Old Runner, New Kicks or as the beat goes on...

This past weekend the weather has been up and down, sunny, cloudy, windy, cold and almost nice.  

Since my father left on Friday, I've been doing the usual swirl around the house tidying up and doing laundry.

Yesterday and today I was able to get out and resume my walking / running, well really walking but shhhhh, don't tell anyone I ran, okay?!!

I wore my Garmin so I could do a reverse 10 and 1.  Instead of running 10 minutes I walked.  Instead of walking one minute I ran....you couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you tried.

The only thing  that is not smiling is the warmth factor.  It is still windy and cold.  However, I did get a good solid 7K walk/run in before the rain hit yet again.

This is THE craziest spring I've experienced in a lllloooonnnggg time.  But it wasn't going to stop me from enjoying the freedom of the buzzzzz of running.  What a wonderful experience and you don't realize what you're missing until you have to give it up even for a short time.  We are so spoiled having our health, mental faculties and limbs, don't ever take any of this for granted, because it all can be gone in a nanosecond.   

This coming weekend is the bike tour.  Most of the Wooo Hooo's have had to bow out for one reason or another and I'm so torn as to whether I should just drive down and spend the night with the remaining four of our gang who are still riding the tour or sell my spot. In reality, I've actually posted my spot for sale on one of the sports websites but it leaves one of our good friends in a precarious situation because we were going to share a room.  I just feel sick about this, so I'm doing the big waffle.  What to do, what to do?  What would YOU do?

My new kicks are going to be around for some time since I'm only really walking right now.  I got them at the Sports Expo during the Ottawa Race Weekend, I love my Saucony's!

With any luck I'll be able to register for a fall half marathon, either the Canada Army Run or the County Marathon in Picton in October.

So, they are still at it.  Lily versus the chipmunk.   They constantly harass one another and both are relentless, so the beat goes on.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, the sun has just come out, so I'd better enjoy it while I can.

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Rain, Rain, go Away!

My vacation is almost over.  It was a blast as always, combining a visit with my Dad, sharing our birthday party with the Woooo Hoooo's and generally doing day trips and working in the gardens.

This particular week has been waterlogged and cold, not cool, COLD!

What is all this talk of global warming?   My furnace has been on all week.  This morning for a split nanosecond the sun burst through the rain clouds to tantalize me with thoughts of summer, then it disappeared .

The gang partied it up on Wednesday evening with what was to have been a barbecue and sitting outside on the decks, however, we cooked fabulous **veggie burgers inside and stayed inside and had a great visit with friends, neighbours and dad.

Thanks Woooo Hoooo's for making my, no, our birthdays so much fun!

Today will be spent hopefully working in the gardens and planting my tomato plants.   Then I'll try a 10 minute walk and 1 minute run.  Yup, I'm getting back to training after the two month hiatus from running.  

Weather permitting (it has been terribly windy along with the cold and rain), I'll hop on Ruby and go for a short spin.   

This coming weekend is the Rideau Lakes Bike Tour which I have to miss.  I just haven't been able to get the biking miles in that are necessary to make it a safe, fun ride.  Oh well~!  I'm contemplating loading the bike up in the car and doing short rides with the gang and then meeting them throughout the ride to cheer them on.  Since I've paid for the trip, I might as well meet them in Kingston, spend the night at the dorm and head home on Sunday, well, head home after cycling around town, sightseeing and shopping!!  Just because I can't ride the ride, doesn't mean I can't party with them!!

On another note, here is a photo of my resident chipmunk!

She (??) loves hanging around on the deck and tantalizing Lily.

As long as they both remain on either side of the patio door life will be good!

Well, I'd better get a move on.  

Sorry I haven't been reading nor commenting on your blogs, Facebook, Twitter or emails lately, I will catch up eventually!

Have a great weekend.

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

**veggie burger recipe from The Running Room Magazine

Wordless Week!

Just thought I'd share this ...

