spring cleaning notes

Whenever I clean out my desk and the shelves around it, I find lots of loose notes with scribbled ideas or names of books and websites that I want to look into. Today I started to clean through a few boxes with the idea that I could get rid of all the scraps of paper that are no longer relevant.

Here's something I came across that I probably jotted down in my early 20s? Gm is my grandmother and Gf is...you guessed it.  "F'ton" is my shorthand for Fredericton.

This was on a small scrap of paper that I had probably written before going to bed after spending the day at my grandmother's. I wanted to know about my grandmother's life and had been asking her about her side of the family. Later I would down what I remembered.

Here's what the rest of the page and the flipside read (I'm going to clean it up a little): 

Grandmother was expect to go out West and break the new to her family and grandfather would stay in Fredericton and break the news to his family. However, two days after they were married, an announcement appeared in the local paper, the Gleaner and the Woods (my grandfather's family) discovered the news from the announcement and were furious. My grandmother immediately wired her parents and they wired back saying "hope you are as happy as we have been."

Birdfeeder Madness

There was a brief moment today when I was swinging the broom in the direction of a squirrel that was making an attempt to jump into the seed catcher below the bird feeder (yes, I do love animals -- all animals) that I reminded myself of my grandmother, and I started laughing.

My grandmother would rush into the backyard to chase gray squirrels from her garden. She had a Canadian flag on a pole that was leaning against the back porch (not mounted or anything. I don't even know where the flag came from?), and she would grab the pole and chase the squirrel out of the yard.
So today when I was swinging the broom in the direction of the squirrel to give it a fright, I felt my grandmother's presence. Haha! The difference is that my grandmother really didn't like the squirrels and I do, but I can't have them in the bird seed catcher.

Our feeder is squirrel proof. The feeding portals close when anything heavier than a bird latches onto the perch. It was all working so well, until we had too much sunflower seed collecting on the ground. So, we had to add a seed catcher below the feeder. It works like a charm to clean up the yard, but it also proved to be a good landing pad when the squirrel jumped from the clematis trellis to the seed catcher. That's when the broom came out.

db & I decided to put a feeder up just before the winter. There's a nice little bird shop down the hill from us where we bought a small feeder. For much of the winter there wasn't much activity, and I was losing hope that we'd attract any birds. We had purchased 20lbs of black sunflower seed! The occasional chickadee came by, but it was pretty quiet. Then spring came and suddenly I was having to add more seed every other day, and occasionally every day! It's been great to watch the birds coming and going. I've even seen a mom and baby chickadee come by, the mom feeding the baby as they hop from feeder to rhodo to alder. The cats love it.

Next I think we'll look into getting a feeder that holds nyjer seed to attract finches and pine siskins. That would be fun.

Tender Knee

 This is where the Tender Knee runners started our 12 km journey at around 8 am. 114 of us headed out on a beautiful morning on the North Shore.

This is also the same starting area as the 5 k I did at the end of April.

The start added an extra kilometer to spread out the runners a little more before hitting the narrower trails ahead, so we'd be running 12 k in total.

I actually don't remember much of the start because I was so nervous as this really felt like my first official trail race.  I don't remember this added route, but I do remember a few people that I would see for about the next 4 k, and the overall relaxed atmosphere with many people running together and chatting.

My plan was to just listen to my body and respond to it when it wanted to slow down and speed up, or stop. I also planned to run as much of the uphill section of the trail as possible. I had been doing a decent amount of steep hill training to prepare me for this early section of the race. However, once I actually hit the trail, I felt a little different. I slowed quite quickly and then started walking. Everyone around me was also walking so I didn't feel any panic about being left behind.

The trail leveled out a little before opening up at the powerline. The first section of the powerline is fairly flat and narrow, so I quickly got up to pace again and was alone for only a few minutes when I hit the big hill. The "powerline climb," as it's known, is a very steep hill with lots of loose rock making it very difficult to walk up, nevermind run up. Up ahead there was a long line of runners walking the hill, and when I looked behind, it was the same. Everyone was very encouraging on the way up if they passed or if I passed them. The hill training didn't prepare me to run this, but it did make the walk up easier and I moved fairly quickly, trying to maintain a steady pace over the loose rocks. It was very fatiguing though.

