Snowshoeing is the new Snowshoeing.

Here I am at the start of the Snowshoe Grind. It gets much tougher in a few minutes.

Well, it's been a busy few weeks! Not busy doing stuff I love but rather the mundane. We had a big dump of snow early/mid-month that deterred me to running outside. I did pick up a pair of ice joggers but found them a bit jarring when running directly on pavement. So I figured it was time to just embrace the snow, completely. I went up to Grouse Mountain for some snowshoeing and hit the Snowshoe "Grind" right away. It was pretty challenging. I didn't carry poles, I wasn't dressed in full-on snow gear and I rented my snowshoes. I wasn't really sure about what to expect on this hike. There were some pretty steep areas, where I was crawling on my hands to get up while sliding backwards. So my hands would have been frozen if I wasn't wearing gloves. I looked pretty silly as I was trying everything in my power to make up some of those slopes. That wasn't even the hard part, though. It was coming back DOWN that was hilarious!

Where it starts to get a bit steeper.

I'm thinking that after a few times of doing the snowshoe Grind, that it will get easier than doing the regular Grouse Grind. With the snowshoe trail, you can have a rest as it plateaus a few times going up (unlike the Grind where you have to literally stop and move off the trail to get a rest). When you get to the top, it's absolutely beautiful and quiet! Plus, I ran into a raven that was the size of a small dog. He flew down and was walking towards me. I wish I got a picture, but I was afraid that if I looked away too long, he would eat my eyes.

The view from the top of Dam Mountain: the turn-around point on the Snowshoe Grind.

When you got to the turn-around point, you have a choice of going further if desired. Personally, I had absolutely no desire to go any further. My biggest complaint at this point was the fact I completely forgot to bring any water and I was parched! You think that because you are travelling through cold and snow that you won't get thirsty. I also learned that layers are very important as you can break a sweat fairly quick. Under my track clothes and vest, I was wearing Under Armour. Let me tell you, if I wasn't wearing that, I would have frozen my a** off! ...and I mean that literally. It would've been still up on the mountain somewhere and some poor sod would have tripped over it. On the way back, I spent most of my time on my butt. The snowshoes kept slipping out behind me and they would end up somewhere behind my ear as I screamed out expletives sliding down... and often backwards. How I ended up not rolling all the way down the mountain still surprises me. As the last half of the trail was very steep and mostly single-track with a lot of ice, it made it very difficult to stop. I think next time I'll be bringing a garbage bag or a magic carpet. Overall, it was a really great time, and I can't wait to bring my daughter up there. Probably won't be taking her up the Grind, though. There are a number of snowshoe trails that I would like to see, anyway. :)

Last weekend, I participated in the Vancouver Chilly Chase. It was definitely VERY chilly. It was an 'out and back' course that started off at the Olympic Village close to Science World and took us up to the Seawall. Running along the water was pretty but very cold. Especially with the wind and rain. I was an ice cube by the end of it but I still really enjoyed myself. I made a sub-1 hour time for my 10k which was my goal. 58:21. For me, that's a pretty good time. Especially, since I haven't been a "diligent" runner these past few months due to the weather. Yes, I'll melt in the rain and yes, I'm made of sugar! ;-)

Chilly Chase Finisher's Medal January 22 2012

I also signed up for this year's Relay for Life to raise funds for Cancer. Unfortunately, I don't think I know anyone (including myself) who hasn't been touched by this awful disease in some sort of form or another - whether it be losing a loved one, being a survivor, or a supporter to someone who is currently battling cancer. It can be extremely devastating and I truly hope that one day they find a cure. I will be posting my donation page shortly and I hope to raise as much money as possible with my team.

Well, that is all for this blog. As you may notice I've been a bit sporadic with my updates, but know that I try to enter a minimum of 2/month. If there's more, then it's just a bonus.

Thanks for reading!

Happy New Year!

With the holiday season officially wrapping up (I don't think I could've taken my Christmas tree down quickly enough), it's time to get back to a normal schedule now. I spent too many days being up late not because I wanted to, but because I came down with the worst stomach flu of my life! Still feeling the remnants, but definitely much better than what I was. On the bright side, I was able to catch up on all my "movie watching". I definitely got my lifetime supply of crappy chick flicks in. Well, maybe they weren't all crappy. I did watch them from beginning to end - but I also didn't have any where else to go, either. :-)

Yesterday was my first day back to exercise after taking a week and a half off to recover. Boy, did I need it! I was getting completely cranky and my sleep was suffering. Getting my heart pumping on a regular basis is extremely imperative to keep my sanity! I went to the gym: 30 min. on the cross trainer, 15 on stair climber and 15 on bike. Used upper body weights. I walked to and from the gym - 5k. Then after lunch, I went for an easy 5k run. I definitely see an improvement with my mood this morning and no soreness (hooray). I really despise going to the gym - especially, this time of year when cold season is rampant. I feel like I may as well go around licking everyone for the amount of germs I'm being exposed to. It's like hanging out in a flu fortress. So, I make a point to washing my hands in between machines and wiping down the equipment before and after use. Sounds a little OCD - but I like to think this works for me (and I'm a poet and didn't know it).

As it's the new year, I did see a spike in the amount of people there. Which means, I saw a spike in ladies loitering around and gabbing by machines. I also see many on cell phones chatting away. "Oh my God. Seriously, she said that? Wow. Like... wow." Is what I could hear right behind me. I've picked up the phone when I'm in the middle of a work-out, to take a quick call. Not sit there having a long, drawn-out conversation. Yuck. How relaxing is that? It's like bringing your 2 year-old with you to a massage. lol.

I would really like to find an additional cross-training exercise that I can do and enjoy. There's a lot of them out there, so it's just a matter of finding one I like. There were a few I tried in the past and was considering, such as swimming or hot yoga, but I don't really love either. So I'll see what I can come up with over the next few weeks... should be interesting. Like a lot of people, I like to use the New Year as an excuse to trying new things (like being less stubborn). Last year, one of my resolutions (that I actually stuck with), was to keep a journal - and I did. Had 246 entries for 2011! I used this website to log them. It's called OhLife. They send you an eMail everyday (or less frequent if so desired) asking how your day went and you just hit the reply button and write as little or as much as you like. I think my longest entry was a few paragraphs and my shortest was 2 words (Today sucked). This was also another way to log my runs and any grueling workouts.

On that note, here's a few funny videos:

Thoughts of a Marathon Runner
Sh*t Yogis Say

I'd like to wish everyone a happy, healthy New Year!
Thanks for reading!