Calgary and Alberta – Page 6 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

The First Race of 2012: The MEC Bow River Run

The MEC Bow River Run

My day started at the crack of dawn. I ate a bagel with cream cheese and an apple, and then drank some tea. I played some music and washed some dishes. I looked out my window, sun shining through, and noted that it was going to be a beautiful day in Calgary. And thank goodness the weather was perfect because today was my first run of the season- the Mountain Equipment Co-op 10k Bow River Run. Yay! Dressed in my running attire, hat, gloves, and running playlist with the likes of Timbaland, Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, and of course, Beyoncé, I was ready to go.

We can totally chic-chic-pow this thing!

The race started in Edworthy Park South, which is not too far from my place. Once I arrived, I started seeing the other runners. There’s nothing like an early morning race when the air is crisp and runners are warming up, eager for that “gun” to signal the start of the run. (I quote the word “gun” because there was no gun. I think they yelled “go”, or sounded a horn). Shortly afterward, I met up with my friend Sony who was running the 5k. In her words, we were ready to chic-chic-pow this thing.

Racers gathering at the start/finish line

What was cool about this race is that it was only $10 to register. MEC’s goal was to offer a low cost, fun, community race. And that they did. There was no chip timing, which would have increased the cost, so they went with the “old-school” timing of recording your time manually at the finish. And it was a small race with a maximum of 300 participants. Even with the $10 registration, they had post-race cookies, energy bars, water and coffee. Awesome.

Course map for the Bow River Run

Let’s do this!!

Just before 9 am, the runners gathered at the start line, and before we knew it, we were off. I knew the race map quite well. When I do train, Bow River is my favourite place to run. Sony and I paced well at the start, and then I was on my own for the 10k. The 4s and 1s pace has been working well for me following some knee concerns, so I decided to stick with that. I knew I was in good shape when I hit the 10k turnaround at 30 minutes, and according to Runkeeper, I crossed the finish line at 58 minutes. (UPDATE: My official time was 57:24.73). Under an hour was my goal… yes!! And great job, Sony :). We certainly did chic-chic-pow this morning.

The Bow River. Pretty…

The Crowchild Trail foot bridge

I love morning races. I always seem to forget the sense of having completed so much by mid-morning. Now that the Bow River Run is complete, my next run is the BMO Vancouver Half-Marathon, two weeks today. “Yikes!” really does understate how I feel about running 21.1k. Somehow, though… I got this!

Thanks MEC for a great race!

Skiing in the Rockies. Finally.

I finally went skiing in the Rockies. Yay! (At Lake Louise)

I’ve had the question many times since moving to Alberta:

Person: “Do you ski or snowboard?”

Me: “No, I don’t.”

Person: “But you’re so close to the Rockies!”

Me: “Yes. Yes I am. What’s your point?” *punch to the face*

Okay, so I never punched anyone in the face. And I never did say “What’s your point?”. If I did, their point would be that I’ve lived almost three years in Calgary without taking advantage of the world-class skiing and snowboarding just outside of the city. In general, I’ve had a bit of fear when it comes to downhill skiing, since my previous experiences have usually resulted in almost breaking a limb. So I was hesitant. But should that stop me from ever trying skiing again?? That ish is cray talk!

A bit nervous before ascending the gondola at Sunshine

So now I can finally say that I’ve tried skiing in the Rockies. Twice this season, to be exact.

The first was at Sunshine Village at the beginning of February. The weather conditions were incredible! It was about -1 degrees and completely sunny. Of course, after skiing there I wondered: Why did it take me so long to do this! It was a very pleasant experience. I had a few falls, but nothing to cry about. The second was this past Friday at Lake Louise, which was also fantastic and so enjoyable. One bigger fall, but it was all in good fun. Pinecone Way was definitely my favourite :). (Well, it was my favourite out of the green runs, since I’m a newb and didn’t attempt any runs above the green circle.)

Sunshine Village

A snowboarder at Sunshine

So I’ve realized that as long as I’m living in Alberta, I need to take advantage of those ski hills! I may be all over the mountains in the summer with hiking and such, but since winter feels like 8 months of the year here, I may as well occupy my time with winter-like activities. Yes, I know… this makes sense. Next season, I look forward to attempting snowboarding. Thankfully my bro lent me his snowboard and bindings, so once I get some boots, I’ll be good to go. Whoohoo!

At Sunshine. The weather was incredible!

At Lake Louise. There’s always time for a mid-ski photo-op!

Robbie is all cl-ass! (He was posing. His form is much better than this :D)

Thanks Robbie for helping me cross off an item from my list. Well, sorta. Number 9 on the 31 before 31 is to “Try cross-country skiing”, which was added so that I do SOMETHING this winter. While this is still do-able, the craziness of life these days makes it difficult to fit this in, so I’ve changed it to “Go skiing in the Rockies”. And that I gone done did right there…

Sunshine Village

The Force of 5 Gs Feels like Awesome!

Bobsledding at Canada Olympic Park. No, this was not us.

The conclusion of an adventure-filled weekend was a bobsledding ride. My conversation with Dan regarding bobsledding was pretty much the same as ice climbing. I had sent a list of cool Alberta things to do and he responded: “The bobsled ride is $169. Personally, I’m willing to fork that over for 60 seconds of adrenaline.” Canada Olympic Park (COP) in Calgary, site of the 1988 Winter Olympics, has a bobsleigh, luge and skeleton track. You may remember this track from the film Cool Runnings, and that movie made bobsledding look so fun! So with that, bobsledding was booked for the same weekend as ice climbing. What’s the appeal? I was buying what they were selling: 1 professional driver. 14 turns. A max speed of 120 km/h. A pull of 5 Gs. All in 60 seconds. Sold.

