Inspiration – Page 6 – HIKES & HAMSTRINGS

My 3 Minutes 24 Seconds of Fame!

So I’m incredibly behind on my blog postings. I mean, I returned from Peru almost 2 weeks ago and haven’t even uploaded photos or written about it! Alas, that can wait.

Even while I was away, I was trying to win the Big Mountain Challenge. When I found a wi-fi connection, I was voting. I knew it would be difficult to maintain the momentum while I was in Peru, but thankfully I had some friends who helped me out by posting voting reminders on my FB. They also posted to the Banff National Park and The Kidney Foundation of Canada FB pages. When I returned home after Peru, the goal of winning the challenge continued. It was time to send out as many e-mails as possible, and post everywhere I could. Then on Thursday of last week, I received an e-mail. It read:

“Hi Rick,

Thanks for entering the Big Mountain Challenge and congrats on having a top entry! Banff Lake Louise Tourism is trying to spread the word about the contest and our partner Global Calgary wants to interview an Alberta contestant on the morning show. If you’re interested in doing either a phone or in-studio interview this could be a great way to get some votes and raise awareness for the Kidney Foundation.”

For real?! So I e-mailed them back right away. Before I knew it, I had an in-studio interview with Global Calgary scheduled for Saturday morning at 8:24 am where I would be speaking to one of the anchors of the morning news show. Through the help of my boss, I was in contact with communications staff from the The Kidney Foundation of Canada to go over some speaking points. Then I spoke with news anchor Bindu Suri to go over the questions. I couldn’t believe how quickly it was all happening!

Arriving for my interview. So nervous!

I arrived at the studio early on Saturday accompanied by Robbie, who came for support :). It was really neat to see the studio and watch how the morning news was filmed. I was quite surprised to see how much of the set is a green screen! I always thought there was a little bit of an actual background. Before I knew it, I was being fitted with the microphone and was awaiting the interview with news anchor Reid Fiest. To say that I was nervous is an understatement. I was literally shaking! But thankfully my nerves didn’t show too much on camera 🙂 Also, I started getting sick a day prior, and I was terribly worried that I would cough or clear my throat on camera. It could have been disastrous! But thankfully, that didn’t happen either. Here’s the segment:

In the end, yes, it was a short clip on the Global Calgary morning show. However, it was so exciting and it was a great experience. I spoke about the contest and how much I love the Banff and Lake Louise areas, and I was able to bring a bit of awareness to The Kidney Foundation of Canada and all of the support it provides to Canadians affected by kidney disease. Also, when I was preparing for the interview and discussing points with The Kidney Foundation, I was amazed with the level of support I had, whether it was from the staff at The Kidney Foundation, or through comments of support on Facebook from individuals affected by kidney disease. I really hope to win the contest, but if the prize is awarded to another person and another charity, I know it will be for a great cause and that I gave it my all. Whether or not I win, my support for The Kidney Foundation of Canada doesn’t end there :). For more information on The Kidney Foundation of Canada, go to www.kidney.ca. For information on the Kidney March, a 100km 3-day walk to fight kidney disease, go to kidneymarch.ca.

*****************************************
Please help me win the Big Mountain Challenge
for The Kidney Foundation of Canada!
Vote for me EVERY DAY (until July 27, 2012)
by clicking here: http://t.co/scxG735u
*****************************************

The Big Mountain Challenge- Vote for me!

https://www.facebook.com/banffnationalpark

It’s been over a week since I entered the Big Mountain Challenge, sponsored by Banff Lake Louise Tourism. Thanks to EVERYONE who has supported me with this so far- your votes and encouraging words have been amazing! It’s no secret that I’m huge into hiking in the Canadian Rockies. Well, the winner of this contest, along with a friend, will summit 3 EPIC peaks within 7 days, all in the name of a charity. Those peaks are Mount Temple, Cascade Mountain, and Sulphur Mountain. From what I know, they are all high and challenging mountains, and I have yet to hike any of them! Even though ice axes and helmets may be required, I’m up for the challenge 🙂 The great thing about the contest is that it’s for charity: the winner will receive $15000 for a charity of their choosing. Every amount raised by the winner will be matched, up to $5000. So, potentially, that’s $25000 for charity! Woah!

www.kidney.ca

As for the charity: given my work in kidney disease research, I have decided to hike for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. Kidneys are important for regulating water, removing wastes, filtering blood and producing hormones… so you can imagine what happens if they begin to fail. The Kidney Foundation of Canada continues to provide leadership for kidney health and improve the lives for all Canadians affected by kidney disease. It’s definitely an amazing organization.

