cycle for sight 2011

what a great day! got my sweet friend liz'bet to drive me and the giant to downsview subway station for the start of our epic 'cycle for sight' ride to collingwood! (it is south of 7 ya know!) one of the things they tell you to bring is water bottles . . . well, i filled mine, and i put them in my backpack, but i left my backpack in my car, which was back in bolton . . . stoopid dora! luckily the ride organizers took pity on me and donated a couple.

okay, so, LOVE the jerseys! i will wear it with pride for sure . . .

my incredible friend michael ovens - co-chair of cycle for sight - recruited me for his team, so i got to get my picture taken with the bear . . .

thanks sweetie!

before we started, michael gave a little speech on the foundation, and where the funds were going. he also made a personal comment that left very few dry eyes in the parking lot. when asked 'what exactly can you see', he replied that it has gone from tunnel vision, to seeing through a straw, to now just pin pricks. really makes you appreciate what you have, doesn't it . . .

we left downsview just after 8:30 and headed up and over to keele street. first stop was in king city. you should have seen all the food the lions club put out for us! and then on to schomberg - good gawd - more food! i heard a few people comment that we would be gaining weight for sure on this ride! just before alliston, this really kool firefighter chick from toronto, daina, came up beside me and we rode into the next rest stop together. MORE FOOD! hahaha! did someone say forbidden donuts . . .

she was hilarious and her being a 'city girl' sure was entertaining to me. especially when she mentioned the poor, half-skinned kitty on the side of the road . . . kitty, what kitty, oh THAT - that's actually a possum honey! bahahaha!! but seriously, she was awesome to ride with and we hit collingwood before we knew it!!

my buddy eric, not riding but coordinating everything, was at the finish line to greet us! what a doll! he worked harder than all of us i'm thinking!

alright, we did it !!!

love you michael . . .


the ride in total was 148k and we did it in just over 6 hours. thanks for the company daina! and thanks thanks thanks to my so many generous friends who helped me raise $2275. i truly appreciate it!

so what i got out of this was more than just a ride to collingwood. i got to see incredible people who don't feel sorry for themselves, who just get on with life and make the most of it. i can still see little vivian, who maybe weighs 96lbs, on the back of a tandem bike being led by this strong, burly looking guy in a dornellas jersey! he was so kind and kept asking how she was doing. i loved it! the whole experience was overwhelming, and inspired me beyond words.

thank you michael !

crossfit and critters . . .

not exactly a recovery week after alaska, but i was fine with that . . .

love this pic alex took of me after a cf workout . . .

lots of turtles to be rescued this time of year . . .

and spiders to be relocated . . .

charlotte was caught working out . . .

LOVE the grumpy face on this one . . .

and i'm not about to try and move this one . . .

this one definitely has to go . . .

friday night club - doing the trailer park thing . . .

got a sweet run in on friday - up k2 and up and up half of the dingle . . .

just hanging out on the bench . . .

and then another friday night club - deadlifts !!

fedon doing 485 - in-fucking-sane

yay luca . . .

the group shot . . .

finished off the night with a trip to the tractor pull with fed and luca! what a blast!

alaska mountain ultrarunning camp - last days

the rest of the crew left early sunday morning, and once geoff and i dropped the last group off at the airport, we went over to meet the 'old geezers' for their sunday run! we took the dredge lake trail over to the east glacier, and on the way there, glen pointed out a momma bear and her 3 cubs! they were only about 25' away - and did i have my camera . . . NO! stoopid dora! i was pretty bagged, and so we only did about an hour. we then went and had breakfast with everybody - can you say monster pancakes!! what a great great group of people!

i went back to the cabin and helped geoff and carle clean up. quick work with the 3 of us! then geoff dropped me off at libby and geoff's place - my home for the next couple of days. after meeting isaac and paige, their neat little kids, i decided to walk into town. i thought about souvenir shopping and just ended up buying an ice cream! i hate shopping!! it was an early night for sure - i was exhausted!

monday was boat cruise day down the tracey arm! so kool! check out this huge iceberg . . .


waterfall . . .


another waterfall . . .

heading into the glacier . . .

it was chilly for sure!

close up shot . . .

at the end of the cruise, libby and the kids picked me up, and we went over to geoff and carle's for dinner. again, so great to hang out with all these people! and then, just like that, it was tuesday morning at 4am, time to get on a plane and head back to ontario.

