Nanaimo Hike

Sunday was our day in Nanaimo, and we spent most of it in this beautiful park. We went there for mushrooms.

And it didn't disappoint. We did find lots of oysters. Not all of them were in the best shape, but we did bring home a nice bag that we split with my step-dad, pw.

We carried on down the trail that led to the water. It was beautiful.

This was all of the wildlife I saw.

The wildflowers

Stonecrop was everywhere.

The Starfish were abundant. They're a bit difficult to see in the photo, but they are all over the rocks underwater.

There were also lots of Jellyfish. Very cool looking.

The rock along the coast was all carved out like this, and there were little tidepools all over teeming with life.

This is what I want my garden to look like: moss, stonecrop, rocks, and shrubs.

pw's daughter found this starfish with a missing leg. I took a few photos before we put it back into the water.

Looking toward Gabriola Island.

Bronte Sisters

My sister sent me this. Every girl should have a Bronte Sister Power Doll.

Pleurotus ostreatus

db and I were out for a walk in the woods in our local park. We weren't mushroom hunting, but I did bring my quick reference guide with me because it's a handy thing to have.

About half way along the looped trail I looked up at this dead tree and saw something that looked like oyster mushrooms. Upon closer inspection, we realized that we had found a great source; however, they were a bit high up the tree. I found a fallen branch long enough to knock a few mushrooms down and we collected a nice handful (enough for 1 meal).

The ones in the photos are the ones we could not reach. They were so high up, and in these great clusters. I think db momentarily thought about climbing the tree somehow, but that was an unrealistic scenario.

I think if we go back to this spot we could find more. There was also a log on the ground with more oysters to easily collect.

After that we were on the lookout for more. There's one spot we visited last year where we found the angel wings (another pleurotus) that we thought we should re-visit to look for oysters. Hopefully we can find time to do that.

Next weekend we're headed to Nanaimo to visit with my step-dad (pw) and his daughter, and her step-dad (never mind it's a long story). pw said he has great spot for oysters, and he even found a morel there. I can't wait.

I thought I should at least include a picture of Gigi because you can never have enough cat photos to look at.

Sunday's bike ride

Achilles Update

I know you are all desperately waiting to find out what my decision is (lots of sarcasm).

I decided to see my physiotherapist, get some treatment, and ask her what she knows about the injection option. db also suggested that I ask her if she would suggest a specialist. She's an excellent physiotherapist who is an ultra trail runner (meaning she runs ridiculously long distances on trails. Ultra usually refers to 50k and up-- yes, there are further distances that people willingly run), so I feel well cared for and know that she understands how frustrating it is when you can't run.

This morning I got up much earlier than usual, and went to the gym (I've got to get the most out of my month's pass) to put in some bike mileage. It took me exactly 12 minutes to know that I'd had enough of the bike, and was itching to try the treadmill. I hopped off the bike and took my chances on the treadmill. While I ran, I looked out at the inlet's trail that I often run. It was an absolutely glorious morning. The sky was solid blue, and the temperature was warm enough to run in shorts. Oh well. Inside on the treadmill, I ran for 18 minutes at an easy pace. I stopped when I started to feel a little pain.

That was it. That was the extent of my workout. I would have spent more time there, but I had to get home to get ready for work. I didn't even have time to do a proper stretch, which is how I probably got this injury to begin with! Not wise. Anywho...at least I could run a little bit without too much pain.

I see my physiotherapist on Tuesday!

Ah my Aching Achilles

There it is connecting the two larger calf muscles. It looks resilient doesn't it? My left Achilles tendon is not, and any amount of running I do right now makes it very sore. The sore point for me is at the insertion point of the heel.

The theory was that Achilles tendonitis was an inflammation of the tendon caused by "too much too soon" in your training (too many accelerations, too much mileage before you're ready).  However, there is another theory that suggests it is not caused by overuse, but rather restricted blood flow. Whatever the cause, my problem has resurfaced.

When I first started running (when was that? 2004? 2005?), I acquired an Achilles injury that sidelined me for almost a month, and I was panicked because I was planning my first half marathon. I applied the RICE treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation), and was fine. Since then I've been nagged by that injury that seems to flair up randomly. This suggests to me that it's a chronic problem.

So here's my dilemma: Do I go with my Naturopath's suggestion and start an injection treatment, a Traumeel solution (homeopathic remedy), of 3 injections around the ankle once a week over six weeks twice a week the first week though) that would permit me to run the Scotiabank half at the end of June; or do I go with visits to my physiotherapist, which involves the usual heat, ice, massage, and exercises, for who knows how many weeks? Since I haven't seen my physiotherapist yet, I'm not sure how long my treatment would be. There's also a price difference. The injections are $90, and my physiotherapist is $50 (since I don't get coverage since I switched jobs). What to do, what to do.