On a daily basis, I receive an email news letter from TriRudy . This particular paragraph jumped out at me today.

"Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your choices taking your life?

What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?"

-- Eric Allenbaugh.

(during a race...

you either move close to the finish line

and

away from the start,

it's your choice to start,

Rudy)

Hope to see you on Sunday!!

Race hard, stay strong and leave a lung on the pavement ~ Have a GREAT weekend everyone!! I'll be cheering for you!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Wordless Wednesday

Five more sleeps...

for those who are running the Ottawa Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, May 24th, and for those racing in the 5K and 10K it's only four more sleeps. Yes, the Ottawa Race Weekend is fast approaching.

This will be my first time since 2002 that I won't be participating as runner in this event and admittedly my emotions are up and down like a toilet seat. My head and knee know all too well that it is okay that I'm not running, but my heart is having a hard time letting this go. Anyone who truly knows me knows that I am very passionate and emotional towards something that I truly love. (Yes, even chipmunks).

As I've mentioned before, I started running (again) in 2001, after a painful breakup and major surgery. Let's just say I was tipping the weigh scales on a grand proportion.

I meet the wonderful friends that I have today through running and all of us support one another in ways they (we) don't even realize.

On the brink of my 54th birthday I decided to up my running distances from 5 & 10K races to the half marathon. The race was in memory of my mother who passed away when she was 54, so needless to say it was a very emotional race. (Okay, I'm tearing up just writing this). The race itself was interesting. I laughed, cried, cursed and to say I had a fun struggle jiggling my middle aged body to the finish line in 2hrs 32 minutes, is an understatement, but I was hooked. I loved the long distances.

Many, many, many half's later, I upped the ante for the full marathon!

What was I thinking? The race is in May, that would mean training throughout the winter. Have I mentioned I hate being cold? Well, we did the training and froze our asses off during one of the worst winter's in Ottawa history.

Last May I became a marathoner at the age of 55. I love running the distance, but even more than running the distance, I love encouraging people who are stepping out of their comfort zones to try to up their distances, anyone who wants to go from 5K to 10K, 10K to half marathon's....but most importantly, I love encouraging people to get up off the couch and take that first walk down the block.

There are so many ways to improve our lives, our stresses, our insecurities, but for me, it is cycling, swimming, trying a tri, but my passion is running and helping others achieve their goals.

So, here is a toast to the Wooo Hooo's who are running in the Half and the Marathon. Here's to the blogger's (some whom I've met) who are making their way to our beautiful city this weekend and who will be running their way around either 21.1K or 42.2K of Ottawa's most scenic roadways.

But most importantly, here's to the gang I trained with this year who will become marathoner's in five more sleeps!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia

Doesn't matter what way you spell it or say it, after waiting patiently since 5:50 am this morning, Monday, May 18th, my house is rodent FREEEEEEE!!!!

Yesterday was very cold and very windy here in the Great White North, so it was spent indoors doing housework, laundry, catching up on the show The Tudors and chasing the chipmunk up stairs and down.  At one point I had it right to the back patio door, but a feline, who shall remain nameless intervened.  

This morning at 5:45, the cat who shall remain nameless leaped off the bed and the chase ensued once again, however, this time the chipmunk remained upstairs but well ensconced somewhere in my unfinished kitchen.  Gah.   Said cat was locked in the bedroom, I made coffee, laid a trail of sunflower seeds to the back door, opened said door and waited and waited, caught up on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and waited.   

Finally, a stirring, finally a face, finally it came out into the kitchen area and finally found some seeds.  But alas, it filled its little face and headed back to its hidey hole.  I waited.

About a half hour later it made its way back out.  I sat motionless and prayed for it to go to the sunflower seeds that I had moved to the door sill.  YES!  It sat on the door sill for some time, looking out and blinking its little eyes at the bright sunshine and then scampered out onto the deck to freedom.  

