Race Recap: Mudd, Sweat & Tears, Kelowna

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a 7 person team taking part in the second Kelowna 'Mudd, Sweat & Tears' event. It's very similar in style to the Tough Mudder & Spartan races out there - basically mud, obstacles, running and some major kick-ass team building/bonding!!

I recruited Chris and I both for my workplace team 'The Bridge Trolls' (we work at The Bridge Services!). I'm not really sure if you need to train for these kind of events - I figured that since the distance was only 12km my regular road running had me comfortably able to manage the distance. And cross training at home doing P90X and Insanity workouts should have me covered in most other aspects, really I think the most important aspect in pre-race readiness is the right mental attitude!

Our team had an assigned start time of 10am - which was quite the treat - being so close to home the alarm was actually set later than it is on an average week-day! Due to the logistics all participants had to be bussed up to the ski resort where the event was taking place. The day got off to a bad start when they were in short supply of buses and it took 80 minutes to stand in line waiting for a shuttle ride...

But we got there....and with a quick dash around to get us registered, changed, bag dropped, potty break etc we were ready to go. Having such congestion at the buses and start line worked in our favour - they introduced an 'extra' start time of 10:15 and since most people had rushed to set off at 10 we had a very small start corral! Perfect once you encountered the obstacles with no line-ups!

The organizers wasted no time in living up to the first part of the event name - MUD. After scrambling over a 9ft wall we were getting down and dirty in a shallow mud pit, bear-crawling along staying low enough to ensure we avoided the barbed wire hanging just inches above the mud. From there we had rope climbs, more mud pits, more walls, tire pulls, and a couple of demoralizing hill climbs with heavy sand bags (up AND back down again).

Surprisingly in the end one of the more challenging aspects of this race was the running in between obstacles. We'd signed up for a 12km race, but at the end my garmin had only logged around 7km (and was consistent with several other teams). Frankly I didn't mind! We'd run from the bottom of the mountain to the top - around 1200ft elevation gain in just over a mile! and then all the way back down again. (You know, there was a perfectly decent chair-lift right there we all could've used!!)

The kicker was the final obstacle. It was an 'Over & Under' type thing. A giant shallow pool of very liquid, slooshy and cold mud. With logs across it - some were 4-5ft high - those were to go over (more difficult than it sounds since they were slick with mud) and then some logs were just inches above the mud pool - and those of course you needed to go under - I mean, of course!. The first 'under' wasn't too bad - we were down and crawling and it was bad. But then there was the second 'under'. And that was the mother of all muddy, dirty obstacles. This log was no more than 2-3 inches above the level of the mud. I stood there contemplating my fate for a few moments. I considered just hopping over the thing and calling it good. And then I decided that 2-3 inches may be just the air gap I needed. I got down flat on my back perpendicular to the log and ducked under hoping and praying and squeezing my eyes as tight as they'd go that I wouldn't end up fully sub-merged. I was one of the lucky ones. I surfaced with a small patch of pinky flesh still visible! Yay for small mercies. The rest of my team did not fare so well and every. single. patch. of. human. body was slick and covered in mud. And I mean EVERYWHERE!

The TEARS part of the even name came right after we crossed the finish line. There was a fire hose hooked up to icy mountain water to wash off a little - and you did have to wash off, or at least try! It really was pretty hard to bear without getting instant brain freeze and it most certainly brought tears to your eyes!

In all, it was a super fun event!

Linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday

Race Recap: Vancouver Sun Run

Time has been whizzing by and already 2 weeks have passed since the Vancouver Sun Run. I LOVE this race! This was our third time taking part, the first back in 2006 and we were tourists still road tripping around North America in our RV! Wow, I'm sure we never dreamt back then that we'd be running 8 years later as Canadian residents!

I love that it's such a BIG race - this was it's 30th year and there were over 50,000 people registered! The crowds aren't for everyone but I love the atmosphere and vibe of it all. I love that tight jostling in the corrals at the start and the sight of so many people doing what I love doing - running!

