Saturday, May 25th, marked the Rita’s Run 5km and 10km to benefit mental health. This race is put on by Kinetic Cycle & Fitness-this is where I go for my cross-training workouts! It is a fantastic spin, row and weight studio and I highly recommend going here for a great workout.
The day was BEAUTIFUL and couldn’t have asked for better weather! Blue skies, no wind, gorgeous colours all around in the river bottom. The race was located down at the Elks Compound in Indian Battle Park and the start and finish would be in the same vicinity. The 10km started at 9:00 am and the 5km at 9:15 am. I am grateful that Dan drove Andy and I down and dropped us off near the starting area, as we just had a short walk to the start. The parking in the river bottom area is very scattered and limited, and it was very packed with this event. We had more than enough time to get to start area and Dan meet us there before the 5km began.
Andy was excited for this race becuase it was a ‘real race,’ meaning he had a race bib and timing. We have always been stressing to Andy that when we do 5km events he just has to try his best and he can’t always expect a personal best time each race. With the temperature outside that morning along with his spirit, I knew a personal best time was possible.
When we run 5km races together, I am his pace bunny. He knows he shouldn’t go faster than mom because he may get too tired. He did a great job doing this that day! What he didn’t do, however, was stop talking! The amount of energy Andy uses trying to ask me questions during a race is so funny. But I know he was having fun.
Another fun thing about the race was that since it was local, there were lots of people running and spectating the race that we knew. Andy likes it when people cheer him on and recognize him. He also saw some classmates from school doing the race too. Whenever we have a race that has an out-and-back component it is really motivating for him becuase a lot of runners will cheer him on as he is heading back. Seeing a 6-year-old’s legs move as quick as his is shocking, so I think he throws a lot of people off when they see him.
Pure joy !Racing with mom
His miles splits were so consistent: 9:54, 9:58 and 10:05. I did tell Andy when we hit every kilometre along with every mile….he sort of understands the difference (miles are where Grandma lives, kilometres are here). So if anything he now knows that 5km is 3.11 miles! Anyhow, telling him where we are at and how much is left to go really keeps this kid moving. As we came into the finish, dad was there with some friends cheering us on. He got a really good video of us coming in and finishing, along with some commentary encouraging that Andy “takes me” at the finish. And what did we have, but another personal best. Time of 30:37, placing 3/17 in the 10 & under male and 78/355 overall! We are so proud of Andy and fully expect him to crack 30 minutes sometime this year, whether it be at Park Run or a registered 5km race. Time to get this kid some new running shoes!
Oh Red Deer. Every May Long, this race comes up and most years, we sign up. Dan’s family lives in Red Deer so it is a relatively “easy” event, in that we can head up on a holiday long weekend and have someplace to stay. I have only ever ran in the half marathon at Red Deer, but they do offer a 10km and full marathon distance (Dan did the full for his first full marathon!) They also have the kids run, which is approximately 1 kilometer. I have had some good results and poor results from this race in the past. My goal this year was to do better than last year, and I figured that could be somewhat easily attainable due to lots of changes. But you never know what to expect race day. And what happened on race day this year, I did not expect.
Last year, they had to cancel the full marathon distance due to forest fire smoke. This year, weather played in our favour. It was cool at the start, overcast, and no wind. The race starts and finishes near Lindsay Thurber High School and follows some great trails in the Red Deer trail system. You head to Kerry Wood Nature Centre, along the river, Heritage Ranch, Bower Ponds….sure, these mean nothing to someone who doesn’t know Red Deer. But really it’s a good highlight real of the nature and surrounding area.
Race start was at 8:15 am (10KM started at 8:00 am). My plan for this race was simple-go out harder than was smart and just try to hold on as long as possible. No, seriously. It was. Would I recommend this to everyone? No. Would I do this all the time? No. But, with the training and progress I have been making along with it being so long since feeling somewhat confident in going into a race, I figured I shouldn’t hold back or approach it gently.
Starting out, the main thing to note at this race is I started strong, with my first mile clocking in at 7:22. Now, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on to that pace the whole way, but I settled in and felt comfortable and confident. At mile 2, there is a turnaround near the nature centre. At this point, I could clearly see which female runners were ahead of me. There were 3. And they all had marathon bibs.
Ok—I was in first place for the half. This won’t last longer than 6 km into the race….for sure…..
Well. Spoiler. It lasted past 6km. And past 10 km. Past 15km. Somehow, I held on. My slowest miles were at mile 6 (which was definitely the uphill from the river trail to then head towards Heritage Ranch) and then mile 10 (which had another small climb and that is just a tough spot for me at any half).
