10km in 60 Minutes-- Not Quite(?)

This morning I ran the 10km portion of the Calgary Marathon. It was my first road race, and I'm pretty pleased with how the morning unfolded.

First of all, I got up at the ungodly hour of 4:00am. Yes, yes, I know. That seems like an unreasonably early time to wake up for anything on a Sunday morning. But keep in mind, this was my first ever road race, and I wanted to be prepared. *Cough cough* Over-prepared.

I did some yoga to loosen up and drank a ton of water. I mixed some Gatorade for post-race, had a quick shower and ate breakfast. At 5:45am I made sure Tom was awake, and by 6:20am we were out the door.

Since Tom offered to come with me, he acted as my #1 fan, bag-check and camera man. I was very thankful he was with me because it was a big motivator to know he'd be waiting for me at the finish line. An added bonus was that it was pretty cold out, and I was able to wear all my layers right up until about 5 minutes before the start gun. Then Tom took them with him!

I was pretty impressed with the number of people. The start-line announcer said that there were 2700 people running the 10km race. Approximately 900 men, and 1400 women of all ages! Since there were so many people, I started well back in the crowd

Tom took a picture of the two front-runners in the race. I also saw them pass when they had reached the turn-around point (they were going the opposite direction down Memorial), and their pace was absolutely unbelievable! I also thought the energy from fellow runners was amazing. When the front-running woman passed, a group of women running near me broke out into loud cheers for her.

My goal for this race was to fall somewhere between the 61 and 65 minute mark. I've stayed within this window during my training. I had secretly hoped that I would be able to break the 60 minute mark, but I wasn't too set on that particular time.

My gun time was 62 minutes 15 seconds. However, because I started so far back in the pack, some time passed before I actually crossed the start line and my chip was activated.

Chip Time = Gun Time - Time Waiting for Giant Crowd to Move.

I'm still waiting to find out what my chip time is. I don't think I quite broke the 60 minute mark though. But it was close! I guess I'll try again next year. I'd definitely do a run like this again. Especially because the weather was so perfect!

*UPDATE* Chip Time = 60 minutes 32 seconds. SO CLOOOOOSE!

This last shot is of me and my finishing medal. I'm holding my running bib.

Woo-hoo!

I'll Have Bacon With That

Brunch. The most delightful meal ever created. Is there any other meal that you can eat in the late morning or early afternoon, and refill your plate as many times as you can? Is there any other meal that can fill you up for the rest of the day as soundly as a good brunch?

Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Yesterday, Tom, Andrew, Ashley and I took a quick road trip to the Banff Springs for their fantastic Sunday brunch. Most of the Fairmont hotels offer brunch, and if you've never been, I highly recommend it. My old team and I used to go to the Palliser hotel for their breakfast buffet every time we had something to celebrate with the staff. The breakfast buffet isn't as big as Sunday brunch, but it has all the delicious options available.

To summarize, the Fairmont offers pretty much anything you can imagine. There are the basics like cereal, toast, eggs, sausage and pancakes. There is fancier fair like eggs benedict (traditional ham, or smoked salmon), Belgian waffles, or personalized omelets from the omelet station. There is also a spread of lunch fair. For example, roasted beef and ham, a cheese table, a nut table, and a row of leafy salads, potato salad and various pasta salads.

Amanda - Round #1

For me, I like to get the heaviest part of the meal over with first. Potatoes, waffle and eggs benedict are my go-to buffet choices. The only thing that could have made this round better was if I had discovered the whipped cream at the dessert table earlier, and put it on my waffle!

Tom -Round #1

You'll notice that Tom and I have different brunch-eating techniques. His round one dish is full of lighter and more exotic options. By exotic, I mean seafood. He took advantage of the seafood spread, but I did not.

Amanda - Round #2

In round two, I generally go back for the things I enjoy the most (i.e. bacon and hash browns), and then I tried the baked brie which I saw on Tom's plate in his round one. I also like to include some lighter foods such as the assorted fruit and tomatoes. The watermelon was surprisingly flavourful and juicy for this early in the year!

Tom - Round #2

Tom's round two was full of the heartier breakfast foods. He went for the smoked salmon version of eggs benedict. He said that was all that was left in the buffet. But I hovered around until they refilled with a fresh batch.

Round #3 - Desserts

I didn't think to take a picture until some of the desserts had already been consumed. You'll have to take my word for it-- the cheesecake was pretty good (a little disappointing, it was not all that cheesy), but the tiramisu was perfect!

Ashley and Andrew hold up their spoils.

Ashley and Andrew raided the children's dessert area for Rice Krispies and Chocolate Chip cookies. It seemed like a wise move to Tom and I, so we copied them.

All in all, it was a really great way to spend our Sunday. Sure, I felt a little ill after, but it was totally worth it.

Tom and I outside the Banff Springs.

And to close off this post, here is a photo of Tom and I. Tom is sad, but I don't remember why exactly. It might be because I forced him to bring a jacket with him, even though it was unnecessary. Or it might be because we had to head home.

Wait, I lied! Here is a photo to close off this post. Tom sleeping in the backseat of the car... Heh, thanks for driving, Andrew! Happy Long Weekend!