We had a fantastic hotel really close to the start line - just one block away from the back of the corrals. We were actually placed much further forward so we walked about 3 blocks parallel to the start line street until we could enter our corral a little nearer the front.

What I found marvellously liberating and refreshing is the knowledge, having done this race a few times that there was NO time pressure to get to the start line. There are 50,000 people all lined on Georgia Street in 6 or 7 very large corrals and it takes over an hour to get everyone through the start line. And with the race being chip timed your race doesn't start till you cross the start line! There's a countdown and release for each of the corrals so you don't even miss out on the pizzazz of the start wherever you are! Knowing this we opted to loiter in our hotel till the very last minute. I'm a nervous runner pre-race - and I need the bathrooms. Usually multiple times. And really it takes longer to queue at the start line than it did to just hang in our room till I was sure I was good to go!! Plus we didn't want to check bags for clothes, so we made got ourselves completely ready and probably didn't head out till just before 9 (official start time). It really was just a few minutes walk and as we approached our cross street we heard the gun go off for the first corral. We had time to squeeze into our corral as they removed the barricades and edged us forward to the start line. We got going at around 9:16 I think!

I love that the first 1km is down Georgia Street, towards Stanley Park and is a steady and gradual downhill. It's perfect for me to work up to a good pace and breathing pattern with just a smidge of gravity assistance. Unfortunately I spent that first 1km wrangling with my Garmin to pick up a satellite signal on the fly after it failed to start. Frustrating but at the 1 mile mark I got it going (what is it with me and my technology at the start of races - it's not the first time this has happened!!)

I had no great expectations for this race - I never do! The previous 2 times we've run it we've both been hungover and have gone into it with a worst case scenario of 'it's just a nice stroll out on a Sunday morning'! Of course we've always managed to pull out the stops and do a little better than that, even with a fuzzy head! This year we'd had our big night out on Friday but I still didn't feel on top form and liked that it was no pressure - kept me way more relaxed.

The thing is, the only real 10km races I've done were back when I ran in Cyprus - before chip timing and so far back that when I contacted the organizers to try and get the results out of the archives they were too far gone! They were always around the 60 minute mark though. I do have a couple of 10km split times from some of my half marathons - my best being 51 something, but really not an 'official' 10km time. So the only other 10km races I actually have times for are my previous Sun Runs - and they were both just over an hour. So I was feeling pretty confident that no matter what happened I was going to get a new 'official' PR!!

I'm always slower for the first mile or two of a race - since most of my races are Half Marathons it evens out OK, but for a 10km I guess I should work on that!! Chris ran with me and kept me at a good pace - really pushing me on the couple of bridges when I may have slowed. It's a nice, flat course apart from those 2 bridges! As you run the decline on the second bridge you can see BC Place and you know the finish line is close, and as you turn onto the exit ramp there it is! With a final push we made it across the line with the clock showing 1:08!

Now as you'll remember my garmin wasn't working so really I didn't know what our time was. I only thought I'd remembered seeing 9:16am on the clock as we set off, but I'm not totally sure. With some rough calculations I hoped that meant we should have finished in around 52-53 minutes, but we'd have to wait till the results were posted online - either way I was happy - it was a good race and  PR no matter what that I was pretty pleased with - considering that I'd not specifically trained for a 10km and wasn't feeling on perfect form.

After the race we dashed back to our hotel to grab a quick shower and check out and then headed for lunch at Steamworks Brewpub. I loved that everywhere you looked in Vancouver that afternoon all you could see were runners and happy faces - many people were still wearing their race t-shirts and bibs and you had the feeling that you were all in one giant club. This is the atmosphere that I was talking about!

And my new 'official' PR time - 51:47! I'm happy with that!

Linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday

Eating in the dark at The Dark Table, Vancouver

Last weekend we enjoyed a city break in Vancouver - once again killing 2 birds with one stone we were celebrating Chris's birthday and running the Vancouver Sun Run.