I've also had to go back to the gym, which I don't really like, but it's a necessary move to keep my endurance up. I bought a months pass so I can use the bike and the rowing machine. I did use the treadmill after the bike yesterday, and went on the track, but I paid for it later with an achy heel.

It's so hard to not run. I'm missing my long Sunday runs the most. The short runs often feel more like work than the long ones so I don't mind that so much, but the long Sunday run with no pressures on how far to go. I just go out and run until I'm tired. It's pretty unstructured right now, but it is working for me, or at least it was.

here we go again

After a short run this morning, I decided that I do need to go back to the physiotherapist, but I really don't want to. Not only am I having problems with the knot again in my right calf, but I am also worried about a tender Achilles tendon on my left heel. Needless to say but I'll say it anyway, this is very frustrating.

I've been pacing myself quite slowly to build up to a training program that starts in May (just around the corner) with hopes of running a marathon in the fall, but even "the best laid plans of mice and men..." or however that goes. The point is my season has barely started and I'm already faltering.

The calf has been getting worse. Last week I ran 45 minutes before it started to ache; today, it was 15 minutes when the ache set in. My Achilles only seems to be bothered when I run uphill. Ha! Okay, so I can stop running up hills. Haha! There's no such thing as flat terrain around here. 

I'm not so eager to go see my physiotherapist who will quickly realize that I have done little to improve the strength in my calves. Lesson learned? Not really. However, after my morning run, I did do some strengthening exercises and my static stretches. I also rolled a tennis ball under my calf hitting that knot to try and work it out a little. Am I grasping at straws?

Sunday is the long run day. Let's see how it goes. I was hoping to bump up the distance, but that may not be possible.

craigslist posting

I found this ad on craigslist today, and not only did I like the pictures, but I really liked the info about the free items. 


Just left out around the back of ****St.

PLEASE DO NOT KNOCK ON DOORS!!!!! Residents do not know anything about it. If it's not there, then you are too late!!!

Everything is in good condition. Double mattress/boxspring, Sony 27" TV with remote, small loveseat/2 seater couch. Please do not rumage through anything by the house, they belong to the residents living there.

Pictures are kind of reddish. Just imagine everything to be a bit brighter. Come get it before the rain gets it!!!

first hike of the season

On the weekend we took our first hike of the season. It was a warm-up short hike around Buntzen Lake. We had invited red jane out for dinner since she's moving east at the end of the month, and I suggested she arrive a little earlier so we could go for a hike close by.

I thought it would be a bit cooler and muckier at Buntzen Lake, but it was fairly warm and quite dry.  The dry winter really made a difference. There was a little snow to be seen up on these peaks, but not much. It was also quite a bit busier in the park that I expected. It's a popular spot in the summer for BBQs and swimming, but I didn't think people would bother much with the lake in the spring.

I'm not sure what wildflower this is. If you know, let me know. The flowers remind me of a primrose, but I really have no idea what it could be.

 There's a suspension bridge at the lake's north end, just over an hour from the lake's south end where we started. The water was beautifully still.

 I took the photo from the suspension bridge.

View from the north beach.

 Back at the start, we crossed another little bridge over this very dry creek. It will be interested to see what other trails are like as we continue our hiking season.

It was great to be on a well maintained trail with lots of ups and downs, but nothing too steep to climb. I think this was an excellent warm-up for our future hikes. Perhaps we should make it our annual warm-up trail.  My legs were a little tired because I had also run 12 k that morning, so any more of an intense hike and someone would have had to carry me.

The next hike will be Diez Vista?

Happy Anniversary.

Okay so I need to work on my decorating skills. In other words, I need to invest in some sort of decorating tools to apply icings and glazes. These were really yummy though.
Yes it's another recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra-Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. This recipe is called "Carrot Raisin Spice Chewies," and they taste like carrot cake in cookie form. I used currents instead of raisins because that's what I had on hand, and they have bits of coconut and walnut in them, and are spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; the grated carrot in the recipe brings it all together. 

Because I'm eager to move on to the next recipe, I don't know when I'll come back to this one. When I do,  I hope I have some decorating skills to speak of.

I also thought I'd end with a picture of Gigi because I haven't posted enough cat pictures lately. She's returned to this basket that she hasn't slept in since we moved into our new place, which is almost a year ago now. Who knows why she decided to sleep in it again? She has a few choice spots around the apartment. The basket she doesn't use as much, but whenever I can't find her I know she must be there. When she was a kitten, she was able to stretch out fully and still be contained in the basket. Aw my little kitten has grown up.

She's grown a bit hasn't she?