Hallelujah, Halleluyah, or Alleluia

Now I can resume my weekend and get outdoors even though it is still cold.  I've got to tidy up before the onslaught of my fathers annual pilgrimage.  Since he is a get up and go kind of guy I have to make sure that I get the majority of yard work done before he arrives.  Little does he know how much work goes into preparing for his visits.   I'm heading out to rake the oak leaves, mow the yard, weed the gardens and yet leave enough for him to do when he is here, because he loves to help out!

Oh, my neighbour and friend Jim just stopped by because he read on Facebook I was looking for a humane trap, how cool is that.  Thanks Jim, but you're a half hour too late!

Well there you go, just an average long weekend in the life of a single country girl....

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

CHIPPIE UPDATE MONday, The Long Holiday Weekend on the wrong date

Queen Victoria for whom our Victoria Day long weekend is named after was born on May 24th in 1819.

This holiday has several variations as to what it is called now, since the majority of new Canadians don't even know who she was nor have they been taught.  (Our education system is a whole other topic).

Some call it the May long weekend, many of us older folk still call it the Victoria Day Weekend, or the newer generation call it the 24 weekend referring to their favourite BEvERage. and not for the specific date in May.

Excuse me, this post has been interrupted.

Lily has just brought a chipmunk into the house and they are both now running around in the unfinished basement.  

Let the games begin.

Chippie sighting!

6:26 pm

running in the basement 

and

hiding behind the electrical box on the wall.

GAH!!

Lily, you'd better get this thing 

dead or alive

or 

you're off the payroll.

Okayyyy it is now 5:50 AM Monday morning, the chipmunk is lost somewhere upstairs in the kitchen area.  The cat is locked in my bedroom and I'm sitting here watching a fantastic sunrise waiting for the chipmunk to reappear.  

Since this is an old renovated (and not that well I might add) there are MANY hiddey holes for this chippie to be in.   Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my long weekend.

Yesterday was spent inside, it was so cold and very windy.  Have I mentioned I hate being cold?  

If I can get this thing out today I'm not too sure what to do other than call someone who removes animals professionally.   This is really where I need a man servant.  I suppose I'm just getting tired of having to manage EVERYTHING on my own.....

Well, one nice thing about all of this, the house is getting cleaned!

Life's fun if you don't weaken, 

Lily (and NOT the cat)

Wordless Wednesday

Time slips on by

Where is the time going? Has it really been six weeks since I was sidelined? Holy moly, unbelievable!

I had promised myself no more whiney posts about my knee, no more whiney posts about being cold and just plain no more whiney posts whatsoever.

This weekend I was rip roaring to to get into the gardens and then get out on my bike. The Rideau Lakes Bike Tour is less than four weeks away and if Dr. No gives me the go ahead I'd better get my ass in gear. It is said that you'd better have 1,000 km's of riding under your belt before you attempt this bike tour.

After last Thursday's great bike ride up through Fitzroy Harbour, and the Provincial Park , I was really excited to get some more mileage in over the weekend.

Well, I checked with the Ottawa Weather gods and they said it was to be slightly over cast, okay....

This is more than overcast!! Add a substantial wind to it and there was no way I was going to get out on the bike. While I did try, it was just too cold for me. (no more whining, remember).

Yesterday was really nice out, but extremely busy at the office so I didn't get home until almost 7pm and was mentally exhausted, again, no biking.

This morning was beautiful at 5:30, the birds were singing and the sun was already up. I thought, okay, get your rear in gear and get out and put a new spin on! As I was getting ready putting on the coffee and having a quick bite to eat, I heard my elderly neighbour outside calling her dog, Phoebe. I stuck my head out the back patio door to see Marion in her nightie looking forlorn and calling her dog. "Is everything okay?" I called out to her, she was obviously distressed, "I can't find Phoebe, how could she be lost?" she replied.

