For those of you checking in around the globe, I'm back from the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Race Festival - New York.
WE WON!!!
More soon.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Details
Saturday:
No wait. I have to start with 9pm Friday night. My phone rang and one of the paddlers on my team (who was also part of the organizing committee for the Festival) called to ask if I could paddle for a second team the next day. I said yes because I still haven't learned how to say no.
So - Saturday.
Had to be at the Basin for 7am (instead of 9). Paddled just after 8am with Rogers Dragons Sans-Fil (in English that would be Rogers Wireless Dragons and yes, they are a phone company). They were all over the place with timing, pacing, etc. Finished 5th, I think.
Montreal Waves hit the water just before 10am. Dad showed up as we were warming up to go through to the staging area, so it was good to know there was somebody cheering for us. The qualifying heats are a bit chaotic as we were racing against teams better and/or worse than us. We finished a satisfying 2:23 (better than our 2:38 in June) thanks to a tail-wind and some improvement on our part. Finished ... I don't know where.
Rogers second race in the afternoon was even worse. At about the 250m mark, a paddler in the 2nd row fell backwards off her bench and wasn't able to lift herself back on until about the last 20m before the finish. *Sigh* That freaked out the first 3 rows of paddlers plenty. Finished 5th again - even though I screamed my heart out to "Control!!!", "Keep going!!", "Together!!!" Felt bad for them.
Several hours later as I was having a little rest under our make-shift tent (thanks to Mary's husband, Tony for being our McGyver) when suddenly I heard a voice ask "Is that Stephanie?" I turned over and found my brother Eric there with his girlfriend, Samantha. What a great surprise! I gave them a tour of the Festival, explained a little about the races and watched a few races with them. They stayed throughout a heavy downpour of rain and also stayed to watch us race. Eric even called out our motto for the weekend as we paddled by. "Eye of the Tiger!" That totally inspired us and made us focus on our goal of winning a race. It worked - we won the 2nd 500m heat!
After Eric & Sam left, I went to get ready for a night at La Ronde. For my first time ever, I was going to the Fireworks Competition. Somebody at work pulled some strings for us and 10 of us ended up at a lovely cocktail, dinner and loge seating at the fireworks. It rained on and off during the evening but did stop long enough for us to get one ride in before the show. The fireworks were just amazing and I'm so glad I got to go even if it did mean one heck of a long day.
Sunday:
Back at the basin for 7am. Raced at 7:30. Rogers managed to squeak into Division D of the rookie finals. They finished a respectable 3rd place. I think it was thanks to my coach from Waves steering us ;)
Our own Division C women's race saw us come in 4th by about a second only. There were 6 teams racing that final and the difference between 1st and 6th place was only 3 seconds, so it was a pretty tight race.
After these two morning races I had a few hours to kill so I decided I'd rest a little and went back to our team's site to chill. Never really slept (how could you with several thousand other people around?) but I was resting. As the team gathered under our tent to have lunch, I got up and was getting ready to go and buy some lunch when a huge gust of wind stretched the bungee cord holding the tarp to the tree so the bungee snapped off and flew back to whack me smack between the eyes on the bridge of my nose. I didn't know what had happened. I thought a branch had snapped and hit me at first. But then my eyes started watering and the pain suddenly exploded from my nose. I was still sitting down when this happened but then I fell to the ground and was apparently rolling around with my hands covering my nose and eyes. Vaguely I could hear people trying to figure out what happened and then somebody noticed that I was not OK. Luckily on our team we have an ER nurse and two physiotherapists (among 20 other talented women, of course). Before I knew it they were prying my hands off my face and breathing sighs of relief as they discovered I did not have an eye injury but simply a very small cut on the bridge of my nose. There was a tiny bit of blood (which I never saw). They cleaned me up, put a band-aid on and found an ice pack and a face cloth all in less than 5 minutes. Meanwhile somebody else on the team ran over to the first aid tent and got 2 attendants over to have a look at me. They asked me some typical questions (my name, where was I, what did I eat for breakfast - I was glad they didn't ask how old I was ...), got me to squeeze their fingers and shined a light in my eyes. I guess I reacted fine because all they could do for me was provide some tylenol if I wanted. Crisis safely over.
