up that early to run a 5k, so I convinced Erica to go with me and we set off on our first 10k experience.

To make things clear, I have never ran further than about 4 miles...ever.  A 10k is 6.1.  I am not much for training for things.  So, did I run weeks before?  Not really.  Did I make sure I could last a full 6.1 miles at a slower pace?  Nope.  Did I rest a lot prior to the race day so my legs were fresh?  Not even close.  I played in a volleyball tournament the day before I ran.  We played 5 matches, won the whole shootin' match, and in 3 out of 5 matches we only have 6 players.  Needless to say, my legs (and my shoulders and my everything) were very tired and sore.

But, despite all those things going against me, I did it!  We all did!  We made it across the finish line in "record" time.  Ha!  Maybe not record time, but we all finished. 

Some of the advice they give to prepare for races I wish I would have taken: know your race route.
Knowing where I was going and how long I had a certain points would have been helpful.  Also, knowing how flippin' steep the Steel Bridge actually is would have been the most helpful.  That part just about killed me, especially since I didn't realize I had to go back OVER the bridge at the very end. I thought that we were finishing on the OTHER side of the river so I kinda started to run a little too hard right at the end, only to realize I had a bit more race ahead.  Oops.  But, it was great.  We all got roses, water, and free food (yes!) at the end. 

That's me, the runner.  The picture is small because its from the race photographer's website and he charges $10 for a 4x6.  What?!

Paige did awesome, she finished well and wants to do another (she's a runner now, he he he).  If I do another I want to up the stakes a little and do a 1/2 marathon.  Erica is with me on this one too.  I'm so glad too!  I haven't quite convinced her that we should do a full marathon but I have a feeling she'll do one with me eventually.  I gotta say, I never picked myself to do these sorts of things but they are almost "fun."  I definitely prefer volleyball, beach, or tennis tournaments over these races but it does give me a sense of accomplishment when I am done, which I like.  I am a very competitive person (duh) so I like the races because it gives me something to focus on while I'm out there. 

So, here's to the next race!  Not sure when, or how long at this point.  But I know there will be more in my future! 

20 Pounds!

My sister has officially lost 20lbs.  It is an amazing feat since she has done it the right way; through diet and exercise.  So, I was curious.  What other things weigh 20lbs?  Here is what I discovered:

 Blitz the cat; he actually weighs 23lbs...but pretty close.

A car tire weighs 20lbs...imagine that!

A karaoke machine; all that sound...so many pounds.

A sack of potatoes!  Yes, even something so yummy weighs 20lbs!

Way to go sister!  Here is to the next 20lbs!  Imagine all the things that weigh 40lb...

Pretty Much Famous

You can't really see it but behind us is the Olympic flame.  The news crew asked us to take some pictures in front of it and they would film us doing that.  It was a little quirky but we did what we were told.  Any director would be proud to have us around!

Lynden and I riding the sky train on our way to the Olympic flame in downtown Vancouver!

Erica, Lynden and I are pretty much famous.  I contacted Stephanie Strickland when I heard that she was looking for locals up here celebrating the Olympics.  She met her in front of the Olympic flame this morning.  She asked us to get "super close" for the interview...apparently Erica felt the need to wrap her arms around me in the process.  The questions were typical...our answers are goofy I'm sure.  But it was a fun experience!  Check us out tonight on Ch. 8 at either 5pm or 6pm!

This was the best picture we got of flames.  They we HUGE and really neat to see. It was too bad that there were so many gates around it because it was hard to get a good picture.

Fun in downtown BC.

We went for the gold!

I was always destined to Alpine Ski!

Good form (my calves were totally cramping in this one!)

I jumped over Lynden to get this picture taken.  Behind me around 2,010 lanterns drawn by children of Taiwan and Vancouver.  At night they are all lit up.

Yes, that is a Japanese Olympian.  No, I don't know what sport he does.  No, I don't know who he is either.  But, he is a great jump roper which is what I saw him perform on the street right before we snagged this picture.  Whatever he's doing he's doing it tomorrow.  Hopefully the 40 times around the jump rope won't ruin his training too much. :)

Tomorrow we head home!  GO USA!