Help me win for The Kidney Foundation of Canada!

The first step is to be chosen, which is partially based on votes and comments.

So humbly, if you’re reading this post, this is where I ask you to please vote for me and help me win Big Mountain Challenge. All you need to do is click on this link and click on the “Vote Now” button:

http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/236057/voteable_entries/53327122

(***In fact, you may click on this link EVERY DAY until July 27th to give me as many votes as possible! ***)

Or, you can “Like” the following page and add comments that you want me to win!

https://www.facebook.com/banffnationalpark

Vote for me! Please click HERE.

If you’re wondering what the tag line of the photo is all about, it’s in response to the question: “How are you getting ready to prepare for the challenge?” By singing show tunes to keep the bears away…. obviously. I do like to sing….

I did have the most votes for a while, but at the time of writing this, I have the second most votes. Thankfully, having the most votes does not result in winning. The winner is chosen based on what the judging panel is looking for, but votes and comments of support are STRONGLY considered. So keep clicking that “Vote Now” button and leaving comments when you can. Let’s hope I win! *fingers crossed*

Thanks for reading and let’s keep those votes coming!

Rick

It’s All About the Running!

These shoes haven’t seen a lot of action lately 😦

So first and foremost, congrats to everyone back home who just ran the 30K Around the Bay in Hamilton! That’s crazy talk! The thought of running 30K makes me shiver, but these amazing people keep me motivated: Dan, Kelly, Carolyn, and my humble machine of a brother, Ry, who despite his supposed lack of training, crossed the finish line at 2:32. Impressive! All of them had very impressive times. Great job folks! I hope you have a relaxing afternoon :).

Congrats folks!

But alas, you have made me realize that I need to step up my game. In order to join the ranks of machine-like superstardom that you four have achieved, it’s time for me to hit the ground running. Even though Calgary’s weather hasn’t be the greatest (I HATE running in the cold), that’s no excuse.

Route for the MEC 10K Bow River Run. Fun!

To help me stay focused, I have now signed up for two more runs. First up, the MEC 10K Bow River Run on April 21st, which will be MEC Calgary’s first running event. I figure with a $10 registration fee and a route with which I’m quite familiar, this race will force me to get up on a Saturday morning and do a fairly painless run. Plus, there’s nothing like the pre-race atmosphere to get the adrenaline going. It should be fun times.

The Vancouver Half Marathon. Fun!

Then, of course, there’s the BMO Vancouver Half-Marathon on May 6th, which I wrote about before. To say I’m not prepared is an understatement, but I will be by that date. And I’ve now signed up for the Scotiabank Calgary Half-Marathon on May 27th. Eek! My goal is to smash last year’s time of 1:55:23. There’s a new course route that starts at Stampede Park, so I’m looking forward to it. Last year’s run was pretty lovely and scenic too, and I expect this one to be the same.

The new route for the Calgary Half-Marathon. Fun!

Oh, and shortly after that, there’s the Bread and Honey 5K run in Mississauga. I’m doing that one with my family. Family fun day!

The Bread & Honey 5K. Fun!

It’ll all be quite exciting- two half marathons in May and I’m sure many others to follow. I’m feeling nervous about it already :S. But in typical Rick fashion, I’ll shelve the nerves, tell myself to stop being a baby, pull up my socks and, like the aforementioned superstars, just dooooo itttt!!!

The Year of… 2012

So here we are. Another year has somehow managed to fly by. Each year, my siblings, cousin and I try to come up with goals for the upcoming year. Not so much resolutions, which oftentimes are forgotten within the first few weeks, but more of a reflection on the past year and what we think the New Year will bring. How do I want to approach the next 365 days?

