Through this process I've found quite the network of Team Diabetes participants with websites. I found out two more interesting sites today that you might be interested in;

KENDRA & JOHNSON: Honolulu Marathon 2006

Ms. KOU: Dublin Marathon 2006

SYLVIE: Honolulu 2006

A big thanks to D. Bain for his donation! Very much appreciated!

Falling apart. On Tuesday I twisted my knee in jitsu class. Although it felt okay at the time, since then it’s being causing me problems. Stairs are a bitch for instance, but walking is fine. I attempted a jitsu class last night and found myself sitting out a lot as my knee was starting to burn. I ended the class half limping, and hoping that by Monday or Tuesday it will be healed and I can return 100% to jitsu again. I didn’t enjoy my jitsu class last night. It was one of those nights where you feel you’ll have to drag yourself back. Not a recreation, but a chore. In addition to my knee twisting, on Wednesday I manage to drop a 2lb weight on the exact part of my knee that hurts. %*&^!! Thankfully it was only a 2lber and it was at the end of my workout. I now have a very nice bruise to go with the pain. Finally, that same day while cleaning I managed to walk into my bed corner. Yes, I walked into a stationary object. Bruise about 2inches in diameter just above my ankle, same leg as my knee. I am such a klutz!

This weekend Charles and I are going “camping.” Camping in the sense that we are going to sleep in a tent and make smores by a bonfire but that’s really the extent of it. I’m very excited about the smores (2pts under weight watchers)! Tomorrow we’re going to the Mont Saint Sauveur Waterpark. I’m also very excited about this. I was there a few years back and had a blast! Since then they’ve added a bunch of stuff including a surfing generator. The slides are great, a quarter of which you need to wear a helmet on. I’m worried about the amount of stairs and such that I’ll have to endure waterpark day on the account of my knee. If I’m feeling okay on the Sunday we hope to hit the aerial park. I hope the weather holds up. It will be nice to have a weekend away J

A big thanks out to Pager Plus for your generous donation!

Three Weeks until I get on a plane to go to Iceland!

Yesterday I decided to take advantage of the free “stair-master” in my building, by this I mean I live on the 25th floor. Walking up 50 flights of stairs was harder that I thought it would be! I had to take a breather twice. I hope to do the stairs a bunch more times in hopes that I can do all 50 flights a) without stopping and b) with a greater speed.

Last night at my jitsu class while I was being thrown by Tai-O-Toshi my foot got caught hooked around my partner’s leg and I ended up twisting my right knee. Ouch. I took a few minutes rest and it felt better so I continued on with the rest of the class without a second thought. I had planned a run today but I woke up with my knee in pain. It hurts a bit to walk so I will be pushing any runs back until its better. In the meantime I guess I will go back to swimming.

It was a beautiful overcast 22C today with periods of rain in Ottawa today; perfect jogging weather, well in my opinion. Tomorrow is supposed to feel like 39C with thunderstorms. Sigh. Went for my first jog in the last two weeks. LOL I did the canal route and jogged around Dow’s lake. I was feeling strong the beginning half (not stopping once!) but was much slower the second half

Advice? Jogging and water. When I’m out for a jog my mouth gets dry and I get really thirsty. But when I stop for water, even if I don’t gulp it down, I’m plagued with stomach cramps for the next 10 minutes. So what’s the answer for the balance between jogging and water?

Fun in the Sun

Not one for 7am jogs to beat the heat I’ve switched up my workouts swimming lengths instead of jogging. For the last week in Ottawa, with humidity the temperature has been at least 30C (minimum)! Peak days at 45C --> Smog and heat warnings galore. Although it’s a bit tedious, I find swimming lengths quite enjoyable. It gives me an undistracted time to think. There’s not much distraction at the bottom of the pool. I think I’ll continue with swimming lengths once the heat subsides to pair with my jitsu class (if I have time!).

Yesterday Charles and I spent the day at Mont Cascades Water Park! We definitely got a workout walking up the hills to get to the slides; oh and carrying those heavy tubes! Favorite slide of the day unquestionably goes to “Black Magic.” At the end of the slide it felt like we were going to flip off the tube; and that’s not paranoia speaking, we saw more than a few people bail. Ouch. Sad to say we skipped the sunscreen and now I have a red reminder of the day. My shoulders and back are still red and sore so I’m skipping any conceivable jog/swim or any unnecessary movement until it heals. Oh aloe vera my tried and tested friend.

