me...?? Running?

April 25, 2010 marked uncharted territory for me. I began the establishment of "personal best" times in my world of running!!!

Back as a young'un in elementary school, I ran cross country races and liked it. In junior high, i was a sprinter, and liked it. In high school and college, I was a volleyball player...who HATED running! Go figure!!

Growing up, my running repertoire also included being roused waaaay earlier than I would have liked, on Father's Day morning, for the annual Manitoba Marathon....no no, i was not running anything close to a full or half marathon...the 2.6mile SuperRun was where it was at for us...a family ritual of sort, and a distance plenty far enough for me!! The Manitoba Marathon is a major fundraising venture for the Association for Community Living-Manitoba...for whom my dad just happened to be Executive Director...so i didn't really have a choice regarding my Super Run participation....it's just what we did. And since it happens on Father's Day, what dad wants, dad gets! And dad wanted us to run!

Anyway....i digress....

Running has taken a back seat in my exercise regime in the last number of years. Actually any kind of cardio took a back seat...lol...i much prefer weight training to cardio. But something happened last spring...i don't even think i can decipher what changed...but suddenly, running seemed appealing. And so i started running. Just a bit. On the treadmill, at the gym. Then on trails, with a friend from work. At first it really sucked. But then i kinda started to like it! What?! running is becoming fun?!?!?! Who saw that coming??!! Not me! So I kept running! Nothing fast, nothing far, but running none the less!

In January, my dear friend Darla flaunted a challenge before a few of us...she wanted to start training for a 10k race at the end of April. And before I could consider that it was a foolish agreement, i said "sure!" And better yet, Pammer agreed too! And so did Darla's friend Stacey! So, we started a training program, signed up for the race...and with each week that went by, I was loving it!!

And then before i knew it, April 25 was here! Race day! I was nervous, i was excited, i was antsy standing at the starting line and just wanted to get going!!!!! The damper on our day was the fact that Darla was diagnosed with double stress fractures in her legs 3 DAYS before the race, and was unable to run. Boo. The up side was that she became cheerleader and photographer extraordinaire.
So what follows are pics of race day...courtesy of Darla....capturing me in my first ever 10k.

start line!!!! ready to go!!!!
Darla was a superstar and followed us in her car for the first stretch!! She shot photos out her car window WHILE driving and cheering loudly! Yep, that's why i'm grinning in this pic!! (i'm right in the middle...and can you see all the people around me thinking"who the heck is yelling from their car??!!")

me and Pammer!

My cheering squad at the finish line! Kimmer and Darla! Love these girls!!!! (and check out my medal...wooooo!!!!)

At the finish line sporting our medals....me, Stacey and Pammer

The 4 amigos...we will find another 10k to run when we're all healthy and whole again!

And so...my goal was to finish the race in under 1hour...figured the race day adrenaline would help me have a good shot at that goal....

....58m34s is now my newly established personal best for a 10k...yay me, I met my goal! And I've got a chance to try and shave a few seconds off in a couple of weeks...my next 10k is May 30....!!!

St Lucia!!

I know, I know....i've been back from my trip for a couple of weeks and have yet to blog....well the wait is over! Many of you have already seen the Facebook pics, so this won't be much new...but at least with a bit more commentary! The busyness of life, combined with a ZILLION pics to sort through has led to the delay (ahem..avoidance??!!) in this blog, but I guess I will just have to get over it, because taking a zillion pictures is what i do!!

Sooooo......St Lucia...ahhh.....a little piece of sun-shiney heaven!!! It was GREAT!!!!! Pammer and I had been looking forward to this trip since the END OF OCTOBER!!!! And let me tell you, i was more than ready for a holiday!

We left Vancouver, and after a quick layover in Toronto, where I got to meet my adorable (then) 6 week old nephew and spend a night with my brother and sis-in-law. Check out the facebook pics of the cute little guy! Then...it was off to the Caribbean!!!

We stayed at an all-inclusive.....
And had the BEST room....beachfront suite!!!!!!

Check out the view we woke up to every day!!!!

This was all about a RELAXING holiday...but we also wanted explore the island. I think we had a good balance...it almost worked out to spending one day at the resort chillin' in the sun, then one day out and about, then one day at the resort, then one day out...etc etc....

So...what follows in pictures is a synopsis of what we spent our time doing...trust me, it's a BRIEF synopsis, cuz like I said, i have a ZILLION pictures, and it was hard to choose just a few to post. But I hope it helps you get the idea!

Pedal boats at the resort!!!

It was really hot, so I had to cool off in the ocean on a regular basis!

Crashing waves...so beautiful!

Spent a lot of time doing this......

The resort grounds were beautiful...flowers flowers everywhere!! It was so colourful!

We took a "land and sea" excursion. We got a great overview of the west side of the island, went to a waterfall, volcano, saw the Pitons, and took a catamaran!!! The Pitons are the famous mountains...there are 2 peaks....you can see one of them here!

At the waterfall...nothing overly extravagant, but it's the most popular waterfall on the island because you don't have to hike in...easy access means lots of people!

At our lunch stop...an amazing restaurant called the Mango Tree, with the most unbelievable views

The volcano...see the smoke in the distance? It was stinky like sulpher, but apparently that's a good thing because it means the gases aren't poisonous!!

our handsome tour guide...Lloyd!