I really like my new neighbour, she moved into the house next to me last year and I can truly be thankful since the previous owners were unbelievable. When they had moved in they had one very young daughter and both parents seemed very nice and both were working. By the time they moved out a few short (but seemed very long) six years later they had had four more kids, one more on the way and ran a day care!!! (Nothing wrong with procreating, but not when they behave like the devil's spawn).

Needless to say when I saw the For Sale sign go up I dropped to my knees and thanked the heavens above, but was nervous as to who would move in next.

Then came Marion, quiet, retired, loves to garden, loves her pet rescue dog, but I've noticed that she is starting to show the signs of forgetfulness. I try everyday to make sure she is okay, I help her with her groceries and help out in the gardens. I really like her an awful lot, so when I heard her so upset this morning, there was no way I could just leave her without helping her find her precious Phoebe. Long story short, Phoebe was in fact not lost and not out of her fenced in backyard at all, she was just out of view. This is none of my business, but I will in fact keep a closer eye on my neighbour over the summer and if more of these happenings become more apparent and prevalent, I might just have to speak with her son and daughter-in-law. To be determined....

Anywhoooooo, another missed bike ride, so tonight after work I HAVE to get out on the bike.

Tomorrow morning I have to have blood work done, so I have to fast for twelve hours, then in the afternoon I have my date with Dr. No.

So catch up with you later.

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Just the stuff going on

Yesterday was not what I had anticipated it would be.

After having breakfast and blogging, I waited around for it to warm up a little then dressed in what I thought would be enough layers and got Ruby ready for a ride. I headed out of the bay and was hit with a really strong, very cold headwind! Yikes, it was very cold out and I was really cold in no time flat, have I mentioned I HATE being cold? I ended up turning back towards home and cycled around in some of the cul-de-sacs in Constance Bay, then finally gave up and headed home. Unlike Leslie who is a hard core cyclist, he was out yesterday riding the 300 km Animalthon.

When I got into the house I wanted to warm up my hands so I turned on the bathroom sink taps and "splash" water was flowing everywhere!! Yikes, I turned off the water and grabbed the closest towel. While I was mopping up the mess and trying to figure out what just happened I heard more water running, what? where??, I heard Lily running around down in the basement.

The pipe that was connected to the drain pipe had disconnected and unbeknown to me, the slip sod plumber I had used a few years ago (no, this wasn't his first error), hadn't connected the pipes properly nor had he sealed the floor around the pipes running from the bathroom to the basement, water was pouring down the hole into the basement RIGHT where I have Lily's litter box!! Gah, water was everywhere, clumping cat litter had exploded out of the cat box due to the force of the water and was everywhere, what a freeking mess. Needless to say, by the time I mopped up the mess upstairs and downstairs, I was livid....

I suppose if you pay peanuts you get monkey's, but honestly, don't you think that if you were in a trades profession you would at least do a good job? Good news is briefly mentioned but bad news travels fast in my community.

Now I have to find a plumber, obviously a different one, to fix this mess before my father comes up to visit in a couple of weeks.

Speaking of my father,

Happy 89th Birthday Dad!!!

I love you

and

will see you in a couple of weeks!

(he promised me he'd quit driving when he turns 90!)

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Not too much going on today, I'm not a mother, although I have been called one on the very odd occasion.  (As a term of endearment, what were you thinking?)

The weather gods have not really been cooperating, well to my liking at least, where is the Hallmark Card Mother's Day weather, with fluffy clouds, sunshine and warm soft winds ?

Come on, turn up the heat would you!!

Yesterday morning was absolutely gorgeous, but as I whiled away the time catching up with friends and family on the telephone, the clouds rolled in along with the rain.   My day was going to be split in two had the weather been nicer. 

Gardening in the morning and hopping on Ruby for the afternoon.  Alas, I ended up curled up with a good book for the remainder of the day.   What a slug.

Since everyone will be engaged with Mom events today, I'm going to have a nice spin on Ruby in a little while and enjoy my day.

Hope you all enjoy yours too!

