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Long weekend hiking plans July 28, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, spending , add a comment

This (long) weekend, BF and I are going hiking!!! It will take 3 full days of hiking (1 in, 1 to summit, 1 out). I’m extremely excited because it is my first attempt at a 9,000+ ft. mountain. The tallest mountain I’ve climbed to date is Grimface Mountain at 8,645 ft. So my fingers are crossed that I’ll be able to do this. :)

We are again going with dehydrated meal packages instead of carrying in heavy fresh food. Last night we took BF’s new Jeep for a spin over to MEC, where we picked up 4 meals, 2 pairs of socks (quality hiking socks are so ridiculously expensive) and a canister of fuel for $47.50. I paid for everything, and BF will buy the rest of the food for the trip – trail mix, fruit, sausage, cheese, rye bread, etc.

I’m hoping that it won’t be crowded where we’re going. When we hiked the Juan de Fuca trail, it was pretty busy and I definitely prefer isolation when we’re hiking.

Do you have any plans for the long weekend?


Goodbye, Money… July 6, 2010

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This morning I spent $276, all of which will be coming out of my Savings Fund.

$66 mandatory field hockey insurance (valid 1 year)
$210 team fees for the upcoming season (September-May)

BF and I did not renew our rock climbing membership or ski pass, so I feel okay spending this much on another sport. I have all the necessary equipment, and a uniform is provided – except for socks, which I’ll have to buy. And I’m REALLY particular about skirts, so if it’s not the right kind of skirt, I’ll have to buy my own. But that shouldn’t be more than $50-60.

I still don’t know the results of the tryouts, but will let you know as soon as I do!

Also in the next few months I should look into getting a new pair of sports orthodics. I’ve been using the same ones for the past 10 years, and they are in rough shape. I’ve looked into this, and it’s going to cost around $150-200. Which is really cheap considering my current pair has lasted this long. And no, I can’t buy a $20 pair from the drug store, or even the slightly more expensive heat-molded kind. They just don’t give me the support I need, and with my crappy feet and crappier ankles, I need to invest in a really good pair. It would be great if they were covered under my extended health, so I’ll have to do a bit of research.

BF and I are also going to see Bryan Adams and the Beach Boys concert on the opening day of the PNE with a couple of my friends. He HATES Bryan Adams so much, but I nagged him until he gave in. :) We both love the PNE anyway, so we will have fun regardless. This will cost $30/each (which also includes our entry fee into the PNE) and will be my treat. So that’s $60 I will need to remember to budget into August’s finances.


Friday Miscellaneous June 25, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, job, travel , 5comments

So the new PT job (starts in late August) will bring me in $500/bi-weekly as a flat rate. I’m very excited for the extra income. It’s more than I expected out of a PT job, and will help me meet my 2010 Goals which I previously thought might not be met.

Speaking of money, I bought travel medical insurance yesterday. Since I already have Blue Cross, it only cost me $52 for 12 months of travel coverage (for all out-of-country trips that are 2 weeks or less).

Yesterday evening was my last night of field hockey tryouts. It went much better than the first night, and I feel confident that I will be placed in the top couple of teams in the club. Although I rolled my ankle a few times while playing, got a huge calf muscle cramp before I went to bed, and am super sore this morning. I have a long way to go to get myself into top shape. Apparently just running and going to the gym isn’t going to cut it. I’m going to have to start doing hockey-specific workouts again. Which unfortunately will include savagely hard fartlek drills on a track.

Also, for the first time in a long time, I am feeling sick. Sore throat, runny nose. I haven’t been sleeping much, nervous for tryouts, and have been super stressed out at work. So I’m sure those things aren’t helping. Oh well! I’m sure a little Caribbean sun will fix it. :) I’m picking up my parents and sister from the ferry terminal today, and we’re going out for dinner. Then I need to get home and start packing!

I can’t believe that TOMORROW we’ll be leaving for Mexico! I will have a few posts scheduled to go while I’m gone. Then when I come back, it’s the hell that is July. I’m traveling every weekend, including one week in Las Vegas.


Not as fit as I thought I was June 24, 2010

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So I thought I was pretty fit. I mean, I can run a 10km in under 60 minutes, and I can hike for days straight. But apparently I suck at field hockey now. After not playing for 2 years, I am completely out of shape for the sport. It blows my mind that I used to be so fast and so skilled. And I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to at least get back to my old self.

The thing is, I know skill-wise, I’m above average. Sure, I’m a little rusty, but not that rusty. It’s my lack of fitness is my problem. And the fact that all we did was mini scrimmage games, which highlights my crappy fitness level and hides my skill on the smaller field. Plus, I’m the only completely new person tryout out for the club (the few other new people are from other clubs in Vancouver), so it will be hard to break onto a team and bump someone.

I’m hoping tonight at the last night of tryouts, we do skills instead of more scrimmages. I’ll be put on a team regardless, but perhaps not the team I want to make.


Fitness Update June 7, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness , 1 comment so far

This morning I woke up at 5am to get in a run before work. Didn’t think I was going to get up when I set my alarm last night, but when 5am rolled around, I was pumped and ready to go.

I haven’t run outside in months, and the area around my house is quite hilly, so I was nervous. I ended up running for 31:08 and ran 5.7km at an average pace of 5’27″/km. A little off my treadmill pace, but I’m pleased. Also, according to my Nike+ I burned 365 calories.