About 20 minutes later I reached the top of the powerline, and did a little jog to the first aid station where I ate two slices of orange, and took two mini cups of water: one to pour down my back, and one to drink. From here I knew it would be a steady descent for a while so I moved along with everyone else into the forest trail, which was a welcome relief after the climb in the sun. I quickly recovered and found the strength in my legs again, finding enough energy to bring me up to pace and even add a little more pace to my descent. I knew I needed to take advantage of this downhill section and gain a little momentum and time on this race. I'm pretty good at descending on both road and trail, so I needed to take advantage. My goal was not only to finish, but to finish at around 1:30.

I did fly down this mid-section of the route, and soon found someone that I could run with and felt that if I kept pace with her, I'd be doing okay. db was at the next break in the trail that crossed Mt. Seymour road (it's a sleepy road since it leads to the ski hill which isn't too busy right now -- even though there is still quite a bit of snow up there!). db gave me water, and had my fruition bar ready for me to take for my final burst of energy, but the thought of food did not appeal to me, and I just took some water and kept going. That was my first mistake. Always re-fuel. Two wedges of orange and some water is not going to carry you very far. However, I did continue to move quite quickly down the hill and was fine until we hit the final section of the trail. This last section is about 2 kilometers long and is all roots, rock, stairs, and up and down hilly sections, so you are always having to adjust. It's what I'd call the "technical" part of the race. Half way through this section I felt my body slowing down and wanting to stop, but I had to keep going. I moved at a much slower pace, often walking and found it difficult to find any rhythm going up and down and around sharp turns while navigating over roots and rocks the whole time. Phew! Now my goal was just to finish, and that I did!

  Here's the view of the finish line. It's actually just about at the right part of this frame. I think that's the back of the stage on the right where the announcer let people know who was coming through to the finish.

I did manage to complete it in 1:29, so I finished within my goal time!

At the end I headed straight for the water, took off my shoes and socks and waded into the cold water to soothe my legs. It was the perfect way to end a race. After that, db and I sat on the grassy hill watching the runners come in, and listening to some of the stories about the runners that the announcer knew. 

Here are my tired, but happy feet. I really had the best time ever during a race, and loved the laid back atmosphere in such a beautiful setting.

When's the next one? I don't know. I'll be away during the Mt Seymour run so I can't enter that, and I don't think I'm ready for Whistler/Blackcomb (goal for next year?), which means I'll probably wait until September when Buntzen Lake is on the schedule and run that. It's really close to home so I can even sleep in a little longer than usual! I'll definitely have to get some more experience over the roots and rocks before running Buntzen.

It was such a beautiful day that Sunday, db and I went for a walk after we went home for brunch and coffee. We drove up to Belcarra and took a short little trail that runs along the water. 

This view is actually looking towards the area where I had run that morning. Deep Cove and Belcarra are opposite each other on Indian Arm, the body of water that stretches north from Burrard inlet.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. I wish every Sunday could be like that one.

 Oh yes, here's my official results since it was a chip timed event:
placed:  54  (out of 114 of us)
division total:  7/25  (there were 25 of us in my division and I placed 7th)
Division: F40-49  (female ages 40-49)
Chip time: 1:29:40 (a chip device electronically records what time you start and finish)
Pace: 7:29 (to compare: on a road race I usually run on average a 5:55. Those hills sure do make a difference!)

Needless to say, I'm pretty proud!

choose your own adventure part 2

This is the only photo I have from our search for the lake where the burn area might be and where we could look for morels.

Since we had time to do a bit of a hike, we decided to head for this lake with some idea of where it might be.

We left the main road and headed along a fairly decent dirt road into an area that had signs posted everywhere that read "Biosolid Application Area." Hmmm. In my day (haha) we called that sewage, but I guess it's now biosolids. (I was surprised to see this one little trillium along the side of the road in a well trampled area. Must be the biosolids application).

Anywho...pw drove the car as far in as possible. We parked next to a clearcut opposite another vehicle, and decided to hike in from there. We could hear gunfire (oh yeah it was quite the spot). Two other hikers were walking out toward us. pw asked them if they knew the way to the lake, but the first guy was a little uncertain since he hadn't been there in a year or two. The second guy with him pulled out a quite detailed map of the backroads and lakes and we tried to orient ourselves. He thought it would take us about an hour to get there. We were game. He cautioned us that the shooting was just a little ways down on the left.

On we went. pw reassured me, saying that we'd be fine and that if I found the popping sounds of gunfire too much that we could turn back anytime. I said let's just see how it went. It was unnerving. This isn't a designated shooting range, but it seems like a popular area for target practice since there were shell casings everywhere along our route.