Another donation in the mail! Thanks Ken for your support!

I’ve definitely been slacking in the exercise department this week. Although I managed a run and a swim workout earlier in the week, homework and the heat took over mid week. Usually if I’m not running or walking I’m at my Jitsu class. I find it hard going for a jog and then going to Jitsu later in the day. But I haven’t gone to Jitsu all week! Oops! Yesterday I went for a huge walk instead of a jog. Over the weekend in Ottawa the temperature is forecasted to be approx. 30C + humidex. So yeah - I’m not that hardcore. I was sweating a lot just walking! So it will be walking for me until the heat wave subsides. Or I’ll switch the jogging for swimming laps for now.

Although I’ve been slacking in the exercise department, my diet has been going really well. About six weeks ago I wrote about my search for a good diet program and my disappointment in the Curves and LA Weight Loss programs. For the last 5 weeks I have been following a modified Weight Watchers Points Program. In these 5 weeks I have lost 12lbs! Yay! WW is basically a reduced calorie diet with approximately 50calories = 1 Point with modifications for fiber and fat intake. Although I’ve been following the program I haven’t attended any meetings. The cost of WW is the meetings, as a student $12/week even if you don’t attend! I went to one meeting run by an extremely perky lady and it was basically consisted of a group of chubby people complaining, some skinny people showing off and an exchange of recipes, that day hamburger soup. As a vegetarian, the exchange of recipes is a waste of time, take away meat in hamburger soup you get vegetable soup, hah I can make that! As well I can do all the complaining and showing off myself. Obviously I wasn’t impressed; I am happy with the WW points program however. The points are a lot easier to remember throughout the day versus adding up all the calories (to make 1200-1500 per day). It has taught me to be calorie conscious. If I didn’t get anything out of this process then knowing the calorie contents in food in worth it. For example, before my typical on-the-go breakfast was a Tim Horton’s bagel and cream cheese and a bottle of Ice Tea. How bad could that be? Bagel and cream cheese = 12 points (~600cal) and bottle of ice tea = 4 points (~200cal). In perspective a Big Mac without cheese is 576 calories. Oh dear!

Overheated. Attempted a leisurely 5km jog this afternoon. Was that ever optimistic. I had an actually good strong steady run between locks on the canal to the halfway point. I was actually running at a respectable speed and didn’t feel like my lungs were on fire. It was good….for a while. I took a mini break at the locks and then rationalized with myself that I should attempt a longer distance given that time for the Reykjavik 10km is ticking down and I should really get on this thing. It was quite optimistic considering that I was sweating like nobody’s business. The weather network says Ottawa 26C but feels like 32C, but by the Taylor thermometer it could easily pass for 42C. Way too humid. I made it a good 200m before giving up and turning around. What was I thinking? I have a gift for convincing myself to do things or not to. I stopped by Carleton U. for a drink before heading back home. The way back was a struggle. Run 200m, walk a bunch, run 100m, walk some more, run 300m, stitch in side, walk walk walk, run….oh screw this. I eventually gave up and walked the rest all the while imagining a nice cold glass of water and a cool shower. And boy were they good.

Donation in the mail!....well sort of....My mum called me last night to let me know one of her friends dropped off my letter package along with some moola! Thanks Mr. Lee!