We headed off early on Friday morning and went via the Aggasiz Tulip Festival. The fields were in full bloom and after a short walk from the parking lot we were in the middle of it. Rows and rows of the beautiful blooms in lots of different colours! - just gorgeous and very spring like! We lucked out with some great weather too - although there had been a lot of rain the fields were pretty dry - in fact strangely spongey and rather fun to walk on!

We checked into the St.Regis Hotel for our weekend - it was a fabulous small boutique hotel and the location was second to none right on Dunsmuir and just one block from the start line for our race on Sunday! From the moment we checked in the doorman remembered us and greeted us by name throughout our stay - talk about great customer service. There was free wifi and free bottled water in the rooms. The rooms were small, but very nicely decorated and modern. There were cosy bathrobes and an amazing bathroom - it was nearly as big as the room itself. The breakfast was also an awesome perk - included as part of the room rate it was an a la carte menu served meal cooked to order and was delicious, plus an on-site pub/bar which was perfect for drinks before we headed out to dinner in the evenings.

Anyway, possibly the most exciting part of our weekend was Friday night when we had reservations at The Dark Table. This is a blind dining restaurant - meaning that you're eating in the dark. Pitch. Black. Darkness. I first came across the concept back in January when we watched the movie About Time and there are 2 characters who meet at a dark restaurant.  I loved the idea but lamented that it was a bit hip to have such a thing here. Literally the next day a work colleague of mine was at a conference in Vancouver and posted on her Facebook that she was 'dining in the dark' that evening. With a quick google search I discovered that indeed there was such a restaurant as per the movie in Vancouver, and we were visiting in April for the Sun Run! I made the reservations there and then!!

There are 2 'sittings' and we were booked for 8:45pm as a table for 4 - we were dining with our friends Les and Deanie. I think we were all super excited about what was to come. On arrival you sit out on the verandah and check out the menu - it was pretty simple - maybe a half dozen choices for entrée and then a 'surprise' starter and dessert. They take your food and drinks order and then you get called by name to meet your server at the main door. You line up one behind each other, putting both hands on the shoulders of the person in front and with the first of your group with their hands on the servers shoulders and you're off...after passing through 2 doors you enter complete darkness! The servers are all visually impaired themselves - our server had been completely blind since age 7. But these guys know how to move!! We were whisked along at quite the pace and led to our table.

We could see NOTHING. Nada. You could put your hand in front of your face and you couldn't see it. Chris had to take off his watch since the glow-dial was blindingly bright and in danger of ruining the atmosphere!

You were left at the table for a few minutes to orientate yourselves (before they let us loose with alcoholic beverages in open glassware containers!). The table was large. You could barely reach the person opposite you even when you were both stretched out - on reflection I suppose that was quite key in not knocking things over and fumbling around for your drinks glass - there were no 'extras' on the table - a simple textured place-mat and your cutlery, so after some feeling around you got quite comfortable.

The food was OK. Perfectly nice, but not wow. We had warm bread rolls and the starter was a simple salad, which I felt that I rocked! I even managed to use cutlery and pick it all up with a fork - which frankly I find challenging at the best of times! (at least I think I got it all!). For my main course I'd picked a stuffed chicken breast which was tasty. I didn't find my vegetables till later on so most of it I was just eating great hunks of meat rather than a mixed forkful of food. Well, most of it I ate with the fork!! Eating with your fingers soon became the easier and more instantly satisfying option! Dessert was a very ordinary chocolate mousse-y-cake thing - which should definitely have been a cutlery kind of affair, but by this time most definitely wasn't. But no-one can see you!!

But the food was not why I was here. Seriously I was competing with the Cheshire cat for the size of my grin that night! I just couldn't stop smiling and laughing. It was SO. FRIGGIN'. FUN!! When you needed to use the wash-room you had to call out for your server and he would come, you'd place your hands on his shoulders and he would whisk you off 'doing the conga' style. And you had to hold on tight because he was a busy man and was moving some and you were terrified of loosing your grip and being stranded mid-restaurant not knowing your nose from your ass, and never finding your way out!! I just found it all completely hysterical!! When you were done you had to stand at the bathroom door and call out again so he could lead you back.

