In the middle of April, Arrigo and I went to Penticton to do some training on the bike. We departed St. Albert at 4:15 am on April 14. We drove through all four seasons, which started off with winter, which then led to summer, leading back to winter, then spring. The roads went from drifting snow to clear in a matter of minutes. Too bad I couldn't snap my fingers to put my winter tires on as we drove. By the time we got to the pass going from Merritt, BC to Kelowna, the snow was fairly deep in the ditches, but from that point on, it was clear sailing.
We arrived in Penticton, and the weather was, well, spring. It wasn't very warm, but then again, it is spring. We went for a very short run to stretch and prepare our legs for our 10km race the next morning in Oliver.
It's go time!
Up and at em at the (almost) crack of dawn. Good thing the race didn't start until 10am. We got up at 7 am. When I'm on holidays, I don't like getting up too early. When I get to sleep in, yes SLEEP IN, until 6:30 am, that's a welcome break. The only exception to not wanting to get up early on vacation is for Ironman... I always get up at 4 am to prepare for that race.
Our race went well. It was Arrigo's first race since high school and he did well. The plan was for us to start running together and then separate when one of us felt the need to. Well, that went out the window as soon as the gun went off. He didn't even look back to see where I was. His testosterone got the best of him and he just kept running. He beat me by four minutes. Whaaaat!!! I've been doing this for years and he walks in and kicks my ass. Well, I train for endurance, not speed. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Let's see if he can do an Ironman ha ha. Oh, he's also a man too, so bigger muscles.
The rest of our week went well. The forecast called for rain every day, but we planned our riding around the rain so my new bike wouldn't get dirty. That worked well, and in fact, our last day of riding, which was supposed to be a five-hour ride turned out to be much longer ... seven hours, was so warm that Arrigo got burnt. My butt was sore from a new seat and I couldn't get comfortable. I kept standing up and shifting on my seat, so the ride turned out to be a painful one. That's why it took seven hours. Note to self - don't try a new seat before a long ride. It's known that you shouldn't try anything new on race day, and although this wasn't a race day, it was still a long ride, so I should have known better than to try a new seat on this trip. The first thing I did when I got back was put my old seat on my new bike.
We were so tired that by the time we got to Keremeos, Subway sure was appealing, even to me. I don't like Subway, but I always say that hunger is the best spice, and in this case, add in exhausted to being hungry. I was even hoping we would find a stranger willing to drive us back to Penticton. I wasn't ready for at least two more hours of riding. The concern was getting to the hotel before the sun went down.
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| DON'T ask me to move! |
The next morning, we started our long drive back to sunny Alberta. Along the way we stopped in the Crowsnest Pass for a potty break and the snow was higher than my car, as seen in the picture below.
Just beyond Golden, there was an accident of some sort (we couldn't see what happened), so we were delayed for at least an hour until we decided to turn back and go the other way, through Radium. When we got to Airdrie, it was so late that we decided to go to Rotten Ronnies, yes folks, that place that claims to serve 100% pure beef. I got this from Wikipedia for you McDonald's enthusiasts. I believe this claim, because I have a hard time believing that anything at McDonald's is pure.
"A related claim is that McDonald's buys its meat from a company called "100% beef", making it possible for McDonald's to call beef by-products and soy products "100% beef".
Finally, we arrived back home about 1 am. After a long day of adventures, it was nice to get into my own bed.
50th Birthday
Arrigo had single-handedly organized my 50th birthday party for the following weekend and it turned out wonderful. He was planning it for at least a month and it turned out to be a huge success. He booked the back room at Sorrentino's in St. Albert and invited family and friends to attend. About 35 people showed up and it was so much fun. He made a collage from pictures from my childhood to present, and it was fantastic. He even bought a helium machine to blow up balloons floating to the ceiling. Most impressive was that he didn't touch a drop of alcohol because he wanted everything to go off without a hitch, all the while making sure everybody was introduced to everybody else and keeping the music down to a soft conversational roar. I don't think I could have planned it better myself. For my birthday, he bought me a beautiful amethyst and diamond promise ring.
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| My beautiful amethyst and diamond promise ring |
I couldn't have asked for a better birthday, or a better man for that matter. I think he may be a keeper!
Training
I have been training since November for this small race in August called Ironman. Maybe you've heard of it. It's a 3.8 km swim, followed by a 180 km bike and then finally a marathon tops it all off. I think of it as a long training day.
Training is in full swing now and I'm starting my long bikes and runs. Well, actually, I've been doing long training sessions for a few weeks now. On the May long weekend, we went to Drumheller to ride with 14 other triathletes. Arrigo has now been introduced to some of my crazy triathlete friends. It was a great weekend of riding, food, and most importantly, fun. We rode at least 100 km each day. On Saturday, I even did a run immediately after my ride.
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| Dino and me |
This coming weekend is a big one ... tomorrow I have a five-hour ride, followed by a 45-minute run off the bike. On Sunday I have a two hour and 15 minute run followed by a light swim.
I'm getting tired just thinking of it.
Say tuned for more of my escapades...