We stuck to what seemed like the "main" road. An ATV (or "fatwheeler" as I call them, having got that name from my brother) blew past us. Apparently, this was also a popular ATV area as well. It certainly wasn't a peaceful walk in the woods. I was hopeful though that we'd find our way, and felt better once the gunfire sounds were fading into the distance. The further along we went, the more sideroads we came across. It became clear that it was a tangle of roads.

An ATV blasting some rap circled on a road below us. I was muttering about "ATV morons" disturbing the quiet just before the ATV started heading our way. It was a pretty expensive looking machine. pw flagged the driver, and he stopped next to us. We waited while he shut off the blaring music and removed his helmut. pw asked if he knew where the lake was. He'd heard of it, but wasn't sure. He pulled out his GPS that showed the backroads of the area, and we all peered at it, trying to decipher one road from the next. The driver told us that he was trying to figure out many of the backroads and that it really was a maze out there. He was exploring different roads to see where they led. He talked about the ATV organization that he had joined, and how they were working to get these areas "cleaned up." Apparently they want better care of the area so that garbage dumping would be dealt with. Of course there was also the problem of all the gunfire and the environmental impact of the lead on wildlife. He told us that the ATV group often comes out just to clean up (okay, my preconceived perception of ATV drivers was starting to look like too quick of a judgment).

The conversation eventually turned to who this driver was and to make a long story short. He'd just finished studying Anthropology and was trying to find a way out of his construction job. Based on what he told us,  he'll make it. He had a dubious background and saw that he didn't have to choose that lifestyle, and sought after education to find another choice. He was a pretty interesting guy, and our adventure in the woods turned into this very cool encounter with a complete stranger who made me say on our way out, "so much for my theory about morons driving ATVs."

We realized that we could be wandering for a while and may or may not find the lake or the burn area. We headed out the way we came in. It wasn't a complete non-adventure now was it?

choose your own adventure weekend

This blog is turning into the weekend blog as in it's only about what I do on my weekends. Now that I get every second weekend off they really are the most interesting since I'm doing something other than work.  Work is occasionally interesting but I try not to think about it when I'm not there so... on to last weekend.

We went to Nanaimo for the day to see pw. It was a beautiful sunny day. The ferry ride was tolerable. It's so much better when it's not a holiday ferry and there are masses of people jockeying for space and food.

pw met us at the ferry and gave us several options on what we could do with the day:

1. go to the earthquake fissure in a nearby park and check that out
2. go to a lake that we'd have to hike to, and he wasn't too sure how to get there. There was a burn there last year (he was told), so there might be morel potential. It would also be more of an adventure.
3. go to Neck Point Park that is on the water and just a place that he thought we'd enjoy.


It was a tough choice, but I really wanted to be near the water if we could. So we headed to Neck Point Park, and it really was beautiful. Here's the proof:

 starfish and sea anemones

 Harlequin ducks

 Gulls. I love the gulls! This one seems to be looking right back at me.

 more sea anemones

 beautiful day!

 these eagles come here every year, pw told us. He saw one last year that took out a gull! Glad we didn't have to witness anything like that. They were pretty close to where we sat below in a quite spot just above the water.

 When this second one flew in and landed, the first one took off. Tag team? Looking after the nest at another location?

 I was quite content just to enjoy this spot.

 Arbutus.

More seabirds! Pelagic cormorants and more gulls!

As it turned out we did have time to choose another outing. I'll post about that next. Which one would you choose on a sunny beautiful day?

weekend

 First, I just want to say how great it is to have every other Saturday off from work. This new schedule is working out really well. My day is longer, but I get more done in that day, and the Saturdays are a like a bonus!

That said, this Saturday was my day off but I was still working. I went to the CHFA (Canadian Health Food Association) show with the store's owners, and it was well worth it. I wasn't obligated to go, but I really wanted to see what such an event was like.

The photo shows all of the samples I came home with. I also received too many brochures and price sheets for company specials.

 There is so much available for vegans now it's remarkable. Most reps at the booths know what vegan is whenever I asked about their products, or they saw my pass and the name of the shop and would stop me to show what they had suitable for vegans.