So yeah, this is the shortest race recap ever because nothing with my positioning in the race changed amongst the other female runners during the whole race. I stayed in the same position I was since the start and managed to win the Red Deer Half Marathon. As I was coming into the finish, I started crying under my sunglasses. This was insane and unexpected. I have ran faster Red Deer Half Marathons before in the past and never even placed top 3. Everything aligned in regards to who wasn’t there….but more importantly, who did show up: ME. My final time was 1:44.37. Welcome back Lammers, welcome back!
Dan finished his half and then we were able to watch and cheer Andy on during his kids race. Andy did really well! It was a shorter race than he was used to, and immediately he wanted to know his time (my next blog post will touch a bit more on his times!) but this was not a chip-timed event for kids. He was happy to receive his finisher medal and some snacks from the tent. We headed back to nana and gramps’ house to shower and clean up. Then, Dan and I had to make it back for the awards ceremony.
There was some live music in the school gym before the ceremony and actually a decent number of people turned up for awards. They demolished the pronunciation of my name, but that is always funny to say the least. I was surprised to get not only a medal for overall winner, but for my age group. Usually they don’t double dip. Along with an additional medal, I received not one, but TWO gorgeous tiles form a local artisan (one for overall and one for my age group) and a $300 cheque! This is the largest cheque I’ve ever received at a race! Again, my mind always keeps looking at this in disbelief because I have ran faster in the past. But, every race is different. This was unexpected but icing on the cake.
That $300 immediately was deposited and put towards my London Marathon down payment I have already made with the tour provider. After awards, we had a great family dinner and an easy-going night. My body also didn’t feel too awful in the days that followed. While I don’t have any upcoming road races this year, it is not going to be trail season. My plan is to keep building on my mileage into this summer and fall so that when that London Marathon training plan starts, I have an excellent base….and a lot of motivation to see what else I can push my body to do!
Andy and I ran a race together a few weekends ago, and I thought I would share a bit about the race and how proud we are of him! The race is the Coaldale Fun Run 5km, and I signed us up to do this race together. While Andy has done 5km races before with us, most recently on New Years Eve while wearing a winter jacket and all the gear, he hasn’t really tried ‘racing’ one. I will definitely say that this was his first real test as a RACE!
Coaldale is about a 20 minute drive from our house. Realistically, we probably could have just done packet pickup the morning of, but I didn’t want us to be rushing or worry if we were late. Andy was also very excited to see his race number the night before. We talked the night before about how this would have a whole lot more people than at the previous week’s Park Run (free 5km held every week worldwide; ours is held at Henderson Lake) and that there would be a lot more kids at this run. This has grown to quite the large-scale local event for Coaldale, which is great they have it.
At home before the race!
I appreciated that it was a 10 am start, as we didn’t need any early alarms for Saturday morning. We got out to Coaldale, parked, and had a short walk to the school where the race was being held. As we waited to get started, I told Andy he didn’t have to hold my hand the whole way but that he would want to at the start when it was very crowded. Starting promptly at 10 am, we were off!
Start line smiles!
The race starts and finishes at Coaldale Christian School. It is mainly ran on the rural roads on the outskirts of town, so there is a lot of gravel and rocks. Andy held my hand for at least the first half a mile and it was at that point that I figured he could just run next to me without getting trampled over. He is still learning how to be aware of those around him (and doesn’t always look behind himself when he moves over) but he did pretty well this whole race. His first mile was quick at 10:26; this was a bit faster than his first mile at Park Run the prior week. Unlike at Park Run, he kept pace in mile 2 and 3! When we got to the halfway point there was a water station but he didn’t want to stop since “I got a cramp at Moonlight Run when I had water!” So we kept going. Mile 2 was 11:13; slower, but still going strong. Amazingly, this little dude had more stamina in him because for the final mile he actually sped back up and got to passing some people. He finished mile 3 in 10:36, and he crossed the finish line at 33:27!
Finisher!
Gold medal for Andy!
We had to wait a little bit for the live results to load, but were excited to confirm that Andy placed first in the 6 and under boys! This race is unique as they have smaller age groups, so he was able to be with kindergarten aged kids and younger. We unfortunately couldn’t stick around for the official award ceremony (due to having swim lessons back in town at 11:30) but we received Andy’s gold medal later the next week.
Gold for our boy!
We have no clue if Andy is going to always love running, but for now he really enjoys running 5km races with us….he’s been brought up coming to mostly my events, and now he gets to have his own race numbers and earn medals in the process. We are so proud of our little man and can’t wait to see how his races go in the future!
I can’t promise I will start regularly posting, but I know I am good for at least one yearly post. So here it is. In reverse order.
