Tag Archive for "swimming" - Laces and Lattes

The Definition of Insanity and other weekend adventures.

I just returned from a fabulous weekend away with my family.

We were all sitting around the table for dinner one evening and Max (my sister’s fiance) remarked how ridiculous it is that we need to drive 3 hours away in order to all be together as a family. We all agreed, but it is about being intentional with our time. That is why vacations are so important – to get away from the regular routine and to intentionally carve out space for your loved ones. I was only gone for 2 days, but I feel so much more refreshed than the average weekend.

We joined my father at The Carriage Ridge Resort where he had been staying all week.

In all honesty, I don’t have many pictures of this weekend because it was the furthest thing from my mind, but our rooms looked something like this:

We spent the majority of Saturday snowboarding.

Max & Megan – We talked lots of wedding plans this weekend!

LOVE these girls.

We didn’t really do all that much, which is the best part! I tackled more of my book.

If you follow my Books I am Reading Board on Pinterest, you will know that it has been the last book up there since…Novemberish?

It has been a rough book to work through. Recently, I was lamenting it’s difficulty to a friend and she asked me if the reason if the reason I cannot put down hard books in favour of things I ACTUALLY want to read is a residual affect of my athleticism? The fact that I just do things over and over, even though they suck. (Which is mighty close to the definition of insanity, I may add). I think she is right, I feel a moral obligation to a book to finish it once I have cracked it’s spine.

I have to say, my efforts are being rewarded because at about 250 pages in, it is becoming fabulous. It has been one of those books from the beginning that I couldn’t give up on even though I didn’t know why. (Maybe because my English Major heart would be wounded by the fact that I gave up on a book that won the Booker of Booker prizes.)

Regardless, I read my book.

I had a race and a faux water aerobics class that left me and my siblings laughing so hard we were crying.

Outdoor portion of the pool!

We ate some beautiful meals together.

We watched this movie and talked about it:

We fought a little.

And then we made up.

That is the beauty of family and why I am so proud to call them mine.

What did you do this weekend?

Are you one of those people that when you pick up a book, you HAVE to finish it? Or perhaps a tad more level?

21st January 2013

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A Giveaway: Pave It Forward

Not too long ago, Pavement Runner decided that he had too many books. He bought a new one that was so great that he needed to share it and thus, the Pave It Forward Giveaway was formed. The premise is simple: win the book, read the book, review the book, and give it away to another blogger.

And what a book.

I was so excited to get my hands on As Good as Gold by Kathryn Bertine that I won from the giveaway on Angela’s blog. I knew that it would be an incredible story because of Kathryn’s interview with Angela, but honestly, I had no idea how much grit this woman was made of.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

Meet Kathryn Bertine, elite triathlete, former professional figure skater, and starving artist. Just as her personal and professional dreams begin to crumble in the summer of 2006, ESPN stakes her to a dream: Take two years to make the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing. As Good As Gold is the heroic, hilarious account of Bertine’s serial exertions in the realms of triathlon, modern pentathlon, team handball, track cycling, road cycling, rowing, open water swimming, racewalking, and—fasten your seatbelts—luge.

On her journey, the obstacles range from jet lag to jellyfish, flat tires to floundering relationships, repeated rejection to road rash. But, as time is running out, Bertine doesn’t sweat the small stuff, only the large—like scouring the globe for a tiny nation to adopt her, and pushing her body and mind as far as it will go. Maybe all the way to China.

Between harrowing, often laugh-out-loud episodes of triumph and humiliation, Bertine takes short “Water Breaks” to contemplate the ins-and-outs of fan mail, failure, rehydration, nasal reconstruction, and how best to punish steroid users.

Kathryn Bertine swims, runs, and rides—and writes—like a champion. In As Good as Gold, Bertine proves she has something more valuable than an Olympic medal. She’s got Olympic mettle. When it comes to the human heart, she takes the gold.

Trust me, this is a book you want to read. Kathryn’s spirit and drive leaves you with the feeling of “well if she can do THAT, I can do something great too!”

Something great, like win this book!

All you need to do is answer this question in the comments:

If you could go to the Olympics for any sport, what would it be?

Contest winner will be announced next Friday.

19th October 2012

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Triple Tangent

1. Today I was leading an assembly for Team Up at an elementary school in Cambridge. We go through the Six Steps to Success and share our personal experiences and what makes us so obviously successful. (What? They ask us for autographs, they clearly think we have accomplished something worth while..) Anyways. I was asking them who their role models are and the cutest little guy in the back raises his hand and said: ” My dad. Without the smoking part.”

Congratulations, sir, on ALMOST being a role model!

