Tears on Mount Harvey
A few weeks ago we did a popular North Shore hike that we had previously done for the first time in 2011, Mount Harvey. It has spectacular scenery, on one side of the ridge the Pacific ocean with a chain of islands stretching out as far as the eye can see , and on the other side a sea of beautiful coastal mountains with no end in sight. But it wasn’t just the fantastic scenery that had me reminiscing on this trip. This years summit shot! View of the Lions Stealthy selfie The first time I hiked Mount Harvey I was training for my first road marathon. I was following a strict 5 day a week running plan and feeling the effects on my body and mind. I was feeling overwhelmed with the training and the physical toll it was taking on my body. It was important to me to still be able to train for the marathon and to also be able to spend time in the mountains, so I felt the need to always be pushing myself. That day in April 2011 proved to be the breaking point for me. The day prior to the hike I had run an 18km training run, which at the time was a long distance for me. I felt tired starting the hike, but felt pretty good, until we started the uphill section. I slowed down to a snails pace and Leigh shot past me, making his way up the hill. Looking up the steep incline,allowing the tiredness to weigh so heavy on my mind and body and watching Leigh move in a seemingly effortless way up the hill, proved to be too much. I stopped in my tracks overcome with frustration and feelings of not being able to continue. At that moment I felt so tired, so heavy with emotion that I could barely breathe. Leaning on a tree, out of sight of Leigh, I started to sob. I felt useless, exhausted and irritated with myself and my physical limitations. Feeling pretty sorry for myself, I said to myself, between sobbing breaths,“I can’t do this” “I’m too tired”. Taking in the view The smile before the meltdown Up, up and up It lasted a few minutes before I had to tell myself that no one feels sorry for me but me. I chose this and I can’t expect anyone to have sympathy for me. In my own words of tough love I needed to “suck it up buttercup”. So in that moment I had to make a decision, I wiped the tears from my eyes, composed myself and headed up towards...
Kitchen Sink Cookies
As an avid snacker I am always on the lookout for delicious treats that taste amazing and are still somewhat healthy for you. One evening at my job I was offered a fresh-baked cookie from one of my customers and couldn’t believe what I was tasting. I asked her what it was and she said it was a grain free recipe called “Kitchen Sink Cookies” . I went home that night and found this recipe. Turns out that after making a few batches and sharing them with friends, they now happen to be a favorite of everyone that tries them. I have one friend in particular who is crazy for these cookies, so this recipe is for you Jo! There have been a few small adaptations and this is the recipe as I make it. Ingredients: 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 2/3 cup blanched almond flour (if you don’t have almond flour on hand, just buzz some almonds in a food processor until it’s the consistency of flour) 1/2 tsp of cinnamon 1/4 tsp of salt 1/3 cup of flax seeds 1/4 cup maple syrup 3 tbsp almond butter (I have also made these with sunflower butter, it’s cheaper and they were just as tasty!) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil (the amount of coconut oil can vary depending on how many extras you add to the recipe, so don’t be afraid to use more or less if needed) My additional ingredients: 1/3 cup chopped nuts (usually whatever I have on hand - walnut, cashew, almond or pecan) 1/2 -3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (quantity depends how much you love chocolate!) 2 tbsp hemp seeds 2 tbsp chia seeds handful of sunflower seeds handful of pumpkin seeds Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a cookie sheet (I use coconut oil) but you could also use parchment paper as noted in the original recipe. 2. In a bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together. 3. In a separate bowl whisk together the maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla and melted coconut oil. 4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. 5. Using a large spoon scoop the cookies onto the baking pan and bake for 13 minutes. 6. Allow the cookies to cool before removing from the pan as they will break apart very easily. 7. Once cool I recommend keeping them in the fridge to allow them to harden up. They tend to be crumbly at room temperature. Now get eating &...