We didn't even get to all of the aisles and we were there from 10 am to about 4:30. It was tempting to go back on Sunday for more samples, but I think we covered enough ground to take advantage of the show specials and find out about some new possibilities. Plus, the show's guidebook has all of the exhibitors listed along with their websites, so I can shop around that way as well. It was definitely a learning experience and I felt a bit like a rookie and an easy target for someone to pitch their products to me. There's definitely an art to getting the info you need and getting away quickly.

***

 Sunday db and I decided to start hiking the trail that I will be running at the end of May for the Tender Knee event.

I did my run in the morning on the inlet trail the runs along the water and is a 3 k distance when you run from one end to the other. I did that a few times to get in my required time for the week, and the went home to meet up with db.

We drove to the North Shore and the parking lot where I started the last trail run (My First Trail Race). We found the Twin Bridges trail, which is a wide double track road that winds down towards the Seymour River.

Along the way I noticed this area cut into the hill that looked like wood grain, but we assumed it was rock. I took a picture of course. db touched the surface to reveal that it's actually clay. It was very dry and crumbly underneath.

 Seymour River. There's a trail that runs for many kilometers along the river called the Fisherman's trail. I expect it's very popular, and we did see a couple on bikes (the trail is quite bikeable) with paniers and fishing poles strapped to their racks on the back.

 Twin Bridges trail. It's nice and wide for the start of the race to sort out the different paces of everyone before we hit the narrow trails ahead. Just an aside, there are no twin bridges. They once existed, but only this one newer bridge remains. However, the name remains.

 Mystery Creek trail. Here's more of what I expected of trail running. We left the Twin Bridges trail and headed straight uphill.

 Mystery Creek trail is fairly steep and has a few switch backs, so I expect I can run sections of it and break it up with walking. It comes out at the powerlines. From there we head straight up a very rocky narrow path along the powerlines. It's a steep and rough climb. db and I took several breaks and we were just walking it. I don't think I will be running much of that climb since it's far too steep. However, I think I can probably hike it in about 20 minutes. I'm being very optimistic!

db and I never actually went all the way up to where it meets with the Mushroom Trail, but will save that for next time. It was getting late in the day and I really just needed a good sense of how steep these climbs are. They are steep! They're as steep as any trail I've hiked before, and I realized that I need to did a little more training on similar terrain. Fortunately, not far from us is a powerline trail that goes straight up to Eagle Ridge. It's not far from where we use to live, and is always populated with people out for some exercise so I'll feel safe to do that on my own. I'm going to have to start training on that trail if I want to have better success for Tender Knee.

So db and I headed back the way we came and took the Fisherman's trail to the Homesteaders trail. It was nice to be on level ground and walking along the river.

 The skunk cabbage is coming up everywhere. This was such a nice patch!

 Salmonberry flowers are also abundant right now. This one looks closed, but they are open all along the more open trails like this one.

Finally, up we go again along the Homesteader's Trail. It's another wide path that provides quick and easy access to the Seymour River. I was really lagging behind db by this point because my legs were done after that power climb and my morning 10 k run.

Today, my achilles is a little sore. I've put some Traumeel on it (free sample from the CHFA show!) and so far the pain has eased. I'll keep applying and keep doing my calf raises to try and keep it from injury. I'll make sure db has some at the finish line!

Next week we'll cover another section of the trail...probably the Mushroom Trail and the Baden Powell section of the route. I'll have to keep my eyes out for morels too. pw informs me that it is morel time here! Burn morels come later in the season, but morels are definitely out there to be found. I'll be checking every pine cone just to be sure. Ha!

Blue Trees

 While summer is my favorite season, I do love the flowers' spring arrival.

I didn't plant bulbs last fall, but I still have many from the previous year, and am happy to see the daffodils out, and the tulips well on their way. I've also noticed that almost all of my lilies are about 6-8 inches tall. It was such a mild winter, I'm not surprised they're doing so well.

The cherry blossoms are stunning. The trees look laden with a pinkish tinged snow.

In front of the library the cherry trees round the driveway and are in full bloom.

Currently the trunks and underside of the larger branches are painted blue. This is part of "The Blues Tree Project," an international installation where an artist (Konstantin Dimoploulos from Australia) is painting select trees to bring attention to them and their importance in our lives both aesthetically and environmentally.

It's quite striking with the cherry blossoms.

Run Vegan Run Up and Down those Hills

My next trail race is called the Tender Knee. I just registered for it sealing the deal I have to keep running trails. It's 12 k of fun, running up and down.