Yesterday’s run was a bit of an odd one. It was a warm 28C in Ottawa without the humidity and I slept in so to fit my jog in I left at 2pm, probably the hottest and sunniest part of the day. I decided to do the river path as for most of it there is a lot of tree coverage. I was making good time up until the Bronson Bridge and then like always it all fell apart. There is just something about the stretch from Bronson St. to Bank St. Perhaps it is because of the distance, maybe because there is no shade, or perhaps it’s because the path is beside a busy road. Either which way the Bronson-Bank St. stretch is my nemesis. Between the heat and the nagging stitch in my right side I ended up walking half the way back home. Bah. Interestingly enough in my sweaty struggle I must have seemed extremely approachable because four different people stopped me to ask for directions or for information about the area. I found this odd because I was wearing headphones and there were other non-joggers around. The most interesting of the bunch was this random foreign guy who spoke very little English, and I very little French. After a seemingly failed attempt at directions to the bus stop I offered to walk him there as it was in the same direction and I had pretty much given up on jogging for the day. Some broken English later, I didn’t find out where he’s from but I did find out that he had done 5 years of karate and then he started to do Katas in the park spontaneously. He taught me the second kata and then I dropped him off at the bus stop. I wonder if he made it downtown, lol. All the broken English was reminding me of my time spent in Mexico on exchange trying to figure out what the hell everyone was saying. I wish I remembered more Spanish. I wonder if I’ll ever meet anyone else on my jogs through the park?

Donation in the mail! Thanks Auntie Theresa for your letter and your support!

Last Week Catch-Up. Last week was a slow week for training. I had a really good jog last Monday; accomplishing my goal of jogging around Dow’s lake and back. To my surprise it wasn’t really that far. My new goal is to jog all the way downtown (and take the bus back). Even though I had managed to walk and jog about 13km that day I wasn’t really sore the next day. Ironically I injured my leg the next day, not running but at my jitsu class. I managed to hit a double jitsu class Tuesday and Wednesday, though at a relaxed pace Wednesday so that my leg would heal. I took Thursday off to study for my economics exam. With two and a half hours sleep Thursday night I wrote my economics exam Friday morning, then had a little break and headed to help my friend Melanie move for like 6 or 7 hours. Ouch! I was so proud of Melanie, her sister Tanya and me for moving most of Melanie’s stuff armed with only a dolly and Tanya’s car. All of the big stuff, her bed, desk, bookcases etc was walked over two blocks to her new place using the dolly. We Rock! I relaxed the weekend. Happy Canada's Day!

Feeling like a slacker because of last week I went for a jog along the river today. Made it to Bank Street and back. Success! I was very happy that the weather was bad and that it was raining! When I started all this madness I refused to jog in the rain and now I wish it would rain every time. I breath better when its humid and I love the cool rain on my hot face.

46 Days until I leave for Reykjavik, Iceland!!


As the Reykjavik Race draws near I have been researching activities and accommodation in Iceland. As part of Team Diabetes, my flights and accommodation for 3 nights has already been arranged for me (and my dad on his coin), however we’ve decided to extend my stay in the country to continue to travel on our own. Although it’s extremely touristy, I’m very interested in the “Golden Circle;” most notably the Gullfoss waterfall and Geysir. My dad really wants to check out one of Iceland’s many volcanoes. Mt. Helka is an active volcano which last erupted in 2000. There is a non-technical hiking trail to the summit. Although I’m game, I’m not sure if my dad is interested in the approx. 8 hour return hike. Apparently it’s possible to drive part way up the mtn. making it a 3 hour return hike but only if conditions are good. There are many more interesting places to visit in my view such as Landmannalaugar, Heimaey Island, Skafafell National Park and Jokulsarlon.



There are several tours leaving Reykjavik touring the Golden Circle or traveling to see “Fire and Ice,” volcanoes and glaciers. As with much of Iceland many of these tours seem overpriced. I am currently trying to find an affordable car rental (which fits my 6’4” dad!). I’m sure with a good map and my lonely planet guide we could navigate this easily. If anyone Team Diabetes Iceland folk are interested in touring something similar let me know, the more the merrier!

….While we’re in the neighborhood….

While arranging flights to Iceland from Toronto, my dad’s travel agent informed him of the various gateway cities to get there (no direct flight apparently). He could travel via Boston, London, Amsterdam, Oslo and various other US and European cities. Of course this introduces the rational: If I have a connection in Europe, why not stay a day or two? The original plan was to explore Oslo in Norway for two days, but coordinating our flights became complicated. The additional cost and time layover made it a no go. Instead my dad and I will be spending a week in Iceland and then I’ll continue on to the UK for a week by myself. I have some friends in London and in the country however most of them are busy the entire week that I’m there! L Hopefully I’ll be able to find some cool people in a hostel and tour around together. Any tips for traveling around the UK?