My Whirlwind Newfie Trip!

Well I've been back in Calgary for a few days now after a kick ass trip to Newfoundland. It was short but sweet and I managed to fit in lots of stuff that I wanted to do! I left Calgary at 12:40am on the red-eye Sunday evening (Monday) and although I took gravol for my motion sickness which normally knocks you out...I slept very little. I had a little girl sitting next to me who was sleeping over her mom's lap...the kids feet were tucked in next to me and kept kicking me throughout the flight everytime I managed to fall asleep...damn it! The mom kept apologizing and grabbing her feet but it didn't help me get anymore sleep!!

Anyhow, after getting home the first thing I did was walk down to Middle Cove Beach with my mom. We live about 2 mins outside of the City limits and about a 10 min walk down to the beach. It was a nice warm day and I've really missed that beach! I haven't been down there in years...brought me back to our bonfires we used to have and drinking on the beach back in the day...and me somehow ending up in the Atlantic Ocean hahaha...but I digress...

I wanted to get in a couple of longish trail runs while I was there and did I ever. I forgot how many great trails there are throughout the city! One thing I also forgot about was the wind...I know I know, how did I forget a thing like that? I guess I started believing that the winds back home are not as bad as I always thought they were...well they are...and when you think that's bad, well they're even worse than that! I have a feeling that's part of the reason why I didn't grow up as a triathlete! I can not imagine riding in winds like that...and they don't seem to end. The entire week I was there was windy...so all of my runs were tough! Am I complaining? Nope, I still enjoyed every minute of each run :) I went out one evening with my dad...he's 60 years old and can still run my ass into the ground :) I love it!

One of the days I was home I went on a hike with my parents, my aunt, and her boyfriend. We did the Lamanche hike which is part of the East Coast Trail...a fabulous trail system along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula. Here are some pictures of us on our hike :)

I also managed to get in some time with my Newfie girls back home. Oh how I've missed them! 5 of us went out to Quintanas one night (my most favorite Mexican restaurant ever) where I enjoyed a fab chicken taco salad (the same salad i've been getting since I first started going here with these girls when we were 13!!!) and some yummy drinks :) That night we decided to go for a beer next door to a local pub called Big Ben's that I haven't been to since the day I graduated high school 12 years ago lol. It's exactly the same. Here are a couple of pics of me at the pub and enjoying some delicious Rickards White :)

Ok folks, that's it...my trip to Newfoundland in a nutshell...as much as i could fit in in 5 days :) Forgive my haphazard mess of photos...I don't add pics very often so i don't seem to know what i'm doing yet! :)

Hellllloooo Newfoundland!!

Well i'm off to my homeland in just over 8 hours...taking the red-eye...the only way to fly to Newfoundland really....the time seems to go by a lot quicker! I'm excited to get some running in with my dad as well as some trailruns and a day of hiking with the family! I'm only there for about 5 full days so i've got lots to cram in...of course there's visiting some friends and visiting the infamous George Street...sigh..it's been way too long :)

This weekend has been beautiful in Calgary...19 yesterday and 24 today...I celebrated by running 2 great runs on saturday and today...a 18km run along the Douglas Fir Trail and whatever other trails I could find on that side of the Bow River...then today a 20km run on the path along the Bow. It was fantastic and i'm sure i'll have no problem sleeping on the plane tonight! Looks like i'm leaving Calgary just in time because it's going to be um 3 degrees C tomorrow?!?! What the F is up with that? Guess what it's going to be in good ol St.John's, Newfoundland tomorrow?!? 18 degrees folks! Ha, that's wicked...I think that's the first time I've gone to visit St.John's and it's been warmer than where I left!!

Have a great week everybody!

Good-bye Debbie Downer! :)

Well the weekend has come and gone...it's almost the middle of the week and I haven't had much to say...so i've been just enjoying some good blog reading! Last week was a really downer for me and I wasn't enjoying running at all....a combination of lots of training and poor weather had brought me down! I did manage to get out of my funk on the weekend though...a really great 15km run in shorts on saturday in super beautiful weather....and a pretty great 32km run on sunday despite the 25cm of snow that fell overnight...ack!

I'm sorry but Calgary weather...not so different from Newfoundland...really! I thought I left that craziness behind me a long time ago :) Anyhow, I was extremely happy as I trudged my way through the snow from my house to the path along the Bow to discover that the pathway had already been cleared...it was shortly after 8am and they had already cleared the path!!! I can't express how much I love the guys that clear it for us...we're very lucky to have that. I lived in Ottawa for 2 years and they also have a fabulous trail system around the city...but it does not get cleared in winter!

Anyhow, I continue to feel the effects of tough training but I know it'll be over soon... 2 weeks to go till taper...thank goodness. My body is so darn tired the past couple of weeks that i've had to take 2 rest days off in a row after my weekends of running. I don't mind though as it usually helps me have a good hill workout on wednesdays and I always feel better as the weekend approaches and I look forward to some long running!

In non-running news...I got tickets to my most favorite band playing on April 4th...Hey Rosetta!!! (they just happen to be from Newfoundland too...how cool is that?!) Here is one of my favorite songs...