On Sunday I did a short run in the pouring rain, but did not care since I was on trail. I was actually happy to be out and running, which isn't unusual for me, but sometimes when I have to run in the pouring rain I do find myself just trying to focus on the road ahead and the small landmarks to keep me going. On trail it's all new and very refreshing for me. It does hurt a little more (the day after), but as long as I keep going, it will get easier and the recoveries better.

Here's a description of the route for the Tender Knee that runs from the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve to Deep Cove:

Trailhead
•    Find path in parking lot beside bathrooms. Twin Bridges Trail
•    Run through parking lot, follow “chute” beside construction fence.
•    You come to Twin Bridges trail (wide, looks like a road). (Water station here.)
•    Go RIGHT, down Twin Bridges Trail to Twin Bridge.
•    CROSS the bridge and follow Fisherman’s Trail to Mystery Creek turnoff.
Mystery Creek Switchback
•    Find the post marker for Mystery Creek. Take a sharp LEFT and head straight up.
•    After approx. 800 m, Mystery Creek Trail comes out onto the BC Hydro Powerline.
Powerline to Mushroom
•    Turn RIGHT along Powerline.
•    Cross the Mystery Creek Bridge, go straight up.
•    Think happy thoughts as you power hike to the Historic Mushroom Parking Lot Trail intersection (marked). (Mountain Madness Aid station will be here!)
•    At the Mushroom Trail POST, turn RIGHT to continue on Mushroom and it eventually becomes Baden-Powell (post).
•    Keep straight on Baden-Powell.
•    At the intersection of Old Buck (post), turn LEFT and then almost immediately RIGHT to get back onto B-P. (Do NOT go down Old Buck.)
Mount Seymour Road
•    Cross Mount Seymour Road and enter the B-P trail on the other side.
•    Start gradual descent with some uphill sections. Indian River Road
•    You come out on Indian River Road; turn LEFT (marker indicates 0.5 km to trail) and take the road.
•    500 meters later, find trailhead on the right. Marked as 2.6 km to Deep Cove. (Aid station will be here.)
Baden-Powell to Deep Cove
•    Follow the B-P markers. Some steep ascents and descents and bridges.
•    Come out between two houses on Panorama Drive (2501 Panorama Drive). Turn right to return to parking lot.

Um...a little confusing. I'm going to try to squeeze in the organized orientation run before I go to work on the 23rd of April. Also to prepare, db and I will hike sections of it up until the event using these directions to guide us. Since it only goes in one direction and is not a loop, we'll have to find other road access points. I suppose since we'll be on a few different trails, there will be access points for us to park the car and pick up the trail (I didn't even know there was a trail called the Mushroom Trail! I can't wait!).

Today I feel a little bit crazy having signed up for this event, but I'm sure as I get more trail running under my feet (so to speak), I'll still feel a little bit crazy but at least I'll be better prepared.

I remember talking about running with my physiotherapist (who is an ultrarunner -- that's those 50 k distances), and thinking she was crazy with her enthusiasm to run trails. I'm starting to get a taste of how she felt. I've definitely taken a turn in my running career, and feel like I've embarked on a new journey.

My First Trail Race

My first trail race (the event is also called this) was so much fun.

I was so nervous about this event because a) I'm not a trail runner, b) I haven't had much time to run on trails, and c) I really had no idea what to expect. The map of the course didn't tell me much so db and I went to walk the trail the day before and saw that it had already been marked out with pink tape; we could follow the trail easily. I realized later that we had walked it backwards, but that didn't matter. I'm glad we walked it because it took away some of the anxiety I was having.

We had home-made pizza the night before (good pre-race meal I think). I got up around 6:30ish to have my Vega smoothie and make sure everything I needed was packed into my bag. A full change of clothes seemed like a good idea because during our walk the day before it had rained a little on lower Seymour even while it was sunny and clear in North Van. I also packed extra shoes because even though my beloved Cascadias dry really fast, I was worried about a downpour and being really damp and miserable at the end. Packed and fuelled, db and I headed out the door around 8 am for the 9 am race start (I wanted to be there early for the warm-up as well).

It took us no time at all to get there (a lot faster on a Sunday morning with no traffic), but the more I sat in the car in the parking lot, the more nervous I got. Would I be able to do this? I know it's only 5 km, but it's 5 km of trail some of which is roots and rocks, a long descent on stairs and a serious uphill towards the end. Would my legs seize up after all of the ups and downs? Would I come in last? Would I trip over a rock and cut myself? These were all new fears, but it was kind of fun to be facing a bit of the unknown. Don't get me wrong, I do love the road races as well, and the challenges of endurance and mental strength that those events ask of me, but trail is a whole new game.