We took a catamaran ride back up the coast for the afternoon...and got to stop and swim at one point. One of my best pre-trip purchases was a waterproof case for my little point-and-shoot...SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!! I love underwater shots!!

Taking in the scenery

rum and coke!!

On another day, we walked to Pigeon Island. It was really neat to check out all the old stone barracks, canons and amazing views from way up high! Read more about it via the link i attached....it's a pretty cool place...and you may recognize it from some of the recent Bachelor episodes....!!

views of Rodney Bay

At the end of our trip, we splurged....and took a helicopter back down to the airport, rather than the 1 1/2 long drive on winding roads....my first helicopter ride...and TOTALLY worth the money!!

The Pitons from the air

sunsets!!!! Didn't have one every night (stupid late afternoon low cloud that set in....) but did manage to have a couple nights of great skies!

and one final sunset from the airplane

There you have it....a very brief overview of an AMAZING holiday!! It was hot, it was beautiful, it was relaxing, it was GREAT!!

Spring has Sprung!!

Oh my poor neglected blog....
But here I am again! Nothing overly exciting to post today but if i didn't tend to my blog now, who knows when i'd get around to it...i blame facebook for that....I have a slew of Olympic pics that got their own album in facebook, and that was the big excitement around these here parts over the month of February. I spent 2 days in downtown Vancouver with a couple of friends, taking in the Olympic experience. We didn't have tickets for any events, and stood in a lot of long lineups for free venues, but the weather was beautiful and it was fun just to be there.

And our lovely spring weather continues!!!! Who says it rains all the time in Vancouver??!! It's officially spring now, so perhaps the blossoms and leaves don't feel quite so out of place!!

However, despite the beautiful sunshine, i'm EXCITED EXCITED EXCITED to head south later this week and enjoy some all-inclusive goodness in a happy place called St. Lucia....that's right, the trip Pammer and I booked waaaayyyy back in October is finally upon us!!!!!! Can't wait!!! I'm in need of a vacation, and those Caribbean waters can't come soon enough!! Aaaaaaand.....a stopover in Toronto on the way means I get to meet my aDORable nephew!!!! Wahooooooooo!!

Here are some spring pics to share with you, some delightful blossomy-goodness thanks to a non-existent winter here on the west coast. And stay tuned....St Lucia pics will be coming....

See ya soon!!

just call me Auntie!!

Woke up to the phone call of this little guy's arrival last week...introducing my first nephew, meaning i'm officially "Auntie Laura"!! I'll get to see him for a really quick visit in about a month, can't wait to hold this cuteness!!!!

And this other thing call the Olympics has been taking a lot of my time in the last week...a post about that coming soon....i experienced the mayham first hand over the weekend!

Let's carry on.....New Years and more!!

Ok, so when i left you last, i was on my way back from Winnipeg to Abby. Had a few flight delays, got in to Abby mid-afternoon, Pam picked me up from the airport, I quickly went home, unpacked and repacked my suitcase, and Pammer and I headed to the ferry! More waiting and and many hours later, we finally arrived in Courtenay to visit my cousin and family for New Years! I love visiting my cousin....it's a time complete with hanging out, eating good food and enjoying the company of one of the cutest kids i know. And dang can he talk well for a 2 yr old!!!Technically i'm a cousin once removed or something to him (how does that work? anybody know? my cousin's kid would be what relation to me??) but i'm trying to teach him to call me Auntie Laura....if he thinks about it enough, he can say it...but otherwise, i was "auntie Aurla". Meh, either way works for me!! We watched enough Shrek to last a lifetime, but how can you say no to that curly mop and big blue eyes that keep saying "I watch Shrek!!" and "Again!!"

After just a brief stay in Courtenay (night of Dec 30th till the morning of Jan 1st) Pammer and I loaded up the car again and headed west, cross island to Ucluelet, to meet up with our friends Kim and Jaco. They had already been renting a cabin for a couple of days, and we joined them till Jan 3rd. I was looking forward to spending time on the west coast of the island, seeing Tofino, the beaches, the waves, and hopefully some pretty skies....we lucked out and didn't have solid rain, so i managed to get a few pics i'm pretty happy with! (by the way, if you've seen my pics on Facebook, these will mostly be the same ones)

Down by the water in Tofino, with some low level clouds that looked pretty neat!

We spent some time walking the Lighthouse Loop of this great trail in Ucluelet called the Wild Pacific Trail...it gave us great views of the crashing waves

Long Beach (between Ucluelet and Tofino)....famous for surfing....

These guys looked pretty hardcore in their wetsuits...it was COLD!!

And back to the Wild Pacific Trail....in search for the lighthouse....and a sunset...

and THEN i got to celebrate my birthday!!! My dear sweet friends made me brownies and everything!!! (the icing reads 'Hap B Laura'...that was all the icing we had...lol) This was the night before my bday, as we had to get up, pack up and drive back to the ferry on the 3rd, but it was still super special...and i got presents too!!

On the 3rd, we spent the afternoon in Nanaimo, and had lunch on the waterfront before catching our ferry. And here's one final pic....the ferry terminal and the lights of Nanaimo in the distance, just before we set sail

And then i got home, went to bed, and woke up Monday morning and headed to work! Whew...it was an exhausing "Christmas break"....but a whole lotta fun!