Happy Mother's Day Mom

even though I haven't seen you in 35 years I know you're with me, save a spot for me in heaven, we will celebrate again when I get there!!

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

I've come to the conclusion,

*** Let me interrupt this post***

Well let me just tell you it is over now and if you want to read on, do so at your own risk, because, trust me what is written below this section, well,  it was momentary....and really what was I thinking?

When I got home today I made a fantastic stir fry with garlic, ginger, maple syrup, kikommen soy sauce and shrimp on a bed of wild rice with olives, celery and spring onions.  I thought to myself wouldn't a pail of red wine go nicely with this?  Just get into my jammies and curl up on the couch and watch the Young and the Restless.

Then I thought, you lazy self indulgent slug, get your ass out the door, after all it is a glorious spring night and a full moon.  How many of those kind of nights do we get?

So I loaded up Ruby and headed to Fitzroy Provincial Park  it was gorgeous outside as I made my way along the rural roads.  Frogs were singing in their swampy ponds, birds were flitting about collecting twigs and dried grasses for their nests, the trillium's were up and in full bloom. Wow!!  

I headed down towards the Quyon Ferry which is now running for the summer.  It is the ferry that shuttles cars, trucks and small livestock vehicles across the Ottawa River from Fitzroy Harbour, Ontario to Quyon, Quebec.    I stopped and watched the ferry chug across the river while having a great conversation about fishing with a fellow who was waiting for the ferry to return.   Simple pleasures.

I headed back up the Ferry Road towards Smith's Corners and then continued on from there....Fantastic!!!  It was a magical ride and a moment, for sure

Let's just say if you decide to read what I had originally written, well, let's just say 

I'M OVER IT.....

proceed with caution,

that I'm bummed out!

I've been trying to entertain myself with the fact that I've really have been working hard at recuperation with a healthy, positive attitude. Well, truth be known, I have a first class *B.A.

*BAD ATTITUDE

yup, can you imagine? It has only taken me a month to figure this out. Even though I was going through the motions of trying to be excited with the fact that I was finally able to walk 1K, or that I biked 15K, eyyyyeee haaawwww! Even though I sweated my way through the pain, it just wasn't cutting it with a warm fuzzy feeling of elation that you get from a great run.

BAD ATTITUDE = spoiled, coddled brat having an excessive pity party!! Table for one...

The exterior was going through the motions but the brain was in an agitated turmoil. Reality check, I'm no athlete, I'm no spring chicken, hell, I'm not even good at running, but having the competitive spirit I have, not being able to run and bike was really eating away at me. Well, now that it has surfaced from the smarmy recesses of my reptilian brain, I feel much better.

Physio has been going well, I have been diligent with my home exercises, but really do I need to know how to stand on one foot with my eyes closed? Try it, it is freeking hard!! Dr. No and I have a date next week, so I'll know more after I see him as to whether I'll need surgery. But I'm staying positive that if that is the case, it'll just make it better for the future. I've been walking and cycling and starting to feel some semblance of stability and strength again, which is great because I have to walk my way around the Ottawa Race Weekend Sports Expo!!

Last Sunday was the last long run for the group I had been leading. They ran 32K along the trails which link our gorgeous city from one end to the other called the Ottawa River Parkway.  It was truly great to see everyone and truthfully I was quite fine with it until I had to part company with them.  They were headed along the Ottawa River Parkway and I just wasn't going to go any further with them, it was at that moment I discovered I truly missed everyone and our running, our talks and our friendships.  

It will be a challenge for me to be at the race two weeks from now and not be running, but it is not about me, is it?

It is about my friends, and its about the first timers, their strong will and determination that will get them to the finish line, its about all of the hard work, dedication, running in shit weather, slogging it out in the cold winter months that will bring them to the elite status of being a marathoner.  

Yup, that's why I'll be there cheering for each and every one of them who made the commitment to become a marathon runner...

Life's fun if you don't weaken,

Lily

Wordless Wednesday