The Curse of West Coast Living
Ok so it’s not so much a curse as a stress. But let me be clear that there is good stress and bad stress. You know like worrying you won’t have the money to pay rent for the month, that would be a bad stress. The stress I am talking about is GOOD stress. The kind of stress that puts a constant pressure on you to make the most of your time. Living in a temperate climate like the West Coast breeds this type of good stress. The weather is pretty mild all of the time, especially in comparison to other parts of the country, mostly when it comes to a typical Canadian winter. Now don’t get me wrong living on the West Coast comes with it’s own set of weather difficulties, like torrential rain that lasts for weeks which can then lead to puddles on the trail that are ready to swallow a human whole. Oh and we even get frost in the mornings and a few times a year we may even get a dump of snow. But I am going to go out on a limb here and say that my chilly brethren in other parts of the country may have it slightly tougher than we do. They do, after all, have to put up with bone crushing cold and hurricane force blizzards. At least they have a good excuse to stay inside, when they choose to do so. Me, well I don’t really have any excuse. I live in a part of the country that affords me good weather most of the year. My only excuse for not getting out would be my own laziness. And as laziness is a quality that I very much detest, I don’t want to fall prey to it’s charm. I mean come on I really only have to deal with rain, umm pretty harmless water droplets falling from the sky, and perhaps having to splash through water which will in turn splash onto my shoes…GASP!! So I end up with wet feet and muddy pants…that seems pretty mild compared to frozen noses and frost-bitten toes and fingers. So for now, living on the West Coast, makes me stressed. Stressed to make the most the every single moment I can, because I don’t have any valid excuses. All I can do is tip my hat to my much hardier neighbors who deal with REAL Canadian weather and go grab my running shoes because I’m not going to let a forecast for rain this weekend stop me from getting out! If you happen to read this and are in fact one of the hardier...
Running Recap: Squamish 50 and Cap Crusher 13km
Ok so this post is well overdue, but better late than never! Here is a quick recap of some running fun I had 2 weekends ago. Leigh and I decided to charge in different directions the weekend of March 22/23. We both feel it is important to our personal and combined growth if we spend time apart in our chosen pursuits. What we learn separately we can share with each other on our next combined adventures. Saturday, March 22, I was signed up for the first of 4 Squamish 50 Orientation runs. I will be attempting to run the ultra distance of 50 miles(80km) on August 17th, which is definitely going to be the hardest thing I have ever done to date. Needless to say I do most of my training runs on the trails around Squamish, so I am quite familiar with the course route, but I still love attending the orientation runs. I get to run with friends, make some new friends on the trail and feed off of the general stoke of the day, which is usually very HIGH. It gets me excited to train! With a large group, of usually close to 60 people, there is ALOT of fun to be had on the trails. Plus these runs are almost like a mini race in themselves. Gary Robbins and Geoff Langford (directors of the Squamish 50 race) make sure to have the route marked pre-run with spray chalk and ribbons, making it almost impossible to get lost. They even have an aid station mid-run stocked with the usual goodies…cookies, salty chips, orange slices - it’s a veritable runners smorgasbord! The cutest Mascot ever! You will see Oreo at all the races. A veritable smorgasbord! So that Saturday, was no exception to the 5-star service all the runners have become accustomed to at these orientation runs. The morning started off chilly and we even had fresh SNOW! It was a large group of smiling, excited runners ready to hit the trails. I was excited to start that morning with 2 of my running buddies - Adam, who will be running his first 50km (so excited for him, he is going to crush it!) and Hailey(check out her page Run Like a Girl), who will be attempting to best her time from last year (I have no doubt that she will). Of course there was a lot of laughter, pre-run, run and post run that morning…runners are a crazy bunch of people…crazy good! Crazy good! Trail running is beautiful. Running through the lightly snow dusted trails was so beautiful. Winding through the forest, over the wooden bridges,...
Review: Run or Die by Kilian Jornet
In Run or Die, Kilian Jornet tells the story of how his passion for competitive running and wild places blossomed from being a child running in the hills around his home to a world-class record-setting ultra runner. In it he tells the stories of some of his most notable and personally rewarding feats. He tells it like it is, the ups and downs, the struggle and the pain. Despite the fact that he is performing seemingly superhuman feats you can feel a human connection to him through his passion and love for what he does. He describes in detail the search within himself for the age-old question of why? Why does he run? The overall tone of the book is one of inspiration. Just through describing his physical & mental ups and downs he captures the absolute essence of pushing the human body to its limit. He is trying to tell his personal journey and through it inspire others. I personally enjoyed this book for its honesty. As a person determined to try to push my own limits in running, I found the unwavering devotion to the the sport extremely inspiring. He never lost touch with his love for nature or the beauty of the mountains. It made me contemplate how fortunate I am to be able to move my body and be able to enjoy beautiful places along the way. If you are someone interested in feats of endurance or in getting inspired to push your own limits, then I would definitely recommend reading this book. It’s written by someone who just loves to run. It doesn’t contain a definite story line or the words of an experienced writer, but what it does contain is passion, dedication, suffering and a great love for running which surpasses the need to compete and rises into something much greater than just sport. “You don’t need to compete to be able to feel the intense emotion of finishing, the excitement of crashing through the finish tape. It is a happiness you alone feel as you experience that strength powering you to succeed.” ~Kilian Jornet~...