Tonight I’m probably going to do JM’s Yoga Meltdown. If I’m feeling good I’ll try Level 2; I’ve been on Level 1 for the past month or so. I can do 99% of the poses at the pace that they’re going so I think I’m ready to advance.

Tomorrow I’m going to set my alarm for 5am again and see if I can get myself up to run. Would love to be one of those people who runs every morning, since I really seem to struggle with going to the gym in the evenings.

Speaking of all this running, I have BF and 2 friends loosely committed to running a 10km with me in the fall. I don’t think we’ll run together because we’re all at different pacing, but just knowing people are doing the race with me is enough motivation to train.


Tryouts June 4, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : Uncategorized, fitness, spending , 7comments

Well I registered for field hockey tryouts at the end of this month for a competitive club team. I’m nervous, because even though I’ve played the sport for 20+ years of my life, I haven’t really picked up a stick or played in a real game in about 2 years. And nobody knows who I am here in Vancouver. In my home town, I’ve never had to tryout for a club team before. Competitive/elite teams, yes. But just a club team? Never. So these tryouts will be interesting.

I know I’ll make a team, I just don’t know at which level. I would anticipate that this year will cost me about $300 in team fees and insurance, and maybe another $100-125 for a uniform. Expensive, but obviously worth it to me. Especially because we didn’t renew our ski passes or our climbing gym membership for this year.


9 minute mile May 31, 2010

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So yesterday at the gym, I ran 4 miles in 36 minutes. I was running at a pace where I know I could have run the last 2 miles, but since I was at the gym and was already over the allotted time on the treadmill, I had to get off. I was probably going at about 80% effort – a comfortable pace, never getting too fatigued or cramped up. That’s a 54 min-10km pace. Not great. Not bad, but not great.

I set my “rest” pace at 6.0 (since that means I would at least be running at a 60 min. 10km pace), and then alternated speeds between 6.5-7.5, going to my “rest” pace for 1 minute out of every 5.

I’m confident that I can run a full 10km in under 60 min, but I have to make up about 4-6 minutes overall to reach my target of a < 50 min. 10km. I’m going to keep running on the treadmill for all of June, and then alternate and start running outside for July.


Hiking over the long weekend May 25, 2010

Posted by gmbmfb in : fitness, travel , 9comments

Well, I’m back from our long weekend trek of the Juan de Fuca trail. It was a hard 47km, but not the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We had great weather; it only really lightly rained twice – and we had already set up our camp for the night. For food we brought mostly dehydrated meals (which were actually really good), as well as rye bread, cheese, sausage, oranges, and then the normal cliff bars, trail mix, etc.

We stayed on budget with everything except for food. It was expensive because of the dehydrated meals (about $4-6 each), but I think in the future we’ll keep using them because it’s worth it to have less weight in our packs – than to bring in fresh veggies & other ingredients – which we’ve done numerous times before. All you have to do is add boiling water.

Day 1
We drove to the south trailhead and ditched our backpacks. Then we drove and parked at the north trailhead, and proceeded to hitch hike back to the south end. After getting picked up for the first 3km of the drive, we walked for about 5km before getting picked up and dropped off at the south end. My first time hitch hiking, but it’s a common occurrence in the area where we were – because obviously the trail isn’t a loop.

Anyway, we hiked 21km this day. It was hard – the hardest part of the trail, and the longest day of the hike. The trail itself was a muddy, disgusting mess. Lots of up-and-down through river valleys. It was definitely harder than either of us had anticipated, and I really struggled with the idea of continuing for the entire weekend.

Day 2
This was a bit of a rest day for us. Our plan was to go 20km-20km-7km, but we switched it instead so our ‘easy’ day was Day 2 instead of Day 3. We hiked 7km to the next beach (Sombrio) and set up camp. It wasn’t a long day, but the hiking was up-and-down again – a continuation of the day before. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and we spent the afternoon and evening just relaxing and enjoying the beach. We were on vacation, after all! :)

The only downside was since it was a very very popular beach on Vancouver Island, we were surrounded by drunken hooligans pretty much the entire time. They left garbage strewn about the beach, let their dogs take craps in the fresh water streams (where hikers were continually filling up their water packs throughout the day). So gross to even think about. And obviously they didn’t care to clean up any of their mess. Thankfully, we were able to camp down the beach from their ridiculously crazy Tent City, and we ended up near a few other backpackers that had set up camp.

Day 3
A 19km stretch hike to the finish. Not nearly as hard as Day 1, but on sore legs and with our backs killing us, it wasn’t that enjoyable. We were up by 5:30am, and on the trail shortly after. The trail itself was a disgusting sloppy mess, but I’d take the mud any day over the hills of Day 1 and 2.

After we finished our hike, we raced to the ferry terminal to catch the boat back to Vancouver. But not before devouring a huge meal at A&W. It was so disgustingly good. I love finishing a super long hike and eating whatever I want.. According to my calorie calculator, over the weekend, I burned about 8,500 calories over 20 hours of hiking at 425 calories/hour. Which IMO is a really low number per hour, considering the heavy pack and all the up-and-down.

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures from the weekend. BF took all the trail photos, while I only took my camera out when were on the beach.