2. Speaking of smoking, Jesse and I have moved into a new, more drug filled life in the role of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain.

Actually, we went smoke-free to our friend Kaitlyn’s birthday party which was a ridiculously fun time. (Don’t judge it by the looks on our faces, we were in character!!) I loooove themed parties and we have another Trailer Park themed one this weekend. I am obviously going to go pregnant and missing a few teeth.

3. I am training with the Cross Country team again! It feels good to be back and injury free (ish). Last night I went to practice and my friend and I sprinted around Waterloo Park which is surprisingly beautiful in the dark and cold of January. I am settling into a more realistic workout schedule this term. Instead of running copious amounts every day of the week, I am swimming, running, biking, cross country skiing, body flowing and weight training on alternating days of the week. Here’s hoping I can emerge into the spring racing season as an uninjured beastly force of athletic power!

17th January 2012

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The Last Hurrah

I’m back, dahlings.

I normally don’t post my meals…and for good reason. But I will give you all the treat of observing what I eat (poem ) and you will be in complete understanding of why I do not do this more often.

A salad you say? Psh…this is no normal salad. I came inside from running 25 Km and I was a ravenous beast. This has

romaine lettuce

tomatoes

carrots

cheese

a scrambled egg

whole wheat cinnamon sugar crisps

homemade dressing (I may post the recipe for ya’ll later)

Basically everything. And wildly unappetizing to the untrained eye…and stomach…but I am a professional at eating anything, so I polished the entire thing.

There you have it. Why I DON’T post what I eat.

What else have I been doing other then running and eating?

CAMPING!

Probably the most memorable trip to date. It involved a lot of fire

Cliff jumping…

Snorkeling through caves…

Hiking..

New friends…

Nature in the most beautiful place in Ontario…

and of course some of the people that rock my world

My French friends. This was one of our last hurrahs before we will reunite next year in Paris.

We went camping along the Bruce Peninsula and it was one of the most amazing camping trips I have ever taken. Sound cliché? Well, we had perfect weather the entire time, free parking everywhere because it just “happened”to be Parks Day and a group of friends who live their days in Paris…most of whom had never been camping before. It was so refreshing to watch them experience things for that first time that I take for granted: a raccoon, a chipmunk, a s’more, a mountain pie …a PANCAKE!
Our campground was beautiful and almost empty so we were allowed to be as loud for as late as we wanted. 3 am swims were a nightly occurrence and dinner at midnight was the norm. We hiked, swam, climbed, jumped and explored for nine hours last Saturday, I love their energy, their passion and creative problem solving…

I will miss the CLV crew extravagantly when they leave.

Crazy, wild, wonderful friends.

Bisous mes petits.

Run Strong!

21st July 2010

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Breaking the Silence

So….it’s been a while.

I promise I have good reason. My baby sister is now admitted to the anorexic ward in Hamilton and between covering shifts at work and visiting her, my social life and private life have taken a hit.

She is such a brilliant little thing. I am proud of her resourcefulness in a twisted way. She complains that the nurses take forever to come to her when she calls them, especially when she needs to use the washrooms. She has begun the practice of holding her breath to flat line the respiratory monitor so they come rushing.

Also, to further my point on her genius, here is the story of how we finally decided to admit her:

It had been a rough haul. Every time she was taken to get weighed, her weight stayed the same. We could not figure it out because she kept looking more and more gaunt. We knew she chugged water all the way down to the hospital, but it doesn’t make THAT big of a difference. Then. One day, she forgot to put the coins in her pocket. Yes. She waitresses and would roll her toonies (it is a Canadian thing…:) ) and slip them in her pockets to add weight. Because a different intern weighed her every time, she got around it.

My dad told me and I said ” She will do great things one day” with a rueful smile.

I am quite optimistic about everything though. She is on complete bedrest with a heart rate in the 30′s, but our family is surrounding her with love and support. Together, we are going to kick this eating disorder into oblivion!

And, let’s talk running. It is about 48976 degrees celcius outside (ok, maybe 34) but I am running every night and doing laps in my pool. I am still combatting shin splints to my extreme embarrassment, but I am icing and taking epson salt baths. I am steadily increasing my milage although, I am not following the plan perfectly. With life getting in the way, sometimes perfect training is not a possibility. You just need to roll with the punches and do the best you can. I am using my new hydration belt like a little nerd (I feel like all I need is a visor and a scrunchie and socks up to my knees and the look is complete).

And breaking news! I am finally reading Lord of the Rings for the first time!! That is right! In typical fashion, I am becoming a fan 10 years behind the rest of the world!

I will leave you with a shot of my siblings and I. These are the people that make my world go round. .