As I was recovering with the ice pack to my nose, we all heard the screams of people cheering a race turn to a massive "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Some people came running back to tell us that a boat had just capsized. Naturally we all went running to see what had happened. The Best of the Fest 100m race had been taking place when the steerer of Les Brutes decided to wash-ride DCH Racing (wash-riding is illegal in racing and can get your team a 5 second penalty or disqualification from the heat or even the competition). They got too close, hit DCH hard enough that DCH flipped over. By the time I got there, the race marshalls were already lifting people into the security boats but there were still paddles and life jackets floating all over the place. Eventually everybody was safely aboard the boats and an annoucement was made that nobody was hurt. Crisis safely over. (Thanks to youtube you can actually see it here!)
Finally I found a little bit of time to have some yummy noodles and veggie spring rolls for lunch.
Final 250m races were as exciting as the rest of the weekend. The Rogers team placed 2nd in this race! I was so proud of them. They were obviously wanting to finish first but it didn't quite happen. Anyway, after the race I thanked them for letting me paddle with them and they thanked me for coming to paddle with them. They let me keep the team shirt and also gave me a baseball cap. Sweet!
The women's team didn't fare as well. We came in 4th place again. It was disappointing especially when we saw on the TVs that the difference between us (1:09.18) and 3rd place (1:09.06) was so little. But that's OK. We still have the Quebec Cup in September and this means we know where our weaknesses are and what we need to do in the coming weeks to improve.
To complete the old adage about good/bad things coming in three's - one of our own women paddlers separated her sacroiliac joint as we were going into our finish on the 250m. Apparently it's an old injury and is usually fine but she over-exerted herself, heard the pop and ended up leaving immediately after the race for a visit to the nearest emergency department. We've heard that she's fine but will have to take it easy for the next little while. So, crisis over, sort of.
No wait. I have to start with 9pm Friday night. My phone rang and one of the paddlers on my team (who was also part of the organizing committee for the Festival) called to ask if I could paddle for a second team the next day. I said yes because I still haven't learned how to say no.
So - Saturday.
Had to be at the Basin for 7am (instead of 9). Paddled just after 8am with Rogers Dragons Sans-Fil (in English that would be Rogers Wireless Dragons and yes, they are a phone company). They were all over the place with timing, pacing, etc. Finished 5th, I think.
Montreal Waves hit the water just before 10am. Dad showed up as we were warming up to go through to the staging area, so it was good to know there was somebody cheering for us. The qualifying heats are a bit chaotic as we were racing against teams better and/or worse than us. We finished a satisfying 2:23 (better than our 2:38 in June) thanks to a tail-wind and some improvement on our part. Finished ... I don't know where.
Rogers second race in the afternoon was even worse. At about the 250m mark, a paddler in the 2nd row fell backwards off her bench and wasn't able to lift herself back on until about the last 20m before the finish. *Sigh* That freaked out the first 3 rows of paddlers plenty. Finished 5th again - even though I screamed my heart out to "Control!!!", "Keep going!!", "Together!!!" Felt bad for them.
Several hours later as I was having a little rest under our make-shift tent (thanks to Mary's husband, Tony for being our McGyver) when suddenly I heard a voice ask "Is that Stephanie?" I turned over and found my brother Eric there with his girlfriend, Samantha. What a great surprise! I gave them a tour of the Festival, explained a little about the races and watched a few races with them. They stayed throughout a heavy downpour of rain and also stayed to watch us race. Eric even called out our motto for the weekend as we paddled by. "Eye of the Tiger!" That totally inspired us and made us focus on our goal of winning a race. It worked - we won the 2nd 500m heat!
After Eric & Sam left, I went to get ready for a night at La Ronde. For my first time ever, I was going to the Fireworks Competition. Somebody at work pulled some strings for us and 10 of us ended up at a lovely cocktail, dinner and loge seating at the fireworks. It rained on and off during the evening but did stop long enough for us to get one ride in before the show. The fireworks were just amazing and I'm so glad I got to go even if it did mean one heck of a long day.
Sunday:
Back at the basin for 7am. Raced at 7:30. Rogers managed to squeak into Division D of the rookie finals. They finished a respectable 3rd place. I think it was thanks to my coach from Waves steering us ;)
Our own Division C women's race saw us come in 4th by about a second only. There were 6 teams racing that final and the difference between 1st and 6th place was only 3 seconds, so it was a pretty tight race.
