Germany Here I Come!

HAHA, how's that for a blog title to totally throw you off...yup, I am actually off to Germany in just eight days time!
(Not Germany, but another sweet day on the local North Shore Trails this weekend)

The short version. A few weeks back I was conversing with a friend in North Van and I told her that she lacked spontaneity in her life. She looked right back at me,

"What have you done lately that's soooo spontaneous?"

Frozen. Speechless. Not a word to say. I stared at the ground in front of me.

"Ummm, I ate sushi for breakfast yesterday."

Knowing that wasn't gonna cut it I hopped online and started pricing out the cheapest flights to Europe, since I'd never been there before. Shortly thereafter I found a round trip flight, and after adding in all the levies, surcharges, departure taxes, arrival taxes, additional fueling fees, baggage charges, use of the onboard shitter fees, and tips for all the wonderful service along the way...it came to just $650 Canadian!
That's cheaper then I have EVER paid to fly home to Newfoundland! AND, I was also able to pay for half of the flight with my ten year accumulated 'Petro Canada' gas station points, so all in all, I only had to dish out 350 bones...how could I say no to that? And just to be sure that I did not second guess myself on this one, I did not purchase cancellation insurance. Waste of money anyways! I'm doing this trip instead of The Western States Running Camp, as it's gonna end up cheaper anyways...AND, I can now race the Squamish, Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race on May 23rd, whoop, whoop!!
(Roxy LOVES the MOMAR races!!)

It may not have gone down exactly like that, but the punchline is still the same. Eight days from now and I'll be eating schnitzel, pounding back liters upon liters of Bock, while wearing lederhosen, and yelling schizen at the top of my lungs!

"SCHIZZZZEN" (which I know means shit, but I have always liked the way it's rolled off my tongue...read into that what you may...)

And Das, the Uber truth, Damit.

On other quick notes:

-I failed miserably at my mission to escape internet life for two days a week...did you know that's almost 30% of a week right there! What the hell was I thinking? I have managed to negotiate myself back to a more attainable one day a week, which I will try my utmost to follow on Thursdays. I challenge people to try this themselves...I always knew I was addicted, but this just really hammered that point home for me.
(The snow came back for a day, but it was just a nice little dusting)

-Running, not bad, although some issues have popped up since my 100 mile week. Nothing that I can't work past, and nothing that isn't to be expected when logging long and consistent mileage. I've run over 1,000km / 600 miles so far this year...I'm not kidding when I say that's more then I had run in the five, maybe six months before that. Prior to those six months (before July)I had bum calves and was mainly riding. So I am most certainly in completely un-chartered waters with this stuff right now, yet overall I do feel great!
(I kinda feel like this bridge actually. It still works, maybe just not as it should...but it knows it will be fixed and back to 100% again shortly!)

-Racing this weekend. Dirty Duo 50k ultra, and it's looking like the numbers are up and it should be a fun one with a good crew of us battling it out for the overall win. The race offers, 15km, 25km, 50km, and a duathlon, so there is most certainly something for everyone, and there are still spots available, so sign up and get yer ass out there this weekend!

-Trans Rockies, my other big event this summer, (which I haven't been talking about nearly enough because it's been an almost solo focus on Western States so far), is a six day staged running race in Colorado at the end of August. It's on the verge of selling out, and if you happened to be interested I can still offer a $100 discount off a team entry through NSA. Simply drop me a line if this might work for you.
Last night I had the pleasure of co-hosting a Trans Rockies meet, greet, and info night at North Shore Athletics. There are no fewer than fifteen teams of two from B.C. heading down to this years event, and most of those are completely new to this race format. Fellow Montrail Canada runner Dom Repta, who finished fifth at the inaugural Trans Rockies Run, volunteered his time to come in and answer a plethora of questions from worried participants, and co-worked Peter Watson swung by on his day off to lend a hand as well. By the end of the night most people seemed to be somewhat at ease. At worst, they now know exactly what type of beast they are training for!

Question of the night:

"Umm, what do you mean exactly when you say, 'It's going to hurt'?"

-Mileage last week, down to 105k, which I am happy with, all things considered. I had to get in to see my Sports Med Dr. a few times, and had a physio apt as well. It's all about staying injury free, and keeping the feet moving forward. That means being proactive with all 'niggles' and understanding what's happening with my body as I tear it apart on a daily basis.

The physio actually said, "You confuse me somewhat? I'll have to get back to you on some of this."

Which I am gonna translate to mean, "WOW, I've NEVER seen a more perfect running form, and body positioning. I think I'm going to contact some medical journals to propose using you as an example for the rest of the world to follow...I'll get back to you on some of this."

Do I have anything else to say right now...ummm, probably not, Guten Tag...is that gluten free by any chance?

GR