I put on my hat and gloves (it's chilly at those higher elevations!), and joined in the warm up with the rest of the participants (there's a 100 person limit total to this run for the 5 and 10 k), which was fun and it relaxed me a little.

Then we lined up at the start. It was a pretty relaxed atmosphere. I didn't feel like I needed to get out in a flash, and I didn't want to be stuck at the back either, so I hung around in the middle somewhere. And then we were off and it started like every other running race I've ever done: we were all bunched up together and then there was a bit of jostling for position as we all sought our own pacing. As we opened up onto the double wide track, I found my spot pretty quick, and got into a groove fast because you have to when you're only doing 5 km. 

By the time we hit the single track trail, I already had a few people marked as ones I wanted to keep pace with, and I passed them at one point and they passed me at one point. There isn't much room to pass on the trail so you have to think quickly and make decisions about where to step. It was so much fun. It's a bit like an obstacle course while you run, and I don't think I felt much of the ground at all. I was so focused on trying to listen to my body and when I needed to slow and speed up, that it really did all fly past so quickly. When I faced the big hill near the end, it didn't take me long to figure out that I needed to walk it. I looked around to see that everyone was walking it. There's no point in burning yourself out on a steep climb, leaving nothing for the top.

Then the finish line was in sight and I saw db taking a picture on my way to it. I crossed it and felt great! The times were posted right away, so I could see that I had run the 5 km in 29 minutes. Much better than I thought since trail is much slower than pavement.

So here's the breakdown:

time: 29:23 -- actually it was really 29:13 because it took about 10 secs for me to cross the start line :)
place: 24th (that's out of 66 of us in the 5 km category)
category: 2nd (that's F40-49 and there were 9 of us in that age group)

Not bad for a first timer. Can't wait for the next one! I'm researching them now to see what else I can do.

Birch Bay Road Race Results

I had a great time during the race. The weather was good (except for the wind towards the end) and the scenery was beautiful all along the bay and rolling country roads. I will definitely do this race again.

Here are my results:

bib number:	177
age:	41
gender:	F
location:	whoville, BC
overall place:	79 out of 232
division place:	8 out of 28
gender place:	43
time:	1:22:48
pace:	8:54

Here are the photos:

 The horn just sounded and the race has begun. db was taking photos from the side.

 Over the start line. Set your watches.

 And down towards the bay.

 Pretty nice scenery along this mostly flat route.

The pizzeria in Bellingham!

 Inside Rudy's Pizzeria in Bellingham. The post-race meal is almost as important as the pre-race meal.

It's definitely more rewarding. I found Rudy's online and once we saw that they had the delicious Daiya vegan cheese, we headed there for a quick bite.

 Rudy's Pizzeria was big on the mosaics. They were on the walls, the counter, and actually all over Bellingham.

It's a nice little city Bellingham. It felt very arts oriented.

It's not far from the border so we thought while we were in Birch Bay, we might as well head to Bellingham to check out what it has to offer.

The highlights:

Rocket Donuts. The donut shop with the rocket outside and with several vegan options inside. db and I pre-ordered our donuts online to make sure we got everything we wanted.


The Bellingham Community Food Co-op. A nice grocery with lots of those vegan foods and household products that I can't get here in Canada.

Rudy's Pizzeria. The photo of the pizza above says it all. It's a relaxed atmosphere and lots of room at the tables for a big pizza pie. They also have a gluten free crust option that I'll try next time I'm there. To keep it simple we got one pizza on a regular whole wheat crust.

Trader Joe's. This is a larger grocery chain, but some of the deals just can't be beat. db couldn't believe the price of some of the wines. We stocked up on a few staples and got some goodies as well (Luna Bars in flavours I can't get here and for half the price!). Between Trader Joe's and the co-op there's really nowhere else we need to go to shop. 

The size of Bellingham's downtown makes it very easy to walk everywhere. The architecture is made up of a lot of older brick and stonework buildings. With the view of the water and that small city artsy feel, Bellingham is really charming.

After our day there, I think I finally get the cross border shopping madness. There is so much more choice and for less money. I think we'll be getting Nexus passes soon.