After these two morning races I had a few hours to kill so I decided I'd rest a little and went back to our team's site to chill. Never really slept (how could you with several thousand other people around?) but I was resting. As the team gathered under our tent to have lunch, I got up and was getting ready to go and buy some lunch when a huge gust of wind stretched the bungee cord holding the tarp to the tree so the bungee snapped off and flew back to whack me smack between the eyes on the bridge of my nose. I didn't know what had happened. I thought a branch had snapped and hit me at first. But then my eyes started watering and the pain suddenly exploded from my nose. I was still sitting down when this happened but then I fell to the ground and was apparently rolling around with my hands covering my nose and eyes. Vaguely I could hear people trying to figure out what happened and then somebody noticed that I was not OK. Luckily on our team we have an ER nurse and two physiotherapists (among 20 other talented women, of course). Before I knew it they were prying my hands off my face and breathing sighs of relief as they discovered I did not have an eye injury but simply a very small cut on the bridge of my nose. There was a tiny bit of blood (which I never saw). They cleaned me up, put a band-aid on and found an ice pack and a face cloth all in less than 5 minutes. Meanwhile somebody else on the team ran over to the first aid tent and got 2 attendants over to have a look at me. They asked me some typical questions (my name, where was I, what did I eat for breakfast - I was glad they didn't ask how old I was ...), got me to squeeze their fingers and shined a light in my eyes. I guess I reacted fine because all they could do for me was provide some tylenol if I wanted. Crisis safely over.
As I was recovering with the ice pack to my nose, we all heard the screams of people cheering a race turn to a massive "OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Some people came running back to tell us that a boat had just capsized. Naturally we all went running to see what had happened. The Best of the Fest 100m race had been taking place when the steerer of Les Brutes decided to wash-ride DCH Racing (wash-riding is illegal in racing and can get your team a 5 second penalty or disqualification from the heat or even the competition). They got too close, hit DCH hard enough that DCH flipped over. By the time I got there, the race marshalls were already lifting people into the security boats but there were still paddles and life jackets floating all over the place. Eventually everybody was safely aboard the boats and an annoucement was made that nobody was hurt. Crisis safely over. (Thanks to youtube you can actually see it here!)
Finally I found a little bit of time to have some yummy noodles and veggie spring rolls for lunch.
Final 250m races were as exciting as the rest of the weekend. The Rogers team placed 2nd in this race! I was so proud of them. They were obviously wanting to finish first but it didn't quite happen. Anyway, after the race I thanked them for letting me paddle with them and they thanked me for coming to paddle with them. They let me keep the team shirt and also gave me a baseball cap. Sweet!
The women's team didn't fare as well. We came in 4th place again. It was disappointing especially when we saw on the TVs that the difference between us (1:09.18) and 3rd place (1:09.06) was so little. But that's OK. We still have the Quebec Cup in September and this means we know where our weaknesses are and what we need to do in the coming weeks to improve.
To complete the old adage about good/bad things coming in three's - one of our own women paddlers separated her sacroiliac joint as we were going into our finish on the 250m. Apparently it's an old injury and is usually fine but she over-exerted herself, heard the pop and ended up leaving immediately after the race for a visit to the nearest emergency department. We've heard that she's fine but will have to take it easy for the next little while. So, crisis over, sort of.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Quick Update
We made it to Division C in the women's category (7 categories all counted, A to G)!
We finished in 4th place by less than a second. Disappointing but still an amazing weekend overall.
Bought a cool t-shirt. I will take a picture of it soon.
Got hit in the nose with a flying bungee cord. No serious injury but a nice bruise across my nose, a small cut, a little brusing by my eyes and a couple of bruises across the top of my head.
More details later this week before heading to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York.
PS - thanks to Dad for stopping by on Saturday morning and to Eric & Sam for stopping by Saturday afternoon (and the Eye of the Tiger cheer!). E&S saw us win our heat!
PPS - Marc - you were suspiciously absent this weekend. What's your excuse?
We finished in 4th place by less than a second. Disappointing but still an amazing weekend overall.
Bought a cool t-shirt. I will take a picture of it soon.
Got hit in the nose with a flying bungee cord. No serious injury but a nice bruise across my nose, a small cut, a little brusing by my eyes and a couple of bruises across the top of my head.
More details later this week before heading to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York.
PS - thanks to Dad for stopping by on Saturday morning and to Eric & Sam for stopping by Saturday afternoon (and the Eye of the Tiger cheer!). E&S saw us win our heat!
PPS - Marc - you were suspiciously absent this weekend. What's your excuse?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Race Day!
Saturday and Sunday is the 13th Montreal International Dragon Boat Race Festival.
My team, the Montreal Waves, will be racing at 9:50am and3:30pm 4:04pm on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there. We will be camped out behind the big tower at the finish line.