Disney
Well, of course Disney is still a huge part in my day to day life. Yes—day to day. I feel like I am always thinking or daydreaming about it. It really is my ‘happy place.’ Last August, Andy and I went on a mommy & son trip to Disney with my dear friend Maureen and her son. It was such a great trip and we made so many memories. The memory I want to forget is catching COVID for the first time while there and us having to truck through the trip with that going on. WOW-that took a lot out on my body. Andy had one night where he broke his fever and was a bit of a mess, but he trucked on. My positive test when we came back confirmed how shitty I felt, and it honestly threw off my running for about a month then. At least I didn’t have any big events planned!
Disney 100!Cheese & Castles Grandpa Andy’s favorite character
We are doing another mommy & son trip to Disney this August, with hopefully no COVID, and with Grandma. I am really excited to see what rides Andy is most interested in doing and all the memories we can make. Dan and I have been working with Andy a lot lately preparing him for swimming pools, because he is not keen on his swim lessons. We have him in private swim lessons starting a few weeks from now, so hopefully that helps. I made a fake ‘threat’ that Grandma wouldn’t book us at the nice hotel anymore if he didn’t start to want to learn to swim….hopefully that’s lit a fire!
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party…in hot August
Dad
This month marks the 20th anniversary of when my dad passed away. I turn 40 this year. That’s a lot to take in. I have worked really hard in the recent years to deal with the grief that still was lingering and I feel like I am in a pretty good place. There hasn’t been anything new with the family history/DNA/ancestry area. My one close contact hasn’t talked to me in about two years, and it was sort of left that there may be some family resentment/conflict due to the potential unknowns/family skeletons. I decided to send one more message earlier this week to just touch base and say hi…you never know what things could have changed?
There is also a date I am awaiting, and that is June 8th. This day is the day after what would have been my dad’s 72nd birthday, but it is also a day that Quebec puts forth Bill 2 into action. I will put a snippet below from the Province of Quebec website regarding what Bill 2 entails:
This act amends the Civil Code in respect of filiation, the law of persons and civil status. In particular, it amends the rules concerning the knowledge of one’s origins in relation to adoption so as to broaden their scope. Thus, this act allows the adoptee greater access to information about the identity of the parent of origin by eliminating almost all possibilities that a refusal to disclose would hinder it. It also gives the adoptee the right to obtain, under certain conditions, a copy of their original birth certificate and the judgments relating to their adoption, as well as the names of their grandparents and brothers and sisters of origin, and, if they consent to it, the information allowing them to contact them.
It extends services to new categories of applicants, such as the original grandparents of an adopted person and the first-degree descendants of a deceased adopted person. The latter will be able to obtain the same information and documents as the adopted person.
Lastly, it enshrines a person’s right to know their origins in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. These measures will come into force on June 8, 2024. Until then, the current provisions on knowledge of one’s origins continue to apply.
Honestly. That statement in bold…that is me. And this gives me so much hope. I read this outloud to Dan just now as I typed it and he paused….and said “I am cautiously optimistic for you!” Hopefully, 2024 can be the year we find the real answers.
Running
This is a year, other than the pandemic, that I have no real big races planned. And I can say that I am at a place in my life that I am ok with that! I started the year off with a quick trip to Los Angeles where I was able to take part in the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend with my bff. It had been since 2017 that Disneyland had races (due to conflicts with the city of Anaheim and then the pandemic, etc) so it was great to be back there in that atmosphere!
Cheese & Castles (mom’s turn)
A few weeks ago, we did the Moonlight Run 6km as a family-this was Andy’s first 6km distance. Even in the late-winter snow, he did fantastic. We finished just under one hour, and that was even with him in snow boots. My race focus this year should have been more explicitly stated-it is to run 5km races with Andy! Up next….Coaldale Family Fun Run. He’ll also have the Red Deer Kids race during marathon weekend, Little Souls, and I also plan to get him signed up for a kid’s race in Wisconsin.
Moonlight Run
Andy and I head to Wisconsin in July, and I will be doing the Dances with Dirt Half Marathon Trail Race in Devils Lake. I am looking forward to my first trail race outside of Western Canada! I am not looking forward to the humidity! I will also sign up for one of the local beer garden 5km events that coincidentally have a kids event too.
Dan and I are signed up for the return of Lone Wolf in September, and Coulee Cactus Crawl in Lethbridge will be our warmup trail race together. Still trying to think of a good team name, otherwise our Lone Wolf original of “Lammers & the Dilf” will still hold on.
