One Twenty Three....Almost Killed Me!

So, I was doing a fair amount of walking leading up into and at the start of my last week of vacation.  Whenever I go for a lengthy walk, a run or a bike ride, I always strap on my Garmin watch to track what I'm doing.  I then go to the dailymile.com website afterward to log what I've done and post it to Facebook (cuz I'm braggy like that)... The dailymile website keeps a running tab on the top of the # of km you've logged for the week so far...Sooo...being the dumbass I am, I thought "I wonder if I can do 100km this week?".  Once the idea has been planted...

So, the week looked like this - Monday 8k walk, Tuesday 5k run/8k walk, Wednesday 8k walk, Thursday 5k run, 8k walk...hmmm...my lower back is beginning to bother me a little...feels a bit tight... Friday 10k bike, 9k walk (yup, lower back not really very happy).  Saturday 10k run (owww...THAT hurt!)...and then it was Sunday...and I had 29km more to go!  Yikes...So, Sunday I decided to bike to Kimberley and back... STUPID...Not only is it more km than I needed...but I had that nagging back thing going on...  But I'm nothing if not stubborn...  Hopped on my bike and away I went.  Got as far as Marysville and was thinking this isn't too bad...not much farther to Kimberley.  Unfortunately, Marysville to Kimberley is ALL up hill...(which my back does NOT like).  Somehow I made it...painfully... Turned around, stopped at a picnic table for a snack and some water and coasted back down to Marysville...ahh...my back didn't mind that so much.  Then I remembered....the 3.5km hill I had to climb to get back to Cranbrook...and then the KILLER hill back up to my house...uggghh....but I did it...  Could barely walk by the time I got back...had to skip running on Monday because of my back....but I did it.  Worth it???  You betcha!  I beat my goal...123km in one week!  Woot Woot!

The picture below was taken at the official 100km mark!

From Aggressive Deer to Barking Birds??

So, anyone who lives in my little city knows full well that we've had a little issue with deer who have decided they are quite comfortable hanging out in town with the rest of us.  For the most part, they are just a bit of a nuisance - eating all the flowers out of gardens, eating trees/bushes, strolling ever so slowly across busy streets...but on occasion, when their babies are quite little - they can act like any other momma acts and will do anything to protect their fawns.  A couple of people have been hurt...and one video of a dog getting it's ass kicked went viral on YouTube (put your dogs on a leash, people, and you don't have to worry about it!).

For obvious reasons, however, our folks at City Hall decided that warning signs were in order.  So....a certain husband of a certain friend of mine ordered up and had signs posted reminding us to be on the lookout for the deer.

And....whaddya know!  The signs work!  Who knew we have the smartest deer around in our little ole city?  But apparently we DO!  I think they can read!  SERIOUSLY!  I have not seen ONE deer when out walking/running/biking (which you may have noticed I do a fair amount of) since the signs went up!  I can just hear them now...at a town hall type gathering of deer... "Oh shit!  Those humans are on to us now!  First these signs...then what??  A cull??  Yikes!  Let's get our little white tails out of here"!  Seems like the most logical explanation for the sudden decline in deer sightings to me!  Well played, Mr. Z, well played!

HOWEVER!  On our walk today, I heard the strangest noise come out of a bird's beak...  I looked at Colleen and said "Did that bird just BARK at us?".  She agreed that it had.  So, just a heads up to the fine folks at City Hall (and that includes you Mr Z!), you might want to think about some signage for barking birds before long.  We can't be expected to tolerate THAT type of behaviour, can we?

Why, why, why.....?

Getting up at 5:45 tomorrow morning again (still on my holidays!!) to meet the girls for a pre-work run.  Should "pre-work runs" not only happen when I am actually working?  Ugghh....  I mean, I know....I can go back to bed when I get home....but I'm soooo tired today.  Had a stupid big chai tea latte at 7:30 last night...spent a good chunk of the night wide awake...and another, larger chunk, in the bathroom peeing.  STOOPID!  Then I did another version of a "Schmidt Tri-athlon" today.  Biked to COTR, did a kettlebell workout followed by 20 minutes on the elliptical, then biked home...then I went for a walk with Kyla... Hmm...maybe that's more than a tri-athlon?  Isn't that 4 things?  Oh...and then there is the idiotic #plankaday challenge I decided was a great idea...  So...5 things...  What's that called?  A cinq-athlon?  Gah!  Is it bed time yet?

Looking forward to the bike trip to Idaho....should be a bit of a rest for me :)

Where I'm At

Ok...after that last post I am going to avoid the use of the word "cute" for the rest of this post.

This is the end of the first week with both of my regular running/exercise buddies gone on vacation.  I've heard from Colleen.  Hoping Gerilee is having a great trip and is staying safe.  I did my first 10k alone.  It was uneventful and I was happy with my time.  Then I had my first morning run alone.  Came across a few deer but was a pretty good run anyway.  Had a new partner join me for my other two runs this week.  Was nice to have company but found myself backing off to her slower pace.  Not horribly slow but frustrating enough that I'm hoping for another 10k alone tomorrow. 

Managed to get out for a walk (6k) most days this week.  Took Wednesday off.  Thursday Lana and her friend Tammy joined me so it was a little bit slower.  Friday Heather and I walked from work downtown for beer and dinner and then back.  Does that count?  I bought a running magazine along the way - that HAS TO count for something, right??  lol...

Today, did the 22k bike ride from my house to the bridge and back.  Waited too long in the day so it was quite windy...  Wind has picked up a lot again now so I am glad to be done.

Now off to find some grub :)