The Land Down Under (Part I)

It's hard to believe that it has already been four years since Ashley, Jeff, Steve and I graduated University, and took ourselves off to Australia. Yes, indeed! We departed for our trip on May 11, 2007. In honour of this anniversary, here are some of my favorite shots from the trip from the month of May.

The classic shot of the Sydney Opera House. Much smaller in person that I had imagined.

Giant bats (~12-14") in the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens.

In the Sydney Aquarium underwater tube.

Goldfish shaped carrot in Sydney Chinatown meal.

Jellyfish at the Melbourne Aquarium.

Ashley gets attacked by a bird!

The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.

Limestone cliffs on the Great Ocean Road.

Ashley (behind the camera): "Get closer! Touch the Kangaroo."

Amanda: "No way! It's looking right at me!"

Vineyard in the Barossa Valley (it was winter so the vines weren't producing).

Jeff and I sandboarding at Little Sahara on Kangaroo Island.

Our first experience with a Wolfman spider.

No one wanted to get close enough to add something for scale.

This spider was about the size of the palm of your hand (minus fingers).

The Remarkable Rocks on Kangaroo Island, a granitic extrusion.

Steve booting Jeff in the ass at the Remarkable Rocks.

Stay tuned for more Aussie pictures in June!

Handcrafted

As some of you might already know, the senior geo, Neil, that I've been working with for the past year and a half is retiring at the end of the month. I have very mixed feelings about his retirement. Of course I'm happy for him, but I am also sad to see him him go. Having worked with a variety of geo's in the last six years, I have come to the conclusion that there are only a few truly great mentors out there, and Neil is one of them.

Actually, I've been lucky to work with several great mentors. But I've also met my share of people out there that mentor because it is part of their job description-- not because they enjoy teaching. It's made me appreciate just how much Neil enjoys sharing the knowledge he's accumulated over his career. And in addition to showing me the ropes at work, he also took the time to get to know me as a person.

For the last few days I've been putting my crafty skills to use. I think something that is handmade is a great way to express your thanks to someone, so I've been constructing a retirement card for our team to sign.

First I used leftover paper from various wedding decorations and Christmas tags to create these tropical fish.

These fish fit in with my "Fin-ished" theme.

And with the help of the template on www.robertsabuda.com, I put the finishing touches on the inside!

I have some googly eyes I'll add to the shark when I get to work tomorrow. But overall, I'm very pleased with the results. Plus, there is lots of room on the card for signatures and well wishes from colleagues. Card success!

It's also Mother's Day today, and I hope all the moms out there are getting spoiled by their families. Happy Mother's Day, Mom! And Happy Mother's Day, Barb!

Virgos and Glass Fusion

Do you know anyone who was born under the sign of Virgo?

Yes, you do! You know ME!

I've always thought that characteristics of a Virgo fit me to a T. See for yourself!

Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac, to be exact, and that's the way Virgos like it: exacting. Those born under this sign are forever the butt of jokes for being so picky and critical (and they can be), but their 'attention to detail' is for a reason: to help others. Virgos, more than any other sign, were born to serve, and it gives them great joy. They are also tailor-made for the job, since they are industrious, methodical and efficient. The sense of duty borne by these folks is considerable, and it ensures that they will always work for the greater good. (http://www.astrology.com/virgo-sun-sign-zodiac-signs/2-d-d-66951)

A few weeks ago I met up with two of my friends from University. Although Tammy is year older, we share the same birthdate, and Kelley's birthday is a mere three days before us. Remarkably, we are all Virgos. Stereotypical Virgos. We are exacting, picky, critical, industrious, methodical and efficient. We are basically a pack of perfectionists. It actually might be a bit scary if we tried to work on something together, but thanks to our shared characteristics, we have an innate understanding of how we each think.

Tammy suggested that we should try a Glass Fusion class at The Clayground. Basically, using pinchers and a scoring tool, we cut solid sheets of glass into various shapes, and arranged them into a design on a piece of glass. You glue everything together, and then the staff at the Clayground puts your design into a kiln. The glue burns off, but the pieces of glass melt and fuse together.

Picture the three of us hunched over the table. We had our hair secured and eyes protected behind goggles. We carefully riffled through the bins of scrap glass, avoiding cuts and nicks, and we hummed and hawed over what design to create. We fussed over the straightness of our scoring lines and the jaggedness of pinched off curves. We had a limited amount of time (the class was two hours), and none of us wanted to be disappointed with our finished product.

Imagine our thoughts when the woman sharing the table with us offered her entirely unsolicited advice, "It doesn't have to be perfect. It will have more character if it isn't perfect. It looks fine like that. It doesn't have to be perfect."

"Hmmm... I think you're telling that to the wrong group of ladies!"

I don't have pictures of Tammy and Kelley's plates, but here is my creation: a slightly demented fish!

In retrospect, maybe that lady was right. This little fish definitely isn't perfect, but he also has some character.

I think I prefer pottery painting to glass fusion, but it was still an interesting experience. If you want to give it a go, give The Clayground a call! They're a great little shop.