Now my gym shoes are another matter. I am embarrassed to say that I cannot remember the last time I bought a pair. Really, the pair that I am currently using was an old pair of road shoes. And given the broken orthotic that is in the left shoe I would have to say that they are at least 3 years old…yikes.

I could try to rationalize the neglect of my gym shoes by saying that I never do any impact moves in them (except when I drop into Christine’s classes every couple of months), I don’t run in them, I wear them only in the weight room, in my Studio and for my core class, they are more of just a standing shoe if you will.  Who am I kidding?

So yesterday I finally replaced them, and boy did I replace them!

my fabulous NIke Free Run+3's in hot punch

I have had minimalist shoes on the brain since the Running Symposium I attended back in January and have been dying to try a pair out.   Given all of my foot issues I know that they wouldn’t be the smartest shoes for me to wear when running, but who said anything about running?  These shoes are for standing (or posing as my Dad would say).

I unveiled them today at my lunchtime Core Connection class. I have to say that wearing them makes me happy, and yes, I totally selected this model based on the colour.

I’m not sure if one standing workout can count as an opinion on my new kicks, but here is my verdict so far:  I was really surprised how much cushioning there was on the insole of the shoe, I was completely expecting to feel like I was in bare feet (I guess that is why there are varying degrees of minimalist shoes), however when I was performing balance exercises, squats and lunges I did notice a lack of support in the toe box that gave me that exercising barefoot feeling.   So for what I plan on using them for I think that they are perfect and soooo cute.

On my list of things to do this month was to fill my training void and come up with something that was doable yet that would push me.  I have been looking at the Seek the Peak Relay for the last few years and as luck would have it, this year’s date worked with my schedule (as long as I am done by noon).

Here’s the billing from their website…

The challenging 16-kilometer course starts on the beach at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, winds its way through North Vancouver, then heads up the legendary Grouse Grind® to the Peak of Vancouver.  Seek the Peak is not strictly a race for elite athletes. Participants are primarily motivated by the symbolic overcoming of a significant obstacle, reflecting the ongoing fight against breast cancer.  This event is about rethinking what matters. It’s about rethinking our pain thresholds and our ambitions. More than this, it’s about rethinking our priorities. Support Rethink and together we will overcome breast cancer.

…and it is 4,100ft of elevation gain!  I guess my mountain really is waiting.

With too many family members, friends and clients (one of which had her first surgery on Monday while another had her final reconstruction surgery on Tuesday of this week) affected by this horrific disease and overcoming my own obstacles for the past few years; the event really resonated with me. In previous years I have looked at taking part in it as part of a 4-person relay team, but on June 17^th, 2012 I will be running it solo baby!

I have to confess, I practically threw-up when I hit the submit button to process my registration, come on it’s 4,100ft of elevation.  I won’t be setting any records; it really is about completion (I WILL COMPLETE IT however long it takes me, but do have to be done by noon) and the thought of standing at the peak of Grouse Mountain looking down to see how far I have climbed (the thought already brings tears to my eyes).

Training officially started yesterday and I have a lot of work to do, but it is minute in comparison to the battle that so many fabulous and fierce women whom I know have endured.

I have managed to twist a few of my running family’s rubber arms into joining me (one has even registered) and would like to extend the invitation and challenge to the rest of you, either as a soloist or a relay team.

View of Hayward Lake 3/4 of the way up our final hill yesterday.

So far, my Mother’s Day has been picture perfect.  Waking up to that familiar smile, enjoying a great cup of coffee, sneaking in a early morning run in the sun and finishing it up with a little Flo Rida before the 10 mischievous grins that were sleeping above my garage surfaced, coming home to a kitchen filled with the aroma of warm pancakes and last but not least hearing those three little words that mean so much from my favourite teenager.

I hope that your Mother’s Day is filled with good feelings!

Just in case you slept through it, this morning was spectacular, sun, blue sky, warm air and not a glove in sight!  Getting to the trail was no easy feat as the lower Railway Trail parking lot had been closed and we weren’t about to hike to the upper parking lot.

let us in!

We do what we have to do and made it by the first fence only to find another smaller fence, they really didn’t want us to be here.  But once we were through we enjoyed the lower section of the trail and the sweet smell of Spring, in some of the less treed areas it felt more like early Summer.

