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Charles and I went to the Travel and Vacation Show at Lansdowne Park today. Essentially it was a gazillion booths set up with brochures to everywhere that you can think of. I was mainly interested in obtaining more information about travel to Africa. Right now I am on the road to Reykjavik Iceland to “compete” in a 10Km run for Team Diabetes; however my goal after that is to “climb” Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. The word “Climb” being synonymous for hiking upwards, not ropes or harnesses or ice picks or that sort of thing….just feet on the ground at all times. (Africa is my “congratulations for graduating university in one piece” gift to myself, which I have been planning for the last three years.) There were several booths dedicated to Africa, even one specifically for Tanzania, so now I have a plethora of brochure booklets.

There were also several booths dedicated to Canadian destinations; one in particular, Wilderness Tours. I was hoping to go rafting last year with some friends but for some reason or another never made it out. I went rafting with this company 10 years ago and had a blast! Two years ago when I was working in Banff I had the opportunity to go rafting 3-4 times (for FREE!) as I was a front desk agent in a local hotel. I am hoping to organize some people to go rafting this summer in June. At the show I signed up for a weekend at a discount rate $149.00/person. (Two days rafting, five meals, camping onsite or accommodations available, $90 off regular price) If you are interested in coming let me know. The more the merrier!

Finally, I headed out for day 2 of my “let’s make a habit” 21 day jogging goal. It was so nice out today, and I was at Charles’ parent’s place for a BBQ, I really just wanted to relax and enjoy the weather but I couldn’t just fail my goal on day two now could I? I made it 2Km without stopping this time! LOL I took a breather at halfway and lay down in the grass by a busy intersection. Another runner who had now lapped me chuckled, but in a nice “I’ve been there too” sort of way. It was a good run.

It was one of those tough days, I went out for a jog and my legs felt like lead. And the more I thought about it the heavier they got. I was stopping and walking in far more frequency. I'm still getting a cramp in my right side. I stop and walk until it stops but when I start back up again it starts to hurt again. I know I've been told that this is normal and you're just supposed to ignore it. But it sucks! How am I supposed to prevent this? It's driving me crazy.

I made a new training goal today. I hear that if you do something 21 days in a row it becomes a habit. Second nature. So my goal is to go out for a jog every day for the next 3 weeks. (Okay well health permitting...) It doesn't have to be far or hard, just actually doing it. Do you think I'll reach my goal?

It’s been a week since I went out for a jog! Tsk tsk. I know, bad Taylor. I’d blame it on exams and the bad weather but it’s really just laziness. I always have great intentions to go out jogging but find some sort of distraction and then it’s dark and too late and my procrastination has succeeded. Really all I need is to make jogging a priority. I figure this will be very easy come Friday. With exams over and no new exciting job prospects I figure I’ll have lots of time on my hands.

I pushed it harder today, went further than before and ended up jogging at least ¾ of the time. I concentrated on my breathing and found it very helpful. I was stopping and walking far too much previously because I was breathing too hard, almost to the point of hyperventilating. It was a good run. It was overcast and cold and wet so there wasn’t that many people on the trail. I’m almost starting to enjoy myself. I was quite proud of myself to go so far without stopping. Yay me!

I know I typically write about running and fundraising, but I thought this is just too funny not to share. I tried to dye my hair red this afternoon. I had used this colour before and it’s my regular brand, but it didn’t work out. The result? My hair turned pink. Well maybe a mixture of bright red, purple and pink. Oh dear. I don’t really much mind the colour actually, but it’s probably not that appropriate for searching for summer employment ....and it might clash with the red team diabetes gear. LOL I will be taking a trip to the hairdresser this week. $$$

Got a couple more donations in the mail today. Nice! The personal letter campaign has worked out way beyond expectations. Thank you Peter for encouraging me to ask EVERYONE for a donation! Meaning everyone for whom I had a business card for, everybody in my address book, everyone in my parents' address book, doctor, dentist, old high school teachers etc, etc. I have now received eight donations by mail with my self-addressed envelopes and I expect more to come.

Chilling Out

I’m in the middle of exams so my schedule is a little bit chaotic to say the least! I finished up a statistics exam this afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day relaxing. I had high hopes of going out for a jog because it was such a beautiful day today however reality and sleepiness took over. I stayed up all last night looking over stats and playing solitaire. One more exam to go!

I hope to sleep in, relax, and go shopping with my new batch of ShopAndSupport gift cards tomorrow. Check it out; Up to 15% of each dollar of the gift cards is automatically contributed to the Canadian Diabetes Association….and guess what? You can use them too at ShopandSupport.ca (Team Diabetes Ottawa - Group ID: 0100548133). Okay no cheesy fundraise soliciting for another month, I promise! I couldn’t resist ;)

New Shoes! I was hoping to get shoe shopping before the Easter weekend but then I saw the Vector cereal commercial – buy some cereal and get a 20% coupon from the Running Room. Awesome! Check out http://www.getrunready.ca for more info. (The site also has tips on running and nutrition.) So today I found a vector box and headed to the Running Room. The staff was very helpful and found me the perfect shoes. Cute Too!