One big thing to mention that ties directly in with where I am at with my running is to talk about where I am with my health. Without going into too much, I will say that I am in a much better place than I was one year ago. I have lost close to 20 pounds. My body is not hurting. With the guidance of a doctor, I weaned off my antidepressants that I had been on for close to 12 years (but I think were doing more harm than good the last while). I have now been off them for 7 months. I took time off alcohol. Between the being off the antidepressant and pausing on boozing, I weaned off my blood pressure medication. I tracked my blood pressure off the pills for about 2 months in November and December (some time while drinking, some while not) and it has now been stable since January. And I am not on that pill either. I am actually now on no prescription medication—just a daily multivitamin and collagen because I’m old hahaha. And, I had my yearly echo and my heart function has improved since the last one. And super minor, but I am not consuming even CLOSE to the amount of caffeine as I was previously….living on the half caf/decaf life. The meaningful changes I started making a year ago really have made a difference-the tests don’t lie. I am not going back to where I was before.
Took this photo a few days ago. Now it’s pounding snow.
A week ago, this blog entered my mind during a workout. And I reflected on how great I felt when I was actively posting about my running and training. It was therapeutic. I know it will take some extra effort to make posting happen, but with the upcoming Disney, Dad and Running events on the horizon, sharing the good news could do some good. They will be shorter than this, more often than not, and not very well proof-read. But I know this helps.
I have really dropped off with keeping this site updated over the years. Back to work after maternity leave, COVID and excuses all weigh in.
But, doing this site has really brought me JOY over the years. I would to start writing monthly again. But I am not sure what to focus on.
Yes, I am still running. I actually did the Disney Marathon weekend this January and did Goofy Challenge and had a blast. I’ll share a photo(S) below.
And prior to that , I did my first 100km trail race in September 2022. I never wrote a recap on that race. And I plan to do a second 100km this September.
And prior to that we went to Disney’s Aulani in Hawaii! I didn’t even do a recap of that! Well, we returned and moved into our new house so timing was a challenge.
I’ve gone to Disney world a few times since the Pandemic. We bought a new house. And the 19th anniversary of my dad’s passing is tomorrow.
19 years with him. Now, 19 years without.
I need suggestions on what I should post about below. Yes, the origin story of my dad is still in question and I have some new avenues I need to pursue. Yes, I am still running and doing Disney races and crazy races. Im going to Disney this summer with my good friend, her son and Andy. And we are making our own family memories.
What do you want me to write about if I start up monthly writing?
Of course, I did my last post 3 months ago. Of course, I haven’t written about any of the races I did in the late spring and any of the training I have been doing this summer, and I haven’t written about what is ahead.
So, I am doing it now. It’s going to be pretty concise, but it’s a post.
I left you with the fact that the race weekend for Whitefish Half and Full Marathon was upon on. We headed down for the Canadian long week in May and had just an overall fantastic time. We went with our good friends Nick and Alycia, and my husbands parents also came down and stayed at a hotel to help with Andy. Dan and Alycia would then run the full marathon, while Nick and I both ran the half.
En route
Everyone runs the first 13 miles together. Half course was relatively “easy” as far as elevation, turns, etc. Dan and I ran together and had a very good pace for most of it. Dan was actually killing it and ended up leaving me at around mile 8 or 9. I had trouble in those two miles and was very tempted to just start walking and quit. My competitive edge felt lost. However, I mustered up some willpower and pushed through. My finishing time was 1:47:47, which I will happily take after it being such a long time without racing! 20/237 for women and 4/40 for women 35-39.
At the end of the half marathon
Four finishers!
The following weekend I had the disaster that was the Calgary Full Marathon. I need to stop doing this full marathon because it’s never a good race for me. The half goes well. The ultra has gone well. But this damn distance. Anyway, 5km in to the race I knew stuff wasn’t going to go right. I also had my worst day of my period and felt like shit (yeah, I’m whining. but I’m talking about a natural thing that everyone should know SUCKS when you are trying to compete) so there’s that. The fact I finished is just good enough for me. I ran a 4:30.23, and YES-Dan’s time at Whitefish (even with the crazy elevation!) beat mine. He ran a 4:07.25, with a 1:45.41 half split. And his time for the second half wasn’t slower because he hadn’t trained….it was slower because the second half of that course was EVIL!
Happy to be done with a beer!
In the end, Calgary was completed. But the highlight may have been seeing the photos and video of our son Andy run the 1.2 km kids run. Ohhh, he had the best time!
Mascots at the kids race
How was summer then? Well…we bought a house, sold a house, moved, went to Hawaii….and oh yeah….I trained for the Lost Soul Ultra 100KM. This race happens ONE WEEK FROM TODAY and HOLY SHIT IT IS STARTING TO GET REAL.