Photo source

We were there a good couple of hours and had an absolute BLAST. Possibly the best dining experience I've ever had. And when your face hurts from smiling so much you know it's been a great, great night! It was fascinating to be dining in the dark - an insight into what blind people experience every day and you rely so much more on your other senses - despite our table mates being 'so far away' opposite us we never had trouble communicating - I guess because your hearing kicks up a notch to compensate. And texture and feel became so important for eating in particular.

If you ever get the opportunity to dine in the dark I'd totally recommend it - but go with friends - we were chatting to some couples who'd been and it didn't seem that they had quite as much fun - I think it's not the place for a romantic dinner for 2 (especially when you're sat next to a table of 4 drunken idiots cackling with laughter and giggling all night long!). I wouldn't necessarily go back - not because I didn't absolutely love it but I think it's a bit of a 'one-off' experience not to be missed!

Race Recap: Ragnar SoCal

It's been nearly 3 weeks since I returned from the sunny climes of Southern California and honestly I'm still suffering from major #ragover...

194 miles, 37 hours, 12 runners, 2 vans, 1 Tough Chik team.....countless epic memories.

I've been putting off writing my race recap for fear of not being able to do it justice, but given that time is ticking by we need to be talking progress not perfection.....so I'll jump right in...

Ragnar had been on my bucket list for some time. They organize a number of relay running events across the country and really I wasn't too picky about where, but more concerned with the how since there's some logistical magic needing to happen to pull together a team of 12 and organise them to travel with 2 mini vans over the course of 36 hours...When Shannon from Team Tough Chik put a call out for interested people to be part of the Ragnar SoCal team I was immediately on board. I bought my ticket to Orange County way back in the fall of last year and over the course of the last few months the rest of the team slowly came on board and we all got to know each other via a private facebook group.

Finally on the night before the race we all met at Shannon's house for the first time. Five of us had flown into California for the event - I think the rest were all SoCal ladies. We spent the evening getting to know each other, decorating our 2 mini-vans and enjoying some homemade lasagna. It was fairly early to bed since we'd be up at 4am to head to the start line.

Come Friday morning we piled into our van bleary eyed for the drive to start line on Huntington Beach. It was still dark as we checked in, listened to our safety brief, collected our team swag, our race bibs and our t-shirts, then took the obligatory team photo as Lisa - our runner one stepped up to the start line. Due to the craziness she got going just 15 minutes late of our original designated start time at 6:15!

It was so exciting to see her off and knowing that we had a long crazy adventure ahead of us. But really there was no time to waste as we needed to head to our first exchange.

At Ragnar most teams consist of 12 runners (some run it as an Ultra with only 6 runners!) - which are then split into 2 vans. I was in Van 1 along with Lisa, Krystal, Virginia, Valerie and Shannon and was runner #6 - so the last person to run in our van before handing off to runner #7 from Van 2. You get to know your van members very well over the course of the 36 hours as there is no break from it! We were also incredibly lucky to be chauffeured by the incredible Lauren who owned that 15-seater van! Every person from van 1 runs a leg, handing over the 'relay wristband' to the next runner in order. When everyone in one Van has run they hand over to the first runner from Van 2 - they each run a leg and then hand off back to Van 1 - and you do that 3 times through so everyone runs 3 legs and in this particular case you arrive in San Diego!!

I guess everyone gets comfortable and happy with the legs they get assigned. I was super happy to be in Van 1 as runner #6. It was difficult at times being the last person to get going, but when I was done the van was done so I never had to sit around sweaty and smelly! When the van is done you have some down-time whilst the other van is doing it's stuff - we found that this was usually a 5-6 hour break.

