Thursday, April 28, 2011

Ready to RUMBLE

This is the weather in Calgary right at this moment...



And in an effort to bolster my spirits, I have included a picture of the beautiful tulips I recently purchased for myself in an effort to remind myself of the fact that it is indeed spring regardless of what the weather out of doors is telling me.  It is spring in my condo if no where else!





Pretty, yes?

On a much springier note, this weekend I am leaving the mean streets of Calgary behind to head to Vancouver to run the marathon! Yes, it's finally here!  Training through the winter from hell is behind me and I am heading into the race at long last.  I am looking forward to running along in hopefully sunny skies and warm weather. The current forecast for Vancouver on Sunday is for rain, but I'm positive that at least it won't snow which makes for a happy, happy Andrea.
Just to put it out there in the universe, I am ready, or at least as ready as I can possibly be.  For those of you who know me, you will note that I am a creature of habit and I don't like changes or tweaks to my pre-race routine, especially since it has worked relatively well for me.  However, there is always room for improvement so I have decided to make a small change.  I KNOW- monumental for sure.  The one thing I am going to do differently is the warm up portion of the run. Normally, I just show up at the line and start when I'm supposed to start. This time, I'm going to do a running warm-up, complete with dynamic exercises to engage the hips and some strides. Will it make a difference? Maybe. I sure hope so! But like I always say, so many little factors go into having a brilliant run on race day, so I'm going to STOP worrying, believe in my preparation, think positively and focus on having fun.  And I'm going to focus on the large waffle that one MH is going to chef up for me post marathon.  I wonder if she can waffle me a 26.2 similar to last year's pancake creation.  Just in case you forgot what that may look like, here it is in all it's glory-



Yum.  Worth every step of that 26.2 for sure!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Are you Feelin' It?

Because I'm feelin' it...and this little gem reminded me of just how much!

Highly recommend you spend 5 minutes of your very busy day to enjoy this one.  It's worth every second and you'll have an even better day than you're already having, promise.

Summer...it turns me upside down...summer, summer, summer...like a merry go round...



And what does this have to do with running?  Absolutley nothing.  And it's still good.