I did the LSU 50km twice—once in 2019 and then also last year in 2021. Last year, a monsoon came in the middle of the night before the 50km race start so they had to change things last minute and make it the wet-weather route. Not a trail race, but it was done. This will be my first ever go at a 100km race distance, with my farthest ever before being the 54km that is the regular Lost Soul…and the most I’ve ever run in one day is 70km during our silly 100 point day.
Look really close and you can see me. The coulees were so green early in the summer!
My good friend Tracey is crewing me (thank god) and the weather appears to finally be getting cooler. The rain needs to hold off and all should be good. I know there will be some really high HIGHS and some pretty low LOWS during my attempt at this. But as long as I finish, then it’s a personal best.
I really do hope to do a detailed report on this race because this is a pretty big deal for me. I’m grateful for having the time in the summer to do the training while not teaching, and also for Andy being at daycare so I have this selfish time to run.
Next post will hopefully be posted in this same month! I can’t wait to share stories from the trails!
Well well well….it’s finally time. The time has come. It’s here. WE HAVE A RACE WEEKEND GETAWAY!
I know there have been events happening elsewhere in the last year even during the pandemic. But in Canada, most of our things were still cancelled due to gathering laws. And then the ‘easy’ border crossing by road wasn’t easy because it was closed to traffic until I don’t even remember when…November 2021?
In early 2020, we had chosen the Whitefish Marathon Weekend in Montana as our spring race. Had an AirBNB booked with friends. Going to be great! Well, that got cancelled (obviously) and our race entries got transferred to 2021. The race happened in 2021, but none of us from Canada could go…I mean, unless you flew. We weren’t allowed to cross the road border.
Now its 2 years later. And it’s been about 3 years since I have done a half marathon race (my last was Woody’s RV Half Marathon in Red Deer, May 2019). I ran a 1:43.20 then. After that race, my focus was a full in Haida Gwaii (3:42 and change) and my 50km Ultra Trail Race.
I have trained pretty well this spring….but my base and my ability is SO DIFFERENT than it was since I last toed the start line of a road race. I know I should just listen to Dan and focus on that this race weekend is about travel and having fun with friends….but I am nervous. I would used to thrive on being competitive to myself in road races. I am going to push the best I can, and while I have done the mileage in training, I am not sure if I will just explode part way through. It almost feels like this is my first time doing a race and don’t know what to expect.
We leave this afternoon to do the 3-3.5 hour drive to beautiful Whitefish. The weather for the weekend looks ideal. We are staying with really good friends at an AirBNB close to start and finish. In-Laws are already down there at a hotel and are going to watch Andy race day and then take him on Saturday night so we can have some fun.
This trip and race has been 2 years in the making and we finally get to go. I have no clue what my “Race Report” will be. Maybe I’ll surprise myself. Maybe my legs will give out and I’ll have to walk my ass across the finish. Either way, I just have to remember that this means one thing—RACING IS FINALLY BACK!!!
So, as I look back at 2021…..race wise, I want to forget about it all
No races yet this year. Everything had been cancelled. Notice how on the top of my main page I have result headers going way back to 2013? And the last year was 2019? That’s because 2020 blew up all the races. And then 2021 just kept being disappointment after disappointment of races being delayed and then cancelled. I have said it before–I am not a virtual race person. So I only did one in 2021 and that was the Haida Gwaii Half Marathon. That race holds a special space in my heart from when we went and did it in person in 2019. Once summer hit in 2021, I hit the trails. It was my last hope. Lost Soul 50km WAS going to happen! The 100km and 100 mile racers started on Friday, September 10th. It was exciting that something was actually occurring. I started to get my pre-race, night before jitters and laid all my stuff out.
And then….the rain.
This won’t be a really big recap, but the main thing is rain hit at around 9 pm Friday night. We had been so dry and at risk of wildfires all summer long, and it chose to rain that night. Rained all night long….100 mile runners were STUCK on the course in coulee mud. They pulled the runners off the course starting around 3:30 am whenever they reached their next aide station. At some point in the middle of the night the race directors started making a plan.
When I woke up at around 5:30, everything was up in the air. I believe it was at 6:15 am that a decision was posted on Facebook that YES the 50 km race would start, but it would be delayed to 7:15 am, and at that time all 100 mile racers would also start up again with the 50 km runners. The final catch-wet weather route.
What is a wet weather route for a 50 km trail race in the easy-to-destroy coulees? It is a 10km loop you do 5 times that is on mainly pavement, a touch of shale path, and one 100m stretch of mud.
Now. Today’s date is Jan 6th. This race recap is so soon after the actual race, it’s going to be very detailed…..yeah, no. My New Years Resolution is going to be to get back to actually doing training and race recaps, because 2022 better have some fucking races (more on that at the end). But the main thing about this Lost Soul….we were all just SO HAPPY to have a damn race! If this race had been cancelled due to weather, and not COVID, it would have been a huge slap in the heart. Was my time faster than it would have been on the coulee course? Of course—it was pavement. But was I in more pain than I would have been on the regular route? Of course—it was pavement.
Just look at that muddy shale! Photo Credits above and below-LSU volunteers
I am forever grateful for the lovely race directors who made the decision to change the route in order to protect the coulees and allow us to still have an event. It was very stressful even leading up to race day before the weather hit as there was a chance that it would be cancelled if new COVID restrictions had come in by then. So, the only thing I can thank Jason Kenney for is that he delayed any sort of Vax Passport restriction stuff until after my race. THANK YOU, but you are still an asshat.
My finish time was 5:28. I was sore AF after. I got to run with our son Andy into the finish line. My husband got to see me finish. My friend Tracey helped me at the main aid station whenever I came through. The positive about a looped course was that anyone who was spectating was in the same spot and you got to see everyone anytime you came through headquarters. No, it wasn’t the traditional Lost Soul Ultra. But nothing since March 2020 has been traditional.
So, what’s next? Register for the 50km for 2022 so I can do the regular route again and try to beat my 2019 time? Nah…..how about do it twice? That’s right….I registered for the 100km Lost Soul Ultra. This will be my farthest race ever. The most I have ever run in one day is 70 km during our crazy 100 Point Day event in 2020. This will be a total different race for me, and my main goal is to just finish. I need a different challenge; something to motivate me. I had little motivation last year with everything getting cancelled, so starting 2022 off on the right foot with signing up for races and starting plans is step 1.
While that is the Goal race it isn’t until September. I have also already signed up for the Whitefish Half Marathon and Calgary Marathon (both in May) and Taber Tuff 25km Trail Race in July. We also have a deferred entry to the Lone Wolf trail race in September (that was another last minute cancellation due to BC COVID rules). I am going to attempt to get in to the Elk Valley 50km in July to use as a training run. And I will also keep my eyes open for other races that intrigue me.
This year is about getting back in the habit and reaching some new challenges. Here goes nothing!
Holy fuck. What a school year. What a whirlwind. What a pandemic. To say that I was looking forward to the start of this summer break maybe more than any other year, is in fact a huge understatement. We don’t even have that much planned…but to just have a break and have time to just rejuvenate is amazing.
Andy is still in daycare full time, but at least we have flexibility for drop off and pick up time since I am not having to head in to work each morning. It has made the mornings pretty nice….we let him wake up on his own, Dan gets out the door, and after Andy has breakfast I take him in. He is usually there between 8:30 and 9:00, and then I head straight out on a run.
While places in the state have had ‘normal’ races, not many have begun in canada. I was able to score a Lost Soul 50km entry for the second week of September, and barring a hurricane, this race should happen. Thing is, I have NOT been running anywhere NEAR what I normally would during a training year. Excuse or whatever, but the school year was just a gong show and having a 3.5 year old made it challenging to get those ‘training runs’ in when I really didn’t have anything to train for.
But now, it’s summer. And I am full force into training. I have set out what I think should be a relatively simple plan to follow with most of my workouts being Monday to Friday while Andy is at daycare. I have to keep reminding myself that the time that I finish the race in does not matter….I just need to complete.
I am also starting to get a bit motivated to lose the weight I have put on during the pandemic. It is around 12-15 pounds or so in the past year and a half…and I know getting rid of it won’t happen overnight. But by focusing on making healthier meals again, running 4 times a week, taking a row class, it’ll slowly work it’s way off.
This post was more of just an update and a WELCOME TO SuMMER and show that I am still in fact alive and well, haha..I hope to update with how summer training goes and any milestones that occur. So far this week I had one of the best trail runs I have had in a long time, clocking in at about 17 km. It is a good sign of things to come 🙂
Looking west from after Gun Range Hill & before Ryan’s Hill on the Lost Soul Ultra course, leg 3.
So. I have been putting off and avoiding writing a post for some time. I have even had it on my “to-do” list. This week, I made a point to tell myself I would do it by Friday, as I would have some time. When I was heading to work, I decided I wanted to title the post as “Hopeful”. So I find it ironic and a bit funny that my stupid desk calendar at work had this cartoon today:
What are you trying to tell me from the grave Charles?