Having started at 6:15am from Huntington Beach we'd worked our way down to Tustin. For my Ragnar debut I had my longest leg to run (nothing like getting the hardest over and done with!). It was just short of 9 miles and I started running at around 11:15am so it was warming up nicely - maybe a little too nicely for this Canadian girl who hadn't worn shorts since last September! It was a pretty straight route along a busy urban road and there were a LOT of stop lights. The rest of my team mates had already complained of similar problems on their legs so I wasn't surprised but all the stopping and starting does tend to suck it out of you - just as you get into a comfortable pace you're stopping for sometimes several minutes at a time (and all those people you'd busted a gut to pass are now waiting at the light with you, damn it!) I finished my leg at a huge old air-field and as I ran down through the exchange chute all I could see was Amy waiting for me - dressed in our wonderfully bright purple and teal Team Tough Chik gear she was just stood there front and centre and it made for an easy exchange! After slapping the wristband onto her arm she was off and I was greeted by ALL of my team-mates! (See another lovely bonus to being runner #6 - I got double the cheer squad as I finished my legs since it was a major exchange where van 1 & 2 are both present!!) This was a big exchange point and there were refreshments, live music and sponsor and vendor booths. After I cooled down a little and some shopped the Ragnar merchandise we headed out. Since we'd finished our legs very close to Shannon's house we were heading back there for the afternoon, so after grabbing a bite to eat from Chipotle we could start looking forward to showers and a siesta and even the opportunity to do a quick load of laundry!!

Ragnar is often talked about as a rough and ready race - it's 36 hours with no major downtime. There's normally a lot of sleep deprivation, not a lot of showering and lots of smelling. It's quite normal to just sleep in the van or just out on the ground in a sleeping bag at one of the exchange points, and often no showering opportunities, so having someone live nearby and being able to head back to Shannon's house was quite the luxury and it was most definitely appreciated! After a couple of hours of quiet, cool snoozing (I'm not sure I could really call it sleep - adrenalin wasn't letting me sleep for real!) we hung out, chatting and waiting for the text from van 2 letting us know that Casey -  runner #11 had set off. We gauged that allowed us enough time to jump in the van and drive to the next major exchange to meet them. The exchange was at the beautiful Doheney State Beach (a place very dear to my heart - somewhere Chris and I spent some time at when we were travelling and where we had a wonderful photo-shoot by Tara Whitney for our fifth wedding anniversary - which was poetic in itself since here I was 7 years later ON my actual anniversary running Ragnar and 'celebrating' our first anniversary apart).

Left - the view at Torrey Pines and the end of my final leg. Top R - the views we had to deal with whilst tracking our runner! Bottom R - watching the sunset at Doheney State Beach

Night had fallen by now and finally at around 8pm runner #12 - Tina ran into the exchange, handed back off to runner #1 - our Lisa and she was off into the night. During official night-time hours everyone needs to be wearing a head-lamp, red blinky lights on your back and a reflective vest - so it was a crazy dark mess at the exchange! After a few minutes of hanging out with Van 2 we needed to head off to our next exchange. Lisa was running the mother of all legs - the longest of the entire relay at nearly 12 miles, at night and it was officially un-supported which meant that the vans were unable to drive the same route the runners were running - which meant we couldn't stop to support; be that collect unwanted clothing, hand over refreshment, and just generally be an on-the-go pep squad. We did sneak in an impromptu cheer station in San Clemente where we stood on a street corner for 1/2 hour screaming and cheering and forming a celebration arch for everyone who ran through! - Since it was getting late it seemed to be well received, and finally Lisa came through and we could top up her water and send her on her way again.

The rest of our night time legs were a bit of a blur - obviously it was dark so I have no real distinction of where we were and what it looked like! We had a couple of crazy messed up exchanges where things were disorganized and no-one knew what was going on, and we even missed the finish of Lisa's epic leg since we were snarled up in traffic. my night-time leg was just a shorty - 2.7 miles through Oceanside. It started through the town itself - so even at 1:30am I was still getting caught by stop lights!! My final mile was along a cycle trail and then along the beach path and before I knew it Amy was there waiting for me! Since it had been such a short leg my van hadn't made it from the last exchange in time so I hung out with Van #1 until my crew could find me!