With my brand new shoes I headed out for a jog along my old route. Even though this was only my second time out I went from 40% jog and 60% walk to 50/50. I also jogged/walked the whole way back this time. I would say that this is progress! I found some similarities with my first attempt. First, I got the same cramp in my midsection just below my right ribs. Second, my right ankle started to cramp up again in almost exactly the same location. This time I stopped and rolled my ankle around for 5 minutes and it was completely fine. I think I should just roll my ankles before I head out for attempt three. Any suggestions?


FINALLY…I received some words of wisdom in the mail today from Nel Peach, Team Diabetes Alumni x2. Thank You! I love hearing kind words from strangers; it helps me to get out on the trail and it gives me the motivation I need to finish my fundraising goals.

I love my mailbox. More and more little envelopes with cheques in them. I love the post-it notes encouraging me! Every note has been on a post-it, strange. It’s interesting to see who is willing to donate and how much. Almost always my guess has been wrong. People that I think would never donate do and people that I’m sure will support my efforts don’t.

Thank you everyone who has donated! I'm so happy to have support from so many wonderful people. The Canadian Diabetes Association is lucky to have people like you!

It’s Raining!

After my donation drought I had wished for a flood of donations and wouldn’t you know, it’s starting to rain! Yesterday I received a donation and a few words of encouragement from my aunt Carole and then today I received two donations; one from the Carrey’s and another from Evan’s Home Building Centre in Sudbury. Thanks for the donations! I really appreciate it!

Future Forecast: More Rain?

…And it Begins!

It was an unusually warm and beautiful day in Ottawa, not a cloud in the sky. With high hopes I charged my mp3 player, donned my new lulumon pants, put on my sneakers and headed out.

I was well aware of the grueling nature of learning to jog. I took up jogging in Banff a few years ago. The first few times out were painful, huffing and puffing. I was getting rather good when I had to have my appendix removed August long weekend.

With this in mind, I began my training along the Ottawa canal. Although I remembered how terrible jogging can be at the start, I still wasn’t overly prepared. I had forgotten the feeling when your lungs feel like they’re on fire. I only ended up jogging 40% of my route, walking the rest.
It turns out that my payless sneakers which are perfect for the elliptical machine at the gym just don’t cut in outside on a trail. I feel that they are lacking ankle support as I ended up semi-limping the way back.

I have to admit that I’m jealous of all the seasoned runners on the trail today. Soon enough, hopefully, I will be able to run like them! Tips?

DIABETES FACTS
Over 2 million Canadians are affected by diabetes; they are members of our family and they are our friends. Diabetes is a chronic condition with no cure. Diabetes is an epidemic in Canada and around the world and has become a leading cause of death by disease.

There are 3 main types of diabetes:
1) Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed in childhood or adolescence and occurs when the body is unable to produce insulin. The body needs insulin to process glucose (sugar) from foods for use in energy by the body's cells. Type 1 diabetics must inject insulin.
2) Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or when the body does not effectively use the insulin that is produced. This type of diabetes can usually be treated with oral medication, strict diet and exercise.
3) Gestational diabetes is a temporary condition that occurs during pregnancy. It affects approximately 3.5% of all pregnancies and involves an increased risk of developing diabetes for both the mother and child.

Since 1953, the Canadian Diabetes Association has been raising awareness, providing services and supporting Canadians affected by diabetes. They are working towards a future in which:

• All people affected by diabetes attain an optimal quality of life.
• All people in Canada realize that diabetes is a major health issue.
• Ultimately, diabetes is eliminated.

Today, the Canadian Diabetes Association promotes the health of Canadians through diabetes research, education, service and advocacy.

With your help, a cure can be found!

Let it Rain!

After a long donation drought, I received a $50.00 donation from Alastair & Mary today. Thanks guys! It seems that my donation letters may be working out. Hopefully this will start an avalanche of donations so I can make my next goal, $4500 by June 1st 06.

$3265 to go to make $6100 for the Canadian Diabetes Association for August 06. Wish me Luck!

Sick of being Sick!

After a week of being stuck in bed with the flu I had had Enough! Fourteen hours a day of TV is way Way too much TV for one person. I was feeling some serious cabin fever. A few more days of Tylenol cold and flu, extra soft Kleenex with aloe, and pajamas I was back in the swing of things. I was feeling some major student guilt. Even though my migraine and cold symptoms prevented me from studying I still feel like I should have studied anyways. Bah. Does this student guilt business continue on into the workplace?

There was a rush for some serious academic catch-up this past week. Sacrificing precious sleep for a 35 hour marathon of lab report and essay writing was an interesting experience. All and all I only managed to forfeit one assignment this past week. I rock.

Suffice it to say, fundraising and exercising have taken the back burner. I did however manage to find some time to send off 40 letters to friends pleading for some donations for the CDA. Hopefully a couple of them will come through with some cold hard cash or some great words of encouragement and wisdom.

I’m still feeling a bit uneasy about the whole fundraising process especially with the past few weeks a complete write-off and exams coming in two weeks but I have set a goal of $4500 by the end of May and I plan to make it….as long as I don’t get sick again! Down with the Flu!