You will know us by our smokin' hot & hip t-shirts.
Front:
and Back:
My team, the Montreal Waves, will be racing at 9:50am and
You will know us by our smokin' hot & hip t-shirts.
Front:
and Back:
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Burning Lights & Breaking Records
Burned all the lights except one on my way in to work this morning. This means I broke my record of 10 minutes (average is usually 11 minutes) and made it to work in 9 minutes!
I will admit to being slightly out of breath and my legs feeling pretty wobbly when I got off my bike (the last 3 minutes are all uphill).
I will admit to being slightly out of breath and my legs feeling pretty wobbly when I got off my bike (the last 3 minutes are all uphill).
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Still Here
Some of my friends have started calling to check up on me and asking if I'm still around. Yes, I'm still here. No, I haven't gone anywhere just yet.
Why haven't I been blogging? It's not that I have less time at home than before (although that is somewhat true). It's not that nothing's been happening (plenty has been going on). I guess, the simplest reason/excuse is that I am tired. Tired, tired, tired. Sunday I was home for the day, apart from a few errands and groceries and I would've have plenty of time to write but I was so tired that I had 2 naps (one in the morning, another in the afternoon) and I still managed to be in bed by 10pm.
Bear with me. Another few weeks and then my schedule should let up a little, or at least enough that I don't fall asleep every time I stop moving. In the meantime, get outside, enjoy the warm weather and make the most of your summer!
Why haven't I been blogging? It's not that I have less time at home than before (although that is somewhat true). It's not that nothing's been happening (plenty has been going on). I guess, the simplest reason/excuse is that I am tired. Tired, tired, tired. Sunday I was home for the day, apart from a few errands and groceries and I would've have plenty of time to write but I was so tired that I had 2 naps (one in the morning, another in the afternoon) and I still managed to be in bed by 10pm.
Bear with me. Another few weeks and then my schedule should let up a little, or at least enough that I don't fall asleep every time I stop moving. In the meantime, get outside, enjoy the warm weather and make the most of your summer!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Fitness Test - 3
Six weeks ago I found out that I grew stronger this winter. Last night I found out that I have managed to improve another little bit since May.
The maximum weight I can bench press is 90lbs (5 lbs more)
The maximum reps I can bench press in 90 seconds (using 45lbs) is 57 (3 less than May - boo hiss!)
The maximum reps I can bench row in 90 seconds (using 45lbs) is 78 (1 more)
I can do a back extension for 3 minutes, 10 seconds (this is about a minute or so less than May, I think due to some back pain)
I can do 46 sit ups in 90 seconds (6 more!)
I can do 10 push-up in 90 seconds (9 more!)
I can do zero chin-ups in 90 seconds (the same and not really a surprise)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Forgot to mention that I did 153 sprinter runs in 90 seconds (did 136 in May).
The maximum weight I can bench press is 90lbs (5 lbs more)
The maximum reps I can bench press in 90 seconds (using 45lbs) is 57 (3 less than May - boo hiss!)
The maximum reps I can bench row in 90 seconds (using 45lbs) is 78 (1 more)
I can do a back extension for 3 minutes, 10 seconds (this is about a minute or so less than May, I think due to some back pain)
I can do 46 sit ups in 90 seconds (6 more!)
I can do 10 push-up in 90 seconds (9 more!)
I can do zero chin-ups in 90 seconds (the same and not really a surprise)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Forgot to mention that I did 153 sprinter runs in 90 seconds (did 136 in May).
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
2 for 2
It was brought to my attention last night that I am 2 for 2 this season in my dragon boating adventures.
Yes, that means the women's recreational team won the women's division competition on Saturday! My goal for the day was not to finish last and we didn't - quite the opposite in fact. Although there were no medals awarded this time, we did come away with a beer glass a prize and of course, bragging rights!
A couple of us women from the mixed competitive team have been asked to paddle with another team this coming weekend and my coach has decided that I'm the lucky charm with my two competitions, two wins under my belt. He thinks we'll win. I have no idea. Once again I'll be going to a competition with no expectations other than to not finish last. Some people say that you shouldn't go in with a negative goal (stating what you don't want) but that you should go in with a positive goal (state what you do want, i.e. to win). That's not my style though and I'm not really a competitive person (perfectionist yes) so I don't think I'll ever go in with that winning spirit. Maybe I like to surprise myself. Maybe I push myself harder when I don't know what the outcome will be. Anyway -
Don't expect anybody to come out to Shawinigan on Saturday but keep your fingers crossed for Les Arsenes Unlimited.