It was shortly after this exchange that Van #1 could officially crown ourselves the Team Tough Chik 'Princess Van' - yes, we had decided back at Shannon's that we liked our luxury and had reserved a hotel room for our second 'downtime'. Hilton here we come!! We took the drive down to Carlsbad (near to where the next major exchange was) and within a matter of minutes we were in our room and fast asleep (it did not go un-noticed that the room we were assigned was #148 which was our Ragnar team number - seriously it was a sign that this was meant to be!!). It was sadly way too short lived - less than 3 hours later we were up again and getting ready to head to the exchange for what would be our final legs. It was 6am and we were (surprisingly!) raring to go!

All too soon I was getting ready to run my final leg through the gorgeous Torrey Pines State Park. It was a (nice?!) solid uphill for just short of 2 miles which was fairly brutal (but satisfying when I was passing guys that were walking!). Then when I finally reached top it was a nice flat and then a small downhill to the cliffs where my exchange was. It was a little emotional running into that final exchange - it was over for me! The scenery was stunning - it was a gorgeous day and by Noon it was a wrap for Van 1.

We said our goodbyes to Van 2 as they headed off to track their runner. And we headed to a local day spa for a sauna and showers.  We kicked back and took our time, headed out for lunch at Dirty Dog with a couple of cocktails to wash it down. Slow time we headed to the San Diego waterfront where the race finish was, got out some blankets and got comfy lounging on the grass for the finish. Due to some injuries in Van 2 they were going a little slower than planned and Tina - runner #12 picked up some extra miles making her final leg to the finish line around 10 miles - it was a toughie for her for sure.

The sun set over the ocean and finally in the twilight we caught sight of Tina heading around the final corner and towards the finish line. We all crossed the finish line together as a team (most of us hobbling by now since the adrenalin that had kept us going was slowly fading and the aches and pains were settling in with a vengeance!). We celebrated with cupcakes and hugs and all too soon we were saying our goodbyes.

It was the most incredible and fun experience. I think I came home and bored the socks off Chris since everything out of my mouth was Ragnar memories - so much to remember and so few words that can do it justice.

Check out this awesome video that Jessy - runner #9 put together of our experience - it gives me goosebumps just watching it and re-living our Ragnar moments!



And within the week the #ragover was hurting us so bad that we've agreed to meet back in California in September for Ragnar Napa Valley!! Yes - my flight is already booked!!

Linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday!

Turning 40

It wasn't exactly billed as my birthday weekend trip - it was actually a trip over to Vancouver Island to buy our new car. But as Chris's luck would have it he was able to kill 2 birds with one stone, get the new car AND treat me to a weekend away - he's smooth like that ;-)

He wasn't quite so smooth when it was decided that the best way to get there was via Greyhound. A 10 hour journey that started in Kelowna at 11pm on a Friday night. Trust me, the greyhound depot in Kelowna on Friday night is NOT classy. At all. I'm getting too old for this shit! 2 people were refused boarding by the driver for being too drunk and another was arrested. And then the on-board toilet was out of order. For a 6 hour journey. Okaaaay then!

After a couple of hours stop-over in Vancouver at dawn and then a couple more hours on the ferry we finally arrived in Nanaimo. A long story short, the car was everything advertised and we bought it (because by that point it was going to have to have something majorly wrong with it to convince me not to buy it and have to get the Greyhound home again!!) So by mid-afternoon the weekend was ours and we had a new set of wheels to cruise in - yeah baby!

We drove down to Victoria and arrived at The Empress Hotel right on the harbourside. Our only other visit to Victoria was back in our second year of travelling - 2006 and we were still in the early years of our RV'ing adventures and long before we even considered emigrating to Canada. And I remember thinking how wonderful, grand and majestic the Empress Hotel was. And it was now our home for the next 2 nights! 

At check-in time our room wasn't quite ready. They'd upgraded us to a Harbour View so to appease us they took out luggage and sent us to The Bengal Lounge for complimentary cocktails. Darn it, don't you just hate it when someone plies you with free drinks?! 3 hours later and long after the room was ready we headed upstairs. A shower was long over-due after the journey and we had brewpubs to visit!