everybody keeps asking 'what was it like . . .' i can't put it into words. i met such an amazing group of runners and went places on my feet i never thought i would. i took something from everyone i met, john, jim, ben, will, andreas, chris, steph, chad and jason - you totally made this for me! carle - you are so beautiful and i can only try to gather some of your spirit. and geoff - wow - someone asked if i was overwhelmed, and in awe of you. i guess i can say yes, but not in the way they might think. you are so humble, gentle and kind. you totally gave each and everyone of us all your attention, and you never once made us feel like we were any less of a runner than you. i was asked what i took back personally from this whole experience, and this was my answer . . . 'have fun and run how you feel - don't get caught up in time and mileage. love what you're doing.' and that is priceless. thank you mr. roes for showing me your version of crazy - i won't forget it!!!

OH !!!!!!! one more thing i got from this . . .

another REALLY KOOL sticker!!!

phew - done - finally!

alaska mountain ultrarunning camp - day 5

last day of camp - big sad face - i will really miss this . . .

it was decided the night before that everybody could choose their route and duration. some of the fasty patties opted for going on the long haul with geoff. chad and i wanted to put in 5 hours, so we ran with brian and john. initally, everybody started on the roberts trail. a fairly good climb through a nice section of forest. eventually we all split up and went our separate ways. i'm not sure what some of these peaks are, but chad and i managed to get up and over gastineau peak, mount roberts, sheep mountain and clark mountain.

me and chad on mount roberts (i think) . . .

yup - we went up and over this . . .

our 'ultimate guides' - brian and john - thanks guys !!

top of sheep mountain . . .

this one naturally is for my beloved trail trash partner . . .

wicked shot that chad took of me and john walking out of the clouds . . .

this was the final ascent - clark mountain. as i was climbing, john calmly advised that if i start slipping, i should spread eagle out and try to dig my fingers and toes in the snow ! eep ! it's way way steeper than it looks . . .

here we were told by brian to 'make like a mountain goat . . . ' eep !

almost there!!!!!

after this, we descended down into granite basin - mostly on our butts! (i still have bruises.) one of our slides was something like 800' long! so scary yet so kool ! chad was insane! with a final descent on the perserverence trail, we popped out onto the road. john was just finishing his run and managed to get in on the picture with us . . .

what a day! an epic run for sure! me and chad covered about 13.2miles in 5 hours, with over 6000' vertical! we then walked over to geoff's place to use his shower - which was up 6 flights of stairs - of which we initally went up the WRONG ones . . . grrrr! we then joined everybody for pizza and beer! what an amazing group - i will miss them !

chad left for the airport, and the rest of us went back to the cabin. we were treated to the most beautiful sunset . . .

and after much kerfuffle, we finally managed a 'timed' group shot. what an amazing week!

alaska mountain ultrarunning camp - day 4

day 4 was another good day for climbing! we started out on the john muir trail which gave us a chance to run uphill for just over 45min. so kool ! we started out on double track, which turned to single track and ultimately a boardwalk with dozens and dozens of steps!

waiting for us at the top was this cute little cabin . . .

at this point, geoff let two of the local runners, bob and glen, lead us across spalding meadows, as he wasn't super familiar with the trail. bob, the guy with the yellow pack, is about 60 something and ran like it was nothing! glen, the guy with the turquoise shirt, and the metal water bottle tied to his shorts, is 70+ and hilarious!!! he kept talking about his 'first wife' to whom he's still married. and i'm thinking it was a really good thing they were there, as i don't think i once saw any signs of a trail . . .

ben, chris, me, jason and steph . . .

this section was kool - it went for about 5 miles, and was this spongy, wet, rolling meadow!

the run finished with some sweet trail that ran along the montana creek . . .

saw this little dude just before glen took me on a 'short cut' - which took about 10min longer than the regular route! haha!

now this is a rock !

finished off with a total of 15.5 miles in 3:51. vertical for the day was almost 2300'.

dinner for that night was a bbq on the beach! fresh salmon and white fish, baked potatoes and salad AND pie for dessert! i could sooo get used to this!

john, brian, steph, chris and will . . .

andreas, geoff, ben, the lovely carle and chad . . .

again - 'sigh' . . .

everybody here is so nice and amazing, and it will totally suck to leave in a few days!!!