Forget me nots lined the trail, kinda fitting

Up the Powerhouse hill and over the Stave Dam and then the work started as we climbed the s-curve hill on Dewdney Trunk Road (or as we like to call it Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver hill).  It’s always a relief when this is over as we kick back in the trail for a mostly downhill run.

As we passed the Reservoir Trail parking lot we ran into a friendly BC Hydro guy (with great shades) and he filled us in on some of the timelines.  Drawdown of the lake will begin on Friday.  The two floats that secure the floating bridge will be removed as will the bridge.  He assured us that no matter how stealthy we were (obviously he didn’t see us navigate the fences on the Railway Trail) we would be unable to cross over the floating bridge.  He also said that the lake would be on drawdown until August and that the beach area would also be closed.  This kinda ruins summer, no beer commercial morning runs, no late Summer afternoon treks to the floating bridge to cool off and no beach.  What are we going to do?  Lookout White Rock, the country folk will be coming to visit!  Although we will not be able to cross the bridge, we will still be able to run the section from the Reservoir Trail to Canoe Landing and to the floating bridge, and then back out still giving a good two-hour run.  As well the lower trail, the upper parking lot on Wilson and main parking lot will be open, but it just isn’t the same, especially with the lake on drawdown.  Friendly BC Hydro guy almost seemed as sad as we were.

who are you calling a cougar?

For the next 50 minutes or so my anxiety started to build as I knew what I was going to have to do.  We passed my fav spot on the trail, had a little peak, Soraiya suggested that this spot needed “ahhhhhhh” music, over Conny’s near death experience bridge, along the ledge and to Conny’s moss wall, she loves this spot.

Conny having a moment with her moss wall

We climbed Canoe Landing and then down to the floating bridge, and it was time.  When Conny and I ran last week we said that we would take a dip in May, and this being our farewell run, we would be taking a dip today.  Oh, that water was going to be cold, I had only just commented that I could see snow on the neighbouring mountains which feed Stave Lake.  Pack off, hat off, Garmin off, shoes off, socks off and over the railing we went…

easy does it

it may only be for a moment, but we are in

We took a few minutes to say goodbye and finished the last 5 minutes of our bittersweet run knowing that it would be years before we would be able to be here again, sniff, sniff.

until we meet again

Several weeks later my Mum and Dad stopped by my house for a coffee and my Dad reminded me of our conversation.  With a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face, he told me to go and open my front door.  Knowing full well that it is only a matter of time before he does win big, I raced to my front door and threw it open to find a model replica Porsche Cayenne Turbo in silver sitting on my door step.  Yes, once again some but not all of his numbers had come up, and as always he was quick to share his winnings.

I don’t have his luck.  Once I won a football pool, picking the winner based only on the colours of their uniform and a few years ago I won the ‘entertaining’ gift basket at my daughter’s school Halloween carnival, which sat in the corner of my spare bedroom only until recently.  I don’t win 50/50 draws, pull-tabs or on slot machines.  I think that the first time I went to Vegas I only spent $20 in the casino and that was given to me by a work colleague to play for him.

A few months ago I entered an online contest for Optimyz Magazine. I don’t often enter contests because most of the time you have to be a US resident to win.  But Optimyz Magazine is Canadian, so along with over 400 others I tried my luck.  The contest asked what race I had planned for 2012, the prize was a TIMEX IRONMAN Race Trainer Kit.  Simple enough, I responded with my race card for the season and guess what arrived in the mail yesterday?

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The start of a new month is also a perfect time to start fresh with goals, to break out of ruts and slumps and to just be done with whatever (or whomever) is holding you back. I love the quote “you can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one” it really is so true. I came across another yesterday that suggested if the last chapter was that bad perhaps you should consider ripping it out or burning it. Maybe a bit drastic but in some circumstances absolutely necessary and totally empowering.

So what’s up for May? For one, I am back to writing as I have put it on the back burner for long enough. And not just my blog either, sooner or later the screenplay in my mind will become a script (playing me, the lovely Sandra Bullock). I also need to find a replacement adventure for the Tough Mudder since I will not be participating this year, nothing too crazy to train for, just enough for me to sink my teeth in for a month or so. On my list as well is to read ‘The Hunger Games’ so I know what my daughter was referencing last month and then there is that little issue of addressing my need for glasses…

That’s me, what about you?

art by erin leigh

Congratulations to Conny, Christine and Nicole on their 5 Peaks podium finishes, wear your medals proudly ladies.

no pre-race jitters here

fabulous on the podium

the Boston rockstars