Our first night we headed for The Swans brewpub. We scored a table in the conservatory area which was perfect for people watching and kept a slight barrier between us and the live music - it was good but, hey I was nearly 40 and that music was loud!! And O.M.G the burgers.....I ordered the Swan Song burger but switched out the plain beef patty with a cajun-style charred beef patty and then it was loaded with bacon, mushrooms, cheese, crispy fried banana peppers and beer braised onions. I was drinking their delicious Raspberry Ale - it was so full of berry flavour and in an medium coloured ale - not some dark stout as is so often the case. The berry was so intense it was almost like it was a regular pale ale that they'd then added a couple of shots of rich raspberry liquor in it! Intense, high in alcohol and one was enough to sip on all evening!

The next morning was grey and drizzling but I headed out for a run regardless. A gorgeous, invigorating 4 miles along the harbour on a Sunday morning. The spring flowers were out - I saw daffodils, crocus and snowdrops, a man walking his parrot and some funky driftwood art 'Fan-ta-sea-Isle' (which I vaguely recalled from 2006 but it's much larger and rather more established these days - the same sailor is there!)

For a late brunch we took a water taxi across the harbour from our hotel to Spinnakers Brewpub. More great local craft beers and a fantastic menu to choose from. We settled in and received fabulous service from our host (who was a fellow Brit!). And when I say we settled in, we sure did. We said goodbye to our friendly server at the end of his shift paid our 'lunchtime' cheque and then welcomed in the new shift for the evening and opened another tab. 8 hours later we took a slow, ever-so-slightly tipsy stumble back to our hotel!! I barely remember what we ate (for either of our meals) but it was good!

I woke on Monday morning with a 4 in front of my age. 40 does seem old. I was so excited to reach my 30's, but 40, nah.....not so much. After a quick bite to eat in a local tea room we hopped in our new car for the journey home. Our final gastro treat for the weekend was Moby Dick's Fish n' Chips in White Rock - I'm telling you ma' man is classy and smooth when it comes to 40th birthday dining!! (But it was a particular delicious choice which I could highly recommend!)

An awesome weekend to remember in a beautiful hotel in a beautiful city. So maybe turning 40 isn't so bad after all. (But how did Chris manage to end up with the new car for MY birthday?!)

Part II of my 21DSD!

So it's been a few weeks since Chris came home from his trip and I finished up my 10 days of the 21DSD. On his return we had 7 days of eating with no boundaries. Then together we embarked on a mini 7 day Sugar Detox, following all the rules of the program. And then it was my 40th birthday weekend and a trip away for us (so, of course we didn't detox then!)

I'm still very passionate about the Detox and especially the incredible recipes. I think there is a HUGE place in my life for this program, and having been 'on and off' the wagon and given that I never actually completed the full 21 days anyway I'm beginning to figure out how things can look for me and how I'm going to incorporate elements of the program into my life..

What I love about Detox Programs (in general!);

• I LOVE detox programs to get me 'back on track'.
• I work well when I have rules and boundaries to follow that someone else has set!
• It doesn't matter what I'm cutting out of my diet depending on what detox I'm doing, it's the discipline of cutting something out!
• They introduce me to new ingredients and recipes - which are easily incorporated to make a permanent change to better, healthier options

What I've learnt;