Be Prepared

The Girl Guide motto, "be prepared," did not mean much to me as an 11 year old girl. It was just another phrase that we repeated each week along with any other verses we had to learn by heart ("I promise to do my best, to do my duty, to God, the Queen, and my country..." -- that was the verse in the 70s. I sincerely hope they've revised it since).

Well, the Girl Guides would be proud now since I'm about to "be prepared." db and I are putting together an emergency kit so that we're prepared for an earthquake should it occur. 
 
I don't need to tell you what's going on in the news right now, and I'm not going to talk about Japan at all except to say that it has brought home the idea of being prepared for such an event.

I had an emergency kit made up, but I've been pilfering items from it for the last few years. Candles, matches, the first aid kit, flashlight, and even the emergency blanket (took that with me to Portland just in case I didn't have something warm to put on immediately after the race) all have been moved or used at some point. So the kit has been depleted and now we're starting over with a checklist.

The emergency kit will be useful as long as we're home but if we're not then what?  I'm also going to put together a small bag of supplies that I can stash at work just in case (this might include running clothes since I can see myself wanting to run home rather than walk).

So tonight is step 1: we're developing an emergency plan and beginning to assemble our emergency kit.

Is there a Girl Guide badge for this? 

Run Vegan Run

Wow! Two posts in one day! I'm trying to make up for lost time I guess.

I didn't make the Fort Langley Historic Half Marathon. I did all of the training and did not register. Then, came the taper week, the week before the actual event, and I came to the decision that I couldn't run the event because I wasn't ready. Yes, I could have run the event and finished, but I want to do better than finish, I want to challenge my previous times and I just didn't feel fit enough to do that. I thought that I might improve on my time, but I wanted to feel sure and strong.

Then, just like when I had to cancel my Victoria marathon plans and switch to the half, there was the bummer week, which is when I kind of moped around wondering if I could still do as well as I have previously, and how could I turn this into a fun running season? I really love participating in events so I needed to find a way to participate and compete with myself.

I made a commitment to train harder than I've been training. I started by signing up at our local rec centre's gym and bought a year's membership (now I have to go!). It has such a nice small town feel this gym. It doesn't have all of the bells and whistles like the big name gyms do, but it has everything I need to train and more if I want to. Last week I started weight training again, which is something I haven't done in 2 years! I can't believe it's been so long. I felt great. I'm using Thrive Fitness as my guideline so that I ease into it (if red jane were here...).

My next step was to set up my running season. db and I did some research online for events that aren't too far from home. We want to avoid hotel costs since the registration fees, and my gym membership are costing us enough as it is. I found one in Blaine, Washington called the Birch Bay Road Race that is just across the border and is a 15 k road race at the end of March. I'm already at my 21 k distance so I can add in the strength training and adjust my running schedule to fit this road race. It looks like a pretty small race and a pretty route, so it should be low key and fun.

Then I decided to sign up for a 5k trail run the weekend after. It's my first trail event and I'm really excited and nervous. It's a short distance and I think will be just right to start out with.

So far so good. Next I want to pick a half marathon spring event and then something bigger for the fall. My 2011 running season is looking pretty good so far.

hiking the Lynn Valley Loop

 I've been wanting to go to the Lynn Valley for sometime because I know there are several trails that are very accessible. I read about the "Lynn Valley Loop" trail online (very useful website, btw) as an easy going trail that could be completed less than a couple of hours, and was fine to hike year round.

 db and I only have Sundays together and I also have gone back to doing my long run on Sundays, so we don't have the whole day to do a 5 hour hike, so this seemed like a good option. As we went up higher there was some snow, but you can see that the trail is well travelled. Actually, the fact that it is well traveled made it a bit trickier because the snow was packed into a slippery sheet that made the first part of the descent a bit tricky, but overall it was fine.

 Lynn Creek was crystal clear and it runs alongside part of the trail near the end. It was nice to hear just the sound of the water and our footsteps.

Left over from logging days? I liked the tree growing up through the back end.
There is much evidence of the the logging that was done in this area. There are many large stumps with the platform notches in the side of them where loggers placed 2x4s to stand on while they worked each side of the saw to cut the tree. It's a common site along trails all over the lower mainland. I would love to hike in an old growth forest that had never been logged.

I just recently signed up for my first trail run. It's only 5 k, but I thought I should start small since I don't have much time to train on trail and can't do long distances on trail without a partner (gotta find a trail running partner!). The 5 k is actually called My First Trail Race and is in this same area where we hiked, so I'm going for it. I hope my trail shoes arrive soon!