My last post was bidding 2020 adieu. To fill you in on details of each month, I will begin with January:
January
Biggest thing here was getting my foot surgery. I had a Cartiva Implant put in on January 18th. Leading up to the surgery, I was not nervous about going under…but I was nervous about not getting to. With COVID, if I had been placed under quarantine at all, I would have to postpone my surgery. See, that month we had our last week of a 6 week stint of students being ‘at home learning’ and then all students in Alberta were coming back in person the week of January 11th. I joked that if any of those damn kids caused me to postpone this surgery I would never let them live it down. Good news is they did not let me down.
This is the best I’ve looked post surgery ever and I think it’s because my brows are microbladed.
During surgery recovery that month I discovered I cannot handle the side effects of T3’s. I also got to watch the Inauguration of a decent human being and VP from the comfort of my couch. I binge watched Bridgerton, Blown Away and Bling Empire. Overall, January was pretty great.
February
Foot is healing and I was back to work by the end of the first week in February. Crazy that I was already walking on my foot. This surgery is insane! Second semester started and we were all in person, but the COVID cases in classes were still happening and effecting a ton of random classes and kids. I was trying to do strength and core workouts via the Peloton app since I was not cleared to run yet….it was something at least.
Valentines Day allowed for a fun photoshoot with myself and Andy….so adorable this little guy. We also were able to escape to Red Deer for Reading Week because we felt case numbers were down enough in the province to warrant that….little did we know this province would fucking blow up in the coming months.
March
OK. I feel like this is when the disparity between what was happening in the US vs Canada in COVID started to develop. Vaccines were starting to given places in the states pretty swiftly. My whole immediate family (most importantly my mom) were able to access first and second doses quickly. Rollout was great.
What was happening here? Not a whole lot.
My husband is better at explaining the rollout and why we were so slow to the game….in the end, he just commented that “When the US does something great, they do it damn well. We are just a small fish in the sea” We didn’t have the supply needed to start the rollout fast. Every province’s rollout plan was a bit different, and our Phases in Alberta were moving slow. ALSO-Educators were not included in any of the early phases….we would just be the general public in Phase 3. THANKS JASON KENNEY.
March was nice for weather at least. Very grateful for my friend Tracey who fixed my bike, which is my dad’s old Schwinn from the 90s. And Dan bought a bike off Lethbridge Swap and Buy. Andy is getting a bit too heavy for the running stroller, so we tried our friends’ Thule bike carrier and loved it. Huge thanks to Lexi and Simon who are letting us borrow it this Spring and Summer, as they have a double they now use!
All set to go!
Also, I started running this month. I was first told to wait until mid April, but my foot was healing and I was itching to get out there. I decided to sign up for the Virtual Moonlight 6km as a goal. I ran it in a 35:32 which for being two months out of surgery isn’t too bad. Big thanks to Tracey, again, who was there for me – she joined me as I did my 6km! Felt good to do an ‘event.’
As the month wore on, the numbers in Lethbridge for cases were growing, and our school in particular was having case after case after case. I kept dodging my classes being quarantined, but students were in and out for random amounts. Our district wasn’t allowed to make a change to Scenario 3-Online Learning. The Alberta government must approve that. But our school did get approval finally to go online for the four days leading up to Easter because it was just a hot mess and a half.
April
Holy shit, this month was a different thing each week….
Easter came and went. The highlight of Easter weekend was the fantastic weather and our friend Nick’s 40+1 birthday celebration. Last year, his 40th had to be completely cancelled because it was the start of the pandemic. This year, we did a “Runstravaganza” on a Saturday where a handful of us (still within the restriction guidelines of groups gathering outside) ran and biked around 18km, stopping at eachother’s backyards for drinks and snacks. We had Andy with us and I biked with him as Dan ran. It was an awesome day! Felt a little bit of normalcy, as this is something we would have done in a non-pandemic year!
Dan and I also took Andy on a little mini getaway the weekend after Easter….We went to the Calgary Zoo for the first time. While I have been to many zoos, this was also my first time here! I know it’s a bit different than normal, as no indoor-exhibits were open. It was outside only with timed entry slots and masks on. It was a cooler day, but it was honestly great seeing the zoo in a low-crowd scenario. We then stayed in Mossleigh for the night at Aspen Crossing, where we booked a Caboose Cabin. I had gift cards that had been given to me in December as reimbursement for the Polar Express that was supposed to happen, but didn’t. Andy LOVED being in his BLUE TRAIN. It was a really fun experience!