2011 was all about embracing the phrase: “Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, Today is a Gift, That’s why it’s called the Present”. It was a great year in which I seized many opportunities in Calgary, while continuing my love of all things travel. I journeyed to Hawaii, Vegas and throughout Europe. I experienced things that I’ve always wanted to experience- skydiving, seeing lava from a volcano, rock-climbing, scuba diving, and an open-door helicopter ride. I ran my first half-marathon and realized that I love hot yoga. I pushed myself physically and tried to stick with my fitness goals despite some setbacks. I turned 30 without hesitation, and I truly believe that I’ve now entered what will be one of the best decades. I discovered that I have an absolute love and admiration for the outdoors, and the awe I feel for nature is akin to my understanding of a spiritual experience. The peace and connectedness when I’m hiking in the mountains and surrounded by incredible majesty add an interesting perspective on my day-to-day activities. What is important to me exactly? How do I see what’s important when the daily routine repeats itself? Who are important to me and how do I let them know that their presence in my life inspires me to be better and do better? Without the support and encouragement of friends and family, I do not think I would be trying to experience and live life the way I do. “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing” (Helen Keller). My own experiences, and the ones I’ve shared with family and friends, have helped solidify my relationships and strengthen those bonds. I’m so appreciative of that and I do not take it for granted.

So what will 2012 bring? Well, I plan to have a similar approach to life this year. Seize moments. Take risks. Embrace opportunities. Push myself because I can. But this year will be different. This year, I want to be inspired by love; love for the things I choose to do, the experiences for which I yearn, and the relationships that are so important in my life. I think it will be a year of changes, and though I’m not fully aware of what those changes will be, I feel incredibly excited and happy with the possibilities and the unknowns. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous at the same time, but I hope to be more introspective as I try to understand and trust the emotions I’ll be feeling. That’s not an easy task for a self-proclaimed cold-hearted Leo who’s not really all that cold-hearted! Whatever the situation is, I want to dive in wholeheartedly and trust that a happier, stronger me emerges. However the year unfolds, I know it will be a good and positive 2012.

My “31 Before 31”- A Brand New List!

n my opinion, the biggest item on the list!

I had always planned on blogging about my “30 before 30” list once I turned 30. I figured I would want to debrief on how it all went, how many items I was able to cross off, and which tasks I didn’t complete. That said, I never did debrief about my list. Does it mean that I forgot about it and tossed it aside? On the contrary: the list did exactly what I was hoping it would do.

I can recall a time in my life where I felt consumed by work and stress. This was right after completing my degree, and I spent most of my off-time thinking about work. I let work get to me. I put my mental well-being, physical health, and social life on the back-burner. There were things I always wanted to do and thought: “I’ll get to that someday”. I knew I needed a change.

Moving to Calgary was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It gave me the change I was seeking and a sense of independence, but more importantly, it allowed me to think about aspects of my life on which I wanted to place high importance. I always knew I wanted to be more physically fit, but could never get myself to exercise. I always wanted to enjoy the outdoors more, but just never seemed to make the effort to do so. When I decided to start P90X, focus on achieving some of my goals, and ultimately, create my “30 before 30” list to help me stay on task, I never knew it would instill in me the sense of adventure, possibility and momentum that I now feel. So I never debriefed about the list simply because there were many mountains to climb and fun adventuring to be had. Nothing really stopped after I turned 30. In fact, right after turning 30, the list of “31 before 31” was already shaping up nicely!

Today I finally finished thinking of 31 items to tackle before I’m 31. Now that I do the math, that is only 9.5 months away, and I think the list is a bit ambitious! NBD, No Big Deal, I’ll just do my best and see how it all goes :). Here it is…

Adventure
1. Go white-water rafting at Kicking Horse
2. Try paragliding (or hang-gliding)
3. Go caving in Canmore
4. Hike crypt lake in Waterton
5. Try ice climbing
6. Go kayaking or canoeing in Glenmore Reservoir
7. Go overnight camping (Egypt Lake?)
8. Go zorbing at COP
9. Try cross-country skiing
10. Do the CN Tower Edge Walk
11. Go dog sledding
12. Go zip-lining at Elora Gorge

Career/Education
13. Write the GMAT by the end of March
14. Complete my Certificate in Relational Databases by June
15. Get my SAS Advanced certification

Fitness
16. Complete one round of P90X2
17. Complete a 30 day yoga challenge
18. Run another half-marathon (Hopefully Vancouver!)

Fun/Social/Just ‘Cause
19. Float down the Bow
20. Go to the water park at West Edmonton Mall
21. Buy a bike
22. Watch Casablanca
23. Watch the original version of The Shining
24. Watch until the end of How I Met Your Mother Season 3
25. Watch all 4 seasons of Battlestar Galactica
26. Take a cooking class
27. Make Trinidadian pelau, macaroni pie and eggplant dip dishes
28. Have a lobster dinner with Marie (for real this time!)
29. Bake a chocolate cake from scratch

Travel
30. Take a wine tour in the Okanagan
31. Hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru