The Calgary Marathon Turns 50!

50th Anniversary Jugo Juice 10k medal!
50th Anniversary Jugo Juice 10k medal!

My alarm went off at 5 am, which pretty much means one of a few things: an airport pickup; a crazy long day hike in the Icefields Parkway; or, a race.

In this case, today was race day! The Calgary Marathon, to be precise.

Only the Calgary Marathon could celebrate its birthday with over 15000 people. After all, it’s Canada’s longest running marathon, and I’m sure people flocked from near, far and wide just to run it. My friend Shari and I knew we couldn’t miss the event, so we signed up for the Jugo Juice 10k. At 7 am, the two of us, joined by a supportive Robbie, headed over to the Stampede Grounds. As we arrived, the energy from the ultra marathoners (50k), marathoners and half marathoners as they crossed the starting line was amazing. Spectators cheered and whistled. It had been a long time since I ran at the Calgary Marathon, and I forgot how the air of positivity and determination is infectious. We were pumped! Continue reading “The Calgary Marathon Turns 50!”

The Underwear Affair: Don’t You Hate Pants?

Post-Race Update: What an awesome team! A great cause... AND we came in first place!
Post-Race Update: What an awesome team! A great cause… AND we came in first place!

Is there anything better than running around the streets of Calgary in your underwear??UAAB_Logo13_RGB_LoRes

Yes there is! It’s running around the streets of Calgary in your underwear for a GREAT CAUSE!

Once again, I’ve signed up for the 2014 Alberta Cancer Foundation’s Underwear Affair Booty Hunt race to help “Fight Cancers Below the Waist”. So let’s kick those cancers, such as prostate, ovarian and colon cancer, to the curb! The Booty Hunt race on June 7th is a scavenger hunt around the great city of Calgary. Last year, my team and I had to participate in many activities such as mastering yoga moves, getting our hair coloured, convincing strangers to take a jumping shot, and completing other random Amazing-Race-like tasks that had us sprinting to all ends of downtown. Oh how fun!  Continue reading “The Underwear Affair: Don’t You Hate Pants?”

Maui: A Needed Escape

Sunrise from the summit of Haleakala. Image courtesy of M - Pics / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Sunrise from the summit of Haleakala. Image courtesy of M – Pics / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So by this time next week Robbie and I will be in Maui. To say that this is a needed escape is an understatement. I don’t like to think of vacations as escapes, as it makes me ponder the current status quo and why I need an escape. If I need to escape, then maybe I need to redesign my life so I’m not always yearning for an escape. Hmm. Regardless, I’ve had a few motivational setbacks in the last few months, which I’ve concluded are due to too many projects and interests on the go at the same time. The result? I can’t seem to focus on just one thing! I know, the woes of having too many things to do. Also, I’ll acknowledge this Canadian winter as one of eternal cold and the abyss called the Polar Vortex, which has managed to stretch and contort the feel of winter beyond what I’m used to.

The plan is to fly into the Kahului airport on Wednesday night, pick up our compact car, get supplies at Costco (I hear this is a MUST in order to keep costs down), and then proceed to our ocean-view condo. And then for 11 nights, we plan on… well… Continue reading “Maui: A Needed Escape”

An Ice Walk through Grotto Canyon

Flood debris near the entrance to the Grotto Canyon Ice Walk
Flood debris near the entrance to the Grotto Canyon Ice Walk

I’ve been in an exploration mood lately. It dawned on me last year that after being in Calgary for a while, there were still many sites and attractions I had not visited! I suppose this is fairly common: we tend to think about all the amazing wonders in other places- the salt flats in Bolivia, the mountains surrounding Seoul, or the beaches of Thailand- that we sometimes forget about the incredible things right around us.

Continue reading “An Ice Walk through Grotto Canyon”

If You’re Lost, You’re Learning

The emotion of gratitude. How often do we feel it?
The emotion of gratitude. How often do we feel it?

For the last few months, I’ve been focusing on the 2014 digital overhaul. In short, it has not been fun. I’ve spent so much time updating passwords, switching e-mail accounts, and figuring out the hosting and plugins for my websites that I felt like I was becoming a hermit. After programming throughout the day and then attacking these digital projects in the evening, blogging has taken a back seat. But back seat no more! Now it’s time to move out of Q1 and into the next phase of the year. Travel, blogging, adventures, and changes are all ahead.

Last weekend I spent Thursday through Saturday in a course offered by the Newfield Network (www.newfieldnetwork.com) called Foundations of Personal Leadership. It was quite different from other courses I’ve taken, which is what prompted me to enrol in the first place. Continue reading “If You’re Lost, You’re Learning”