Hot stuff!

Well, I left for Phoenix with such good intentions. Other then being extremly busy helping set up the house (remember-working vacation), it was WAY TOO HOT!
Wow. I'm not sure hiking in the middle of the night would have helped. It was 100 degrees F when you woke up, rose to 105-107 in the heat of the day and was still over 100 by the time I swam and went to bed @ 11 PM.
Back to it this Fri though!

On a side note, I have to tell a cute story about Westjet. As we were boarded our flight in Calgary and were taxiing away from the termianl I happened to look out my window. And there were the 4 ground crew employees holding a 12 ft X 4 ft sign that said "THANK YOU". All waving their arms.

It was such a small gesture but we were all smiling and talking about it the rest of the day. Go Westjet!

September is vacation month?

I am off to Phoenix tomorrow for the weekend. It is being called a working holiday however, setting up a house with a pool in 40 degree sunny weather seems much closer to holiday then work!
I will be up and out of my house by 5:30 AM and will then miss my Friday hike! Before you start laughing and although I am extremly happy to be going to Phoenix....I am sad. I have been hiking at least 10 km 95% of Fridays since April. It has become my routine and I love it.
So of course, I have been searching hiking in Phoenix. Luckily for me the house in Phoenix is 8 miles from a huge provincial park! Estrella Mountain Park. With miles and miles of trails. Who knew!
There is a sunset hike Friday night but am not sure I will be able to pull away the first night.
I would however like to go with a group as there are different hazards down there.
Here....bears. ok
There...scorpions. Not ok.
Here.... cougars. ok
There.... poisonous snakes. NOT OK!
In reading some information on the animals and how to be careful. It said to stay on the trail and not to grab onto branches. Yike. Well, I guess I better just face my fear head on.
Mental note, pack my hiking poles. They may come in handy as weapons!
So who knows. I hope to get at least one hike in. It looks like beautiful country and lots of elevation (my favorite).

Well I finished the half marathon @ 3:29 (unofficial time) and have learned a bunch. First of all, that I can do it. Yeah me! Secondly, I still have some work to do on footwear issues but they aren't too bad. Third, don't wear pants in the rain, they get wet and heavy.

But to come around the corner and see my family cheering me on, was one of the best feelings. The one drawback to having your family waiting for you is that there is a great chance of having to carry one of them!

It was pouring when I started, rained most of the way and was coming down pretty hard at the end.

All in all I was wet.

Great snacks at the end which was great for me and the kids were pretty happy too.

Now off to put my feet up. Bed will feel fantastic tonight.

Don't Get Lost in the Woods!

Even though this title is the actual name of the race tomorrow it seems to have quite a relevance for me. I received a phone call today that I am the only person entered into the 1/2 marathon as a walker, would I mind walking alone. No problems, but I hope it's marked well.
Glad to have my bear bell and my ipod, I may not see too many people on my trip.
Looking forward to getting through it. It was about my goal of completion in 3 hours anyway, not about beating someone else.
It will be great to have some of my family and friends cheering me on at the finish line.
See you before 11? (I hope)