How could I say no to this?

We arrived at the bobsleigh start house at the top of COP, signed in, signed waivers, and waited for the professional drivers to say their thing. They began by telling us what we could expect- the first three turns would feel like a glorified toboggan ride, but it would pick up after that. We’d hit a bunch of turns, a straight section, some more turns, and then the end (…it was a little more detailed than that explanation). We could also expect our head to possibly bounce a bit from side to side, and the force of 5Gs would feel like pressure pushing right down on our heads. NBD. No big deal, right? But not NBD! I’m quite an adventurous guy, and for some reason, it’s fairly uncommon for me to feel the level of nervousness that I felt while waiting for our bobsledding experience. We were in sled number 4, so as we waited for those 20 minutes or so, my nervousness kept increasing. I thought, what’s this sensation I’m feeling?!? Am I scared? I think I was! Being fitted for a helmet made me a little bit more at ease, but not by much.

Yes, I accept the risks. I’ve signed many of these forms in my lifetime :S

Watching the start of a bobsleigh ride. Are those nerves I feel?…

Yes, I’m totally feeling the nerves!!

Then it was time. Some random guy was at the back, then Dan, then me, then the professional driver. And then we were off. To be honest, I can’t even give a play-by-play of what happened. Yes, the first few turns felt like a nice glorified toboggan ride. Then the speed picked up. Before I knew it, turns were coming and going (you couldn’t even separate or distinguish the turns in order to count out 14); my helmet was knocking the sides of the bobsled; my head was being pushed down due to the force; the track zoomed by in my peripheral vision; and then ice was flying in my face as the brakes were pulled. All in 60 seconds. I believe we hit a speed of 119 km/h- awesome! When it was done, you could hear Dan and I giggling and laughing. The adrenaline rush was intense. I was so wobbly and almost tumbled coming out of the bobsled. It was an incredible experience!!!…. then I kind of felt like I was going to vomit. And that sensation lasted for quite a while. And then I had a headache for the majority of the evening. However, I did get a special commemorative COP toque. It was all totally worth the toque.

Dan and I with the driver. This is going to be 60 seconds of awesome!

The moral of the story: For me, 119 km/h, 14 turns and a force of 5Gs all in 60 seconds will induce a nice vomiting sensation, which may or may not have anything to do with having a full breakfast, a coffee, a cappuccino and a muffin earlier in the day. But whatever my stomach is feeling, it doesn’t detract from an absolutely incredible bobsleigh ride! Dan- it was great to share this adventurous experience with you. The other moral of the story? Like ice climbing, this is another must try for all. As I conclude the weekend, I can now cross off two more items from my 31 before 31 list. Whoohoo! Time to plan the next adventure…

Yes, I am an adrenaline junkie!

Getting Lost in a Corn Maze

CornMaze1

So what kinds of things are there to do in Calgary and Alberta? Well, there’s the Calgary Corn Maze. It’s exactly like how it sounds… a giant maze in a bunch of corn. I think the term “Agri-fun” is used for this kind of thing :). A bunch of us decided it would make a fun outing, and it sure did. It was Friday night and we were armed with flashlights, ready to conquer this maze (…corn mazes are so much better in the dark). Since it was fairly easy to hide in the corn, there were lots of shenanigans and many attempts to scare each other. All in all, a great time, and after about an hour or so, we found our way out of the maze. Phew! Continue reading “Getting Lost in a Corn Maze”

I’m On A Horse

So on Sunday, a few of us gathered to go trail riding. It’s a very Alberta thing to do, right… to be on a horse? Just like cowboys in the Wild West :). I had been horseback riding a couple of times, the last experience being in Costa Rica, but most of the group had never been on a horse before. We knew that fun times were in store!

It was off to Saddle Peak Ranch past Cochrane for a 1.5 hour trail ride. Before we knew it, we were mounting our horses and were on our way. My horse’s name was Anchor. He is a born leader, so I was clearly matched with the correct horse, lol. The weather was beautiful and the trails took us on rolling foothills and through forests. It was gorgeous. Although the experience with the horses and the trails was great for us, I wouldn’t go trail riding with Saddle Peak again. I would have expected more approachable and engaging owners. Well, Jackie was great, but the other guy, not so much. NBD. No big deal.

Pretty horses… but not pretty horse poop (which was everywhere!) :S.

But all in all, it was a great day with no mishaps. Oh wait- there was that one part when Rachna’s horse became a bit animated (ie. went a bit psycho), ran into the trees off the trail, and decided it would be fun to rejoin the trail by walking through the most dense part of trees and bushes… with Rachna still on him. Yeah… she emerged with some scratches and bruises. It’s never a dull moment with this group!

For some reason, Shari’s horse didn’t like to be around others :) — For some reason, Shari’s horse didn’t like to be around others 🙂

Such a good looking bunch! The people riding aren’t too bad either…

Rachna and her horse Homer emerging from the trees

After horseback riding, we went for lunch and then stopped at MacKay’s Ice Cream in Cochrane for homemade ice cream. Apparently it’s like THE place to go for ice cream. As expected, I had the Coconut Delight flavour… YUM! You know it’s good ice cream when there’s a line up out the door. The wait was worth it, and it was a great way to end a great day :).