So, that weekend was approximately April 10th give or take…..we had to come back to school IN PERSON after Easter break, as the government denied our schools request to stay online for one more buffer week. Thanks guys, thanks. On Wednesday, April 14th, I was minding my own business teaching Pre-Calculus students about Quadratics when I got a phone call from daycare….Positive Covid case at daycare, children must be picked up immediately. Quarantine for 2 weeks (became a bit more due to a second asymptomatic case during tests) and daycare closed.
:::fuckkkkkk:
I had been around these school quarantines, kids and teachers being in and out all year. My husband had not. All in all, we are pretty fortunate that this didn’t already happen to us. But we had to be creative from the 15th through the 28th. My principals were super in explaining all the different ‘days’ I could access for being at home, as I took on most of the at-home care since Dan needs to be working in order to be bringing home the money. I did not have to get into my personal days or my co-curricular days, and the fact that I already have a morning spare two days a week helped too. But dear god, taking care of a 3.5 year old for over 2 weeks when you can’t leave your house with them….that is something else. Andy was awesome though….Dan and I keep having to remind ourselves that he took it like a champ. He had three different COVID tests and they all came back negative…Dan was the champ taking him for those, but honestly driving to the testing centre at least killed time.
During quarantine, covid vaccines were starting to go up a bit, but moving on from the stages was not going fast. After doing some more digging, I felt like I could honestly declare myself as eligible in one of the early phases because I looked at my Cardiac MRI results from last year pre-COVID and compared them to something that was listed an a chronic health condition. This is something I plan on discussing in a future post, so we will leave that for another day. ANYHOW, since Kenney wasn’t prioritizing teachers I took matters in to my own hands and got my first Pfizer dose on April 18th. In another twist, we heard about that the Blackfeet Tribe in Montana was holding a vaccination clinic at the Carway border crossing, as they had a surplus of vaccines to share. After looking into it all, Dan drove down to the border at 4 am on Wednesday, April 21st. He was 13th in line. Our friends were number 35 or so, and the line kept growing and growing. Dan crossed the border, stayed in his vehicle, got his first dose of Moderna, waited 15 minutes, and drove home. He received paperwork from both Canada and US exempting him from a 14 day quarantine for going into the US. The Blackfeet Nation did not have to share these excess in shots…but they did.
Dan took a pic of the lineup to the Carway/Peigan border with Cheif Mountain in the back. People form age 18-80 were in the lineup….the gentleman behind him was a 70 year old who drove from EDMONTON just so he could get his second dose since those are now being delayed.
So then, a bunch of our friends were able to get the Astra-Zenaca shot because they opened it to 40 and older…don’t worry, no one has had blood clot problems. But the second dose of that is up in the air because of supply….but they suggest 12 weeks for that anyway….and then just when our school and another high school had gotten district approval to moved to a hybrid-teaching schedule for the duration of the school year in attempt to limit tons of quarantine, Jason Kenney sent all 7-12 students in hot-spot areas online. We literally announced to our students Thursday morning that it would be starting the first week of May, and that night an announcement was made. Could have given us a heads up, huh? Fuck.
May
Well, we are halfway through May so who really knows what’s going to be happening. The two week online for hot-spots now is three weeks because then they decided to move it to all K-12 online. Alberta was a flaming dumpster fire at the beginning of the month….cases are crazy. There are so many people being irresponsible and our hospital admissions are so high right now. And it’s a lot of younger people. Who are being reckless. People hosting Anti-lockdown anti mask rodeos….like seriously. Grow the fuck up. We are all sick of this pandemic but it keeps lasting longer because of idiots.
This was the night all the new restrictions got announced and four of us drank beer in a garage while we read them. We would do this even when it is not a pandemic.
But remember at the start of this page, when I talked about Hope?
I still have hope for this month…and the rest of the year!
Vaccine supply increased…Teachers were given FINALLY given a go to get their shots before it was wide open. Kenney allowed them a one day heads up….but then it opened to 30 and older for booking. And as of earlier this week, 12 and older. Basically, anyone who wants a shot in Alberta can go get it. So thank you!
All our friends have had their first shot. I feel safe at work. Dan feels safe at work. We feel safe about Andy at daycare. Numbers are starting to go back down with the new restrictions. Weather is getting better. Summer is ahead.
We are going to escape to the cabin for May Long. In June, I have a virtual Ladies Fest 8km to do, we have our 100 Point Day event again…..I maybe (fingers crossed) will get to go to Wisconsin this summer (big fingers crossed). We will be getting second doses of vaccines. Fall school year should be more normal. And I scored a 50 km race bib for Lost Soul Ultra in September along with us doing the Lone Wolf as a team.
Je Me Souviens-To Infinity & Beyond! 