Whistler...and Women's Luge!

Yesterday we headed to Whistler!  Erica and I had no clue what to expect, we didn't even know where we were going!  We wound our way to Squamish and then took the bus up to Whistler.  The Olympic spirit was much more alive up there than it was in Richmond where we were yesterday.  The people were all dressed up and cheering as they wound their way through the village.

We were about ready to either head home or get something to eat when we noticed huge line of people waiting to get on the Gondola.  As we people watched and wondered what was going on we saw a guy holding up two tickets.  I approached him and he said they were for sale...so we jumped at the chance!  It was to see Women's single luge.  This was taken just outside the security entrance (which is similar to going through the airport!)

Women's Luge always needs more cowbell!  Thanks Marilyn!  Mine was definitely dwarfed by some of the others around! 

The Swiss really know how to get people's attention, they paraded down the middle of the street with their cowbells that were bigger than my head!

The games started at 17:00 (5pm). To the left of this is picture is Thunderbird corner...aka the corner where the Georgian Luger was sadly killed. Everywhere we have been the flags are at half mass in honor of him.

We walked up the steap hill where the athletes got off their luge and ended their race.  We were cheering next to a group of people holding an Italian flag, this athlete smiled and waved at us (I think she thought we were apart of the Italian group, either way, we smiled and waved back!).  Today we are headed to BC Place to see the Olympic torch and possibly get interviewed by Ch. 8 news!  More to come on this fun day!  Also, Happy Birthday to Kathy (Lynden's Oma), she turns a young 60 today!

The O-Zone

Today we spent the day at the O-Zone (Olympic Zone) in Richmond. We saw a lot more than I anticipated of the Olympic scene. I guess its safe to say there's more to the Olympics than the actual sport, who knew? This was a random statue we saw on our way to the O-Zone.

Before we got to the O-Zone we happened upon a fountain full of cranberries. Curious, we stopped and asked what it was all about. Apparently there is a huge population of cranberry farmers in the Vancouver area and they wanted people to know that there is more the Vancouver than just the Olympics.

Erica, Lynden and I enjoying the sea of cranberries.

This is our view from atop of the ferris wheel.  Those Olympic rings are filled with about ohhh 13 million cranberries (give or take a few).  On the other side of the field was giant maple leaf filled with floating cranberries with the Olympic flame in the middle.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of me in the bobsled simulator because at that point the camera and I parted ways.  It went to the ice skating rink and I stayed to try my hand at winning the gold. (Everyone who tried took home the gold but it was still a cool deal all the same).  There are also no pictures of the Chinese dragons that danced their way through the crowd to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year today because at that point we were all so hungry that the largest dancing dragon in North America really wasn't important enough to photograph...oops.

Tomorrow we are headed to Whistler...no tickets to an event yet.  Tomorrow is a new day though!

Not Very Good At This

I wish I was better about blogging but I'm just not.  I'm glad its the weekend (just like most people who read this) and I'm looking forward to relaxing...again.  I've found that now that I'm in my home that I love I never want to leave it.  On the weekends I love to get up early, clean up the messes we've created from the week and then just chill out.  If the weather is nice I get a good run in, if its not then I'm just as happy to hit the treadmill (which is soooo awesome!) in the garage.  Either way, I'm close to home and very happy.  The kitties love it when I'm home too, they entertain me at every moment...Sugar especially.  He was born to make me laugh.

In other news...I'd like to give a shout out to my sister who has made it a goal to take better care of herself in an attempt to lose 39lbs by her 39th birthday.  I want her to succeed.  I want her to be healthy and happy.  Your siblings are the ones who stay with you the longest in your life and I want to have a sister that lives forever.  I am doing my best to encourage her every way I can because I never want her to stop taking care of herself.  I know she can do it.  I don't want to her to get discouraged when she doesn't lose and I don't want her to stop just because she doesn't lose one week.  Keep up the great work Paigie!  I love you!