• I learnt that I can handle 7-10 days of detoxing - since I'm an all-or-nothing kinda girl with this I struggle beyond that time frame
• I learnt that I can't socialise during a detox!! I know there are guidelines for eating out, but seriously, I don't go to a restaurant to pick a salad robbed of half it's delicious ingredients and no dressing! I can do that at home where there are no other temptations bothering me!
• I learnt that our evening meals are pretty much ideal anyway. 'Eating clean' has been on my radar for at least a couple of years and I have always focussed on our main meal - using whole ingredients, plenty of fresh produce and whole grains
• I learnt that all the other meals of the day are where we slip up. Lunchtime and snacking in particular
• I learnt that Meal Planning is the key to success - Diane says it over and over and she ain't wrong. Whilst we've meal planned our evening meals (hence we do so well in this area) we've never sketched out a plan for breakfast or lunch (or even snacks for that matter) - it's gotta happen!
• I learnt that Breakfasts need to be switched up. For the last 5 years or so Chris and I have had a smoothie for breakfast. The 21DSD has opened my eyes to lots of great alternatives and really just as quick and convenient to prepare than ye 'ole smoothie!
• I learnt some new 'healthy alternatives' to our pantry items - we'll be making a permanent shift to the new choices from now on! I love that switching out ingredients in baby steps makes it completely sustainable and easy! This time round I realised you can't buy stock without sugar in it - from now on I'll be making bone broth. And Soy Sauce - we'd already made a switch a year or so ago from regular soy sauce to a more natural, non-GMO and lower salt Braggs Liquid Aminos, but now I'll think I'll skip the soy altogether and go with the Coconut Aminos the 21DSD introduced me to!
• I learnt that Pancakes without any kind of sweetener just taste like cardboard and are really not worth the effort. Some things just need sweetening!

I honestly did not experience any change in energy, mood, skin condition or digestive issues. I think in the big scheme of things we eat pretty well already and I wonder since there wasn't a radical change in diet then I shouldn't have expected a radical change in any other aspect. And that was one of the reasons I think I was ready to 'quit' early. But I did totally enjoy the new meals I discovered and the discipline of meal prepping for snacks and getting batches of stuff ready and in the freezer - it's a lotta work but so worth it. I'm moving forward with lots of great 'experience' and recipes to make many changes more permanent. 

Take me back to Chicago (in Kelowna!)

Back in my teens I listened to the band Chicago. I loved their music. At the time I think it was probably an odd choice for someone my age. None of my friends listened to them, and I don`t really remember them hitting the charts much in England but I think with lots of family trips stateside I must have heard them on the car radio and just loved their sound. My Dad used to get my their albums on cassette for me on his travels.

Fast forward 25 years. Last night we went to see them in concert. It was one of my birthday treats from Chris, and they were visiting Kelowna! And as I watched them I realised a few things;

• Whilst I liked their music I actually knew nothing about them. I didn`t know what they looked like, who they were, their names, nor did I give much thought 25 years ago to what instruments they played - how they actually made their music. I just liked their sound. I liked their lyrics and especially their ballads and many a song from Chicago made it to my homemade mix-tapes - especially when I was dealing with a teenage broken heart!!
• I am getting OLD! Though not as old as these guys!! They`ve been making music together as a band for longer than I`ve been alive! Which means much of their music was before I was even making my own choices in what I listened to (I`m telling you - it`s weird how I ever got ìnto`them in my teenage years!)
• They are uber-talented. 9 guys on stage - an amazing percussionist, and I loved the sound of the trombone, trumpet and Sax - we don`t hear enough of those real instruments these days! I have to say though I do recall the vocal talent of Peter Cetera on many of their bigger hits that I listened to so the songs they played sounded a little different - not bad, just different.
• These old boys have more energy and staying power than me. They were on stage just shy of 3 hours and performed an amazing set! Though it did seem to be a bit of a blast from the past when there was a 20 minute intermission! (but no young ladies with ice-cream sandwiches and popcorn for sale in the aisles)

Photo: Robin Jones from Castanet.net

I recognized around 50-60% of the set. And the rest was just great, easy listening - real toe-tapped stuff for me! I loved an evening of awesome music. Much of it has a great 70's feel to it - like a 70's TV show soundtrack (Charlie's Angels anyone) and the brilliant percussionist with his shakers and bongo drums created a real Tiki Bar vibe on a couple of occasions. It was fascinating to watch 9 talented musicians making music. We have so many brilliant musicians these days of course but the glory is often reserved for the vocalist and you don't often to really get to watch the people playing the instruments, actually making the music.

Besides I could listen to someone play Sax for me all night long.....
And for this old lady, it was a late night on the town. Now let me settle down with a nice cuppa cocoa....