Yes, that means the women's recreational team won the women's division competition on Saturday! My goal for the day was not to finish last and we didn't - quite the opposite in fact. Although there were no medals awarded this time, we did come away with a beer glass a prize and of course, bragging rights!
A couple of us women from the mixed competitive team have been asked to paddle with another team this coming weekend and my coach has decided that I'm the lucky charm with my two competitions, two wins under my belt. He thinks we'll win. I have no idea. Once again I'll be going to a competition with no expectations other than to not finish last. Some people say that you shouldn't go in with a negative goal (stating what you don't want) but that you should go in with a positive goal (state what you do want, i.e. to win). That's not my style though and I'm not really a competitive person (perfectionist yes) so I don't think I'll ever go in with that winning spirit. Maybe I like to surprise myself. Maybe I push myself harder when I don't know what the outcome will be. Anyway -
Don't expect anybody to come out to Shawinigan on Saturday but keep your fingers crossed for Les Arsenes Unlimited.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Typical
The three weekends that I was away, I let my real estate know that she'd be free to take visitors through my condo at any time, day or night, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and even a few Mondays and Tuesdays. Were there any visits? No.
Now that I'm home again and still have to do a proper shop, clean, etc. - NOW my agent has a visit lined up for tomorrow.
My one free evening this week, that I apparently squandered reading and sending pictures to print, was last night because tonight I'm doing dishes, cleaning, dusting, watering plants, tidying away bits and pieces and preparing my gear for tomorrow's competition. Still no groceries done (but at least I have some food thanks to my very good parents who took pity on me and stocked me up on a few essentials).
I know I shouldn't complain because it is a visit and the real estate market is deader than dead right now. I know, I know. But really - couldn't this have happened while I was away? Not on a night when I'd much rather be flat out on my couch watching coma-inducing television.
Typical.
Now that I'm home again and still have to do a proper shop, clean, etc. - NOW my agent has a visit lined up for tomorrow.
My one free evening this week, that I apparently squandered reading and sending pictures to print, was last night because tonight I'm doing dishes, cleaning, dusting, watering plants, tidying away bits and pieces and preparing my gear for tomorrow's competition. Still no groceries done (but at least I have some food thanks to my very good parents who took pity on me and stocked me up on a few essentials).
I know I shouldn't complain because it is a visit and the real estate market is deader than dead right now. I know, I know. But really - couldn't this have happened while I was away? Not on a night when I'd much rather be flat out on my couch watching coma-inducing television.
Typical.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Summersplash
Saturday's Summersplash will see me and the rest of the Montreal Waves racing at the Olympic Basin.
Our first race is at 9:00am (500m). OK, so I understand if that's a little early for some of you to be out on a Saturday morning but our next races are at 10:50am (250m) and 1:20pm (100m) - so you could make it, if you tried. The final 500m race will be decided after our first three races.
Hope to see some of you there. We don't have our team shirts yet, but we'll be in black tops so look for us and cheer!
Our first race is at 9:00am (500m). OK, so I understand if that's a little early for some of you to be out on a Saturday morning but our next races are at 10:50am (250m) and 1:20pm (100m) - so you could make it, if you tried. The final 500m race will be decided after our first three races.
Hope to see some of you there. We don't have our team shirts yet, but we'll be in black tops so look for us and cheer!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Safely & Finally Home
First things first: pictures of the weekend with Nick, Sue, Darcy & Wesley are here.
Second: Had a great weekend with Nick & Sue. Darcy and Wesley have both grown and changed loads since I last saw them in January. Darcy gets more clever by the minute. She hears everything, remembers everything and questions everything. Good for her but exhausting for the rest of us! She's adorable, wonderful and I especially enjoyed being able to take her to see Robert Munsch live as her birthday present. Wesley is longer quite the little baby he was last winter. He's 10 months old now and full of smiles, laughs, blowing raspberries and grunting his little heart out. He was getting the hang of the peek-a-boo game while we were there so that was pretty fun too. Of course, it was good to see Nick & Sue too and I always feel kind of bad that we pay so much attention to the kids. But then maybe they shouldn't have such cute kids and we wouldn't have that problem ;)
Third: I'm home for more than 3 days! I've managed to post the pictures and get a load of laundry done. Haven't been able to do groceries because today is the holiest of holy days in Quebec (aka St-Jean Baptiste) and the store was closed when we drove into town. Busy and short week ahead before my next competition on Saturday. More later this week.
Second: Had a great weekend with Nick & Sue. Darcy and Wesley have both grown and changed loads since I last saw them in January. Darcy gets more clever by the minute. She hears everything, remembers everything and questions everything. Good for her but exhausting for the rest of us! She's adorable, wonderful and I especially enjoyed being able to take her to see Robert Munsch live as her birthday present. Wesley is longer quite the little baby he was last winter. He's 10 months old now and full of smiles, laughs, blowing raspberries and grunting his little heart out. He was getting the hang of the peek-a-boo game while we were there so that was pretty fun too. Of course, it was good to see Nick & Sue too and I always feel kind of bad that we pay so much attention to the kids. But then maybe they shouldn't have such cute kids and we wouldn't have that problem ;)
Third: I'm home for more than 3 days! I've managed to post the pictures and get a load of laundry done. Haven't been able to do groceries because today is the holiest of holy days in Quebec (aka St-Jean Baptiste) and the store was closed when we drove into town. Busy and short week ahead before my next competition on Saturday. More later this week.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
No time for laundry
Had a blast with Lynn & Fam on Saturday and Sunday. Lynn and I went out for a girls night dinner and ate some amazing Thai food - we nearly fought over the scraps!
Got home last night. Quickly threw some stuff together for work and jumped into bed feeling completely shattered. No time to do the laundry.
Tonight I have practice so no time to do the laundry.
Tomorrow night is my dragon boat team's Comedy for a Cause night so no time to do the laundry.
Back on the road by 1pm Friday.
Just when am I supposed to do the laundry?!?!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That was the original post for yesterday. Then I woke up feeling worse, did about 3 days work in 1 and decided I would far less stressed if I just went home. It's a good thing. I managed to do one whole load of laundry. The second load is still damp in the dryer (I broke down and used the dryer in June!). The last load is still sitting on the floor. Oh well.
Still not sure when I'll pack. Maybe I'll just go with an empty suitcase and buy what I need.
Got home last night. Quickly threw some stuff together for work and jumped into bed feeling completely shattered. No time to do the laundry.
Tonight I have practice so no time to do the laundry.
Tomorrow night is my dragon boat team's Comedy for a Cause night so no time to do the laundry.
Back on the road by 1pm Friday.
Just when am I supposed to do the laundry?!?!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That was the original post for yesterday. Then I woke up feeling worse, did about 3 days work in 1 and decided I would far less stressed if I just went home. It's a good thing. I managed to do one whole load of laundry. The second load is still damp in the dryer (I broke down and used the dryer in June!). The last load is still sitting on the floor. Oh well.
Still not sure when I'll pack. Maybe I'll just go with an empty suitcase and buy what I need.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Off Again
Heading back out on the road. Not a road trip this time. Flying to Toronto tomorrow, staying at Casa Theo for a night of laughs with Lynn & Family. Monday and Tuesday I'm at a course in Toronto. Back home Tuesday evening.
Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day Dad! (no fun race stats to give you next week, sorry)
Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day Dad! (no fun race stats to give you next week, sorry)
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
What is it with flip flops?
Are my feet made wrong? How come the longest I can wear flip flops is the distance from my locker at the gym to the showers and back? This past weekend I ripped, and I do mean RIPPED the inside of my toes to shreds wearing flips flops to our race on Saturday. So much so that I had to wear running shoes the following day and just wear the flip flops to the boat and back. And even though I had some serious bandaids covering the shredded areas - I'm almost positive they got even more ripped up. I know this because last night I had to go in with my teeny-tiny scissors and start clipping away the dead skin that was flapping around.
The thing is, I see people wearing flip flops all the time. They seem to wear them 24/7 as soon as it's warm enough (actually they wear them even before I think it's warm enough but that's another subject entirely). How do they wear them and not have their little tootsies ripped, shredded, bleeding and in agonizing pain? Are they wearing expensive flip flops? Do flip flops come in crap, not so crap and actually ok categories? I've had a number of pairs over the years, some more expensive than others, yet each pair has left me blistered beyond belief.
I suppose I could agonize over this fact even more or maybe I should just take it as a sign that I'm meant to wear expensive shoes ... or maybe I'm meant not to wear any shoes at all and just hang out at the beach foot naked.
The thing is, I see people wearing flip flops all the time. They seem to wear them 24/7 as soon as it's warm enough (actually they wear them even before I think it's warm enough but that's another subject entirely). How do they wear them and not have their little tootsies ripped, shredded, bleeding and in agonizing pain? Are they wearing expensive flip flops? Do flip flops come in crap, not so crap and actually ok categories? I've had a number of pairs over the years, some more expensive than others, yet each pair has left me blistered beyond belief.
I suppose I could agonize over this fact even more or maybe I should just take it as a sign that I'm meant to wear expensive shoes ... or maybe I'm meant not to wear any shoes at all and just hang out at the beach foot naked.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Weekend Recap
Now that I've been home for a day and had a good night's sleep, I'm rather less wired and jumpy and might actually be able to make some kind of sense in recapping the weekend in Boston.
By the time we picked up the rental van and the other passengers it was just before 5pm when we hit the road. Naturally we hit some traffic but on the whole it was a good trip and we made decent time getting to Boston. The only hiccup happened once we got off the highway (too early) and proceded to lose ourselves on the seemingly unnamed streets of Boston. Eventually though, and after asking for directions twice (both times wrong!), we found the hostel and got settled.
Saturday morning was a lazy start. We had time for breakfast and took the subway over to the race site. We did our two time trial races and somehow managed to finish in first place by a large margin (about 3 seconds ahead of team two and 5 seconds ahead of team three). Once those two races were done we were finished for the day and could enjoy the city, warm weather and getting to know the rest of the team. We went out for a great sushi lunch and then broke off into smaller groups. I went for a long walk with a few of the others and we made our way over to Boston Common park and then over to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market where we ended up having dinner.
Sunday was a much earlier start. We had to check out of the hostel and load up the vans. We drove over to the Festival site so that we'd be ready to hit the road once we were finished.
Race 1 - 9:00am: we finished first - a whole 7 seconds before the next team.
Race 2 - 11:45am: we finished first - again a whole 7 seconds before the next team.
Race 3 - 12:36pm: Photo finish. We only get 2nd place - 2:17:480. Winners finished at 2:17:380. We get silver for Out Of Town teams.
Race 4 - 2:48pm: Semi finals - We win but no times available as starter lost power or something.
Race 5 - 4:36pm: Finals - we finish FIRST with 2:17:490 (second place was at 2:18:920).
Shortly after 5pm they had the awards ceremony and we were presented with the Boston-Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Cup. We each received a Chinese kite and our first place medals. As part of the prize, they are also paying our entry fee to the New York Dragon Boat Festival in August.
It was after 7pm by the time we started the trip home and it was made longer when we forgot to take the I-89 home, which meant taking the I-93 a little too far east, and ending up in Magog when we came through the border. By the time we dropped off the other team members on the South Shore, it was 2am when I unlocked my front door.
A long and exhausting weekend but fun and exciting too. The competition in New York will be at a higher level so even though we did well this weekend, we will have our work cut out for us.
By the time we picked up the rental van and the other passengers it was just before 5pm when we hit the road. Naturally we hit some traffic but on the whole it was a good trip and we made decent time getting to Boston. The only hiccup happened once we got off the highway (too early) and proceded to lose ourselves on the seemingly unnamed streets of Boston. Eventually though, and after asking for directions twice (both times wrong!), we found the hostel and got settled.
Saturday morning was a lazy start. We had time for breakfast and took the subway over to the race site. We did our two time trial races and somehow managed to finish in first place by a large margin (about 3 seconds ahead of team two and 5 seconds ahead of team three). Once those two races were done we were finished for the day and could enjoy the city, warm weather and getting to know the rest of the team. We went out for a great sushi lunch and then broke off into smaller groups. I went for a long walk with a few of the others and we made our way over to Boston Common park and then over to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market where we ended up having dinner.
Sunday was a much earlier start. We had to check out of the hostel and load up the vans. We drove over to the Festival site so that we'd be ready to hit the road once we were finished.
Race 1 - 9:00am: we finished first - a whole 7 seconds before the next team.
Race 2 - 11:45am: we finished first - again a whole 7 seconds before the next team.
Race 3 - 12:36pm: Photo finish. We only get 2nd place - 2:17:480. Winners finished at 2:17:380. We get silver for Out Of Town teams.
Race 4 - 2:48pm: Semi finals - We win but no times available as starter lost power or something.
Race 5 - 4:36pm: Finals - we finish FIRST with 2:17:490 (second place was at 2:18:920).
Shortly after 5pm they had the awards ceremony and we were presented with the Boston-Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival Cup. We each received a Chinese kite and our first place medals. As part of the prize, they are also paying our entry fee to the New York Dragon Boat Festival in August.
It was after 7pm by the time we started the trip home and it was made longer when we forgot to take the I-89 home, which meant taking the I-93 a little too far east, and ending up in Magog when we came through the border. By the time we dropped off the other team members on the South Shore, it was 2am when I unlocked my front door.
A long and exhausting weekend but fun and exciting too. The competition in New York will be at a higher level so even though we did well this weekend, we will have our work cut out for us.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Check!
Item 58 on my 100 Things To Do Before I Go:
58. Win a Dragon Boat race.
Guess I can cross that off my list now because WE WON SIX OUT OF SEVEN RACES AND CAME AWAY WITH A FIRST PLACE FINISH!!!
Is that the coolest thing ever?!
More details on the weekend when I relax a little.
58. Win a Dragon Boat race.
Guess I can cross that off my list now because WE WON SIX OUT OF SEVEN RACES AND CAME AWAY WITH A FIRST PLACE FINISH!!!
Is that the coolest thing ever?!
More details on the weekend when I relax a little.
Friday, June 06, 2008
A Noticeable Difference
As I was walking around the track at the gym this morning doing my cool down, one of the trainers started chatting with me. He said that I was looking serious and I explained that I was thinking about my weekend plans with the Dragon Boat race in Boston. We chatted a little about Dragon Boating and then he told me something rather surprising. He said (before I mentioned anything about all the winter training) he could see that my body has changed, that I was stronger. I don't think I've gained or lost any weight and I certainly haven't seen any changes but hey - if the trainer says so, I'll go with that!
Hope that bodes well for the race. Look forward to kicking some Boston butt. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Hope that bodes well for the race. Look forward to kicking some Boston butt. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Decision Time
Or not. I'm going to be away for the next three weekends so am putting everything on hold. If at the end of the month the condos are still available I will decide one way or the other.
Until then it's time for a few road trips! This weekend Boston, next weekend Toronto and following that Windsor.
Until then it's time for a few road trips! This weekend Boston, next weekend Toronto and following that Windsor.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Option #2
Suivant, next.
Pros:
Asking price is $10K over budget
Corner unit
French doors between between dining room
Elevator (I would need it as unit is 3 floors from street level, which happens to be the basement)
Washing machine
Balcony
Windows in each room
Ceiling fans in each room
Fantastic cupboard space
Nice tiles on kitchen and bathroom floors
Locker in basement
25% downpayment
Lower condo fees
Well maintained building
Hardwood floors
Close to bus but can't hear it
New windows
Don't have to paint (but may want to, all in white now)
Crown molding throughout
Cons:
No view (in fact view is the rocks and dirt of Mont-Royal)
No dishwasher
No dryer
Small old stove
No vent in kitchen
Bathtub is old-style clawfoot and although I could soak to my heart's content, I hate that the shower curtain flies all over the place when you take a shower
Possible projects:
Get portable dishwasher
Replace bathtub
Open up kitchen to living room
Add a second balcony
My main concern about this place is the fact that there is no view. Although it would be super quiet and you all know how I love the quiet, it may be a disadvantage if/when I decide to sell. Any work that I may want to do has basically been done. It's a beautiful condo in a very well maintained building, I could move in tomorrow. I was practically drooling when I visited.
Pros:
Asking price is $10K over budget
Corner unit
French doors between between dining room
Elevator (I would need it as unit is 3 floors from street level, which happens to be the basement)
Washing machine
Balcony
Windows in each room
Ceiling fans in each room
Fantastic cupboard space
Nice tiles on kitchen and bathroom floors
Locker in basement
25% downpayment
Lower condo fees
Well maintained building
Hardwood floors
Close to bus but can't hear it
New windows
Don't have to paint (but may want to, all in white now)
Crown molding throughout
Cons:
No view (in fact view is the rocks and dirt of Mont-Royal)
No dishwasher
No dryer
Small old stove
No vent in kitchen
Bathtub is old-style clawfoot and although I could soak to my heart's content, I hate that the shower curtain flies all over the place when you take a shower
Possible projects:
Get portable dishwasher
Replace bathtub
Open up kitchen to living room
Add a second balcony
My main concern about this place is the fact that there is no view. Although it would be super quiet and you all know how I love the quiet, it may be a disadvantage if/when I decide to sell. Any work that I may want to do has basically been done. It's a beautiful condo in a very well maintained building, I could move in tomorrow. I was practically drooling when I visited.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)