Still Out There

Technically, still inside I guess. I have not run in over 2 months. Shortly after my last post, the back got way worse. To the point where anything was a struggle. Sitting hurt, standing hurt, sleeping was interupted. I really wasn't able to do anything and was in a lot of pain. I started back at physio. First going three times a week (including some at home weekend visits - thank you!), then twice a week, then once a week, and now I'm at once every 10 - 14 days or so. But still not running.

In the past month I have been able to incorporate the trainer, at a moderate effort, some swimming (really recently), and some hiking. The first few attempts weren't great, but its getting better.

I am hoping that I will be able to try a run/walk this week. I was expecting to try last week, but then after some travel to San Francisco for work and having to walk down 30 flights of stairs for a fire drill at work, I had a bit of a setback. It seems to be moving in the right direction again though.

Now that I feel like I am at a point where I can "train" I am actually allowing myself to have thoughts about next season. We'll see how I feel after my first "running" attempt. I don't know if my back will ever feel perfect again, but I would like it to be manageable.

The winter sport season is almost here in Vancouver and I'd really like to be skiing before too long so for that and for the prospect of running again I will continue to diligently do my rehab/strengthening exercises every day!

IMC Weekend

Last weekend we headed up to Penticton for Ironman Canada to volunteer and cheer on friends. We left work at 3. Traffic was awful getting out of Vancouver. Almost 2.5 hours to Chiliwack! Once we were past the worst of it, Graeme totally laid on the gas and we made up some time. We checked into our motel and then headed to Theo's, which is one of my favourite Greek restaurants I have been to, and where we go every time we are in Penticton. We had the amazing seafood salad, I had calamari and Graeme had souvlaki. And we had a great bottle of BC wine.

Saturday morning we got up early, had breakfast and went to meet people for the group ride. I managed to ride 1:20, turning around at the top of Maclean Creek. I probably could have gone further, but I didn't want to push it. It was my first ride in almost a month and my back is still not 100%, though it is getting better. It was a windy day and coming back into town on my own was tough.

After the group finished riding the course, a bunch of us went for lunch on Lakeshore and then walked over to the expo and wandered for a while. The Hammer truck was out with samples, and I tried the melon Heed and actually really liked it. I will try using that next summer.

Sunday we literally rolled out of bed and headed down to the start line. We managed to make our way around the fencing and through the crowds to the get to the far side of the swim course, where we stood in the water and cheered our friends in. We then went for breakfast with a group of friends before heading up to Yellow Lake to volunteer.

It had been nice and sunny in town and I wore running shorts and a tank to volunteer, though I did grab a hoody. Of course the weather changed dramatically. It POURED at Yellow Lake. We were all soaked. And then the wind picked up for the descent back to town, causing many shivering athletes. I felt so bad for them. Seriously the day is hard enough!

After our volunteer shift we headed back into town (which took an hour due to traffic), changed and headed out on our bikes. We rode the entire run course, cheering people on. I was on the bike for 2 hours and although it wasn't perfect, I was able to do it. The headwind heading back into town did hurt though.

We then headed back to near the finish line and cheered again. Everyone we know did so well! I don't think I saw anyone do anything but smile all day long.You are all amazing.

Monday morning we were up early again. Graeme rode and I went and ran on the KVR which is one of my favourite runs in the world. We then packed up, had brunch at the coffee house before going wine tasting in Naramata. We bought about a dozen bottles from 3 wineries before droveing back to Vancouver. I always have a great time when we go to Penticton.

Summer Vacation - Saltspring Island

Following Lake Cowichan we headed straight to Saltspring Island. The ferry terminal at Crofton was only about 45 mins away. There is something about Saltspring, that as soon as I am on my way, I can immediately relax. Plus, this time I was already relaxed from being at the lake for two days!

We had a couple days to ourselves before being joined by some friends on Tuesday, and then even more friends on Friday for the weekend, bringing the weekend total to 11 people! This allowed for total downtime, then a bit more activity, before a bit of chaos (but fun) for a few days!

Sunday and Monday were the two hottest days we have ever spent on Saltspring. Even the ocean didn't feel too bad (and it is way colder there than Vancouver!). The weather was good the entire week, and between Friday evening and Tuesday evening, I was able to eat every meal outside. That is one of my favourite things about summer.

When on Saltspring we eat and drink like Kings and Queens. I like to think that calories don't count there. Of course not everything we are eating is unhealthy, but the volume makes up for that! Still, there is not too much to complain about fresh pasta with corn pesto (not cooked with bacon, but added at the end for the boys - SO GOOD), moules frites, fresh halibut, fresh salmon (caught that day), and fresh crab (caught by Graeme). Plus lots of salad, bread, and bakery pies. And homemade Baileys ice cream in the ice cream maker which was brought along for the ride. Oh and don't forget the chips, and eggs benny (with salmon and crab and avocado), patisserie treats, lunch pizza and beer and wine!

Yes, it is a culinary feast.

While my back wasn't allowing any riding I did manage to get some running in to try and keep things in balance (ha!) and we swam in the lake almost every day (though I was unable to swim for too long, at least I was in there).

Really the main things accomplished were reading, eating and general relaxing. Which is never a bad thing!

Summer Vacation - Part 1

We hadn't planned on a summer vacation, but after being asked for the 100th time what we were doing for vacation plans, I decided I wanted one. We had already planned to take a few days off, so we added to it and made it into 9 days straight.

The first weekend we headed to Lake Cowichan, hosted by Karen and her family. There were 15 of us total, and we enjoyed the HOT sun, lake and most of all the general relaxing. Plus, the meteor shower was still visible on Friday evening and we were treated to a great show, lying on the dock. It's amazing to think how far away the meteors are. One of them was so bright it was like a strike of lightening and lit up the entire lake!

How could you not relax here??

My Back

Well, so far August has not gone how I had hoped in the training department. I have a bad back - 45 degree S-curve scoliosis and 2 degenerating discs (L3 & L4). Scoliosis diagnosed at 13 and the discs in my mid 20s. I have been going to physio on and off since I was 13.

I would say in general I have been lucky the last few years with the amount of pain I have had to deal with. My teenage years and through my mid 20s were worse.

Interestingly enough, since I started running, I have had way less back issues. Without any scientific proof, I believe this is because my core muscles have strengthed since starting to run. I have also noticed that when I have been injured (not back related) and unable to run, my back seems to get worse.

The last few years, having found Moveo and the ART (active release therapy) practitioners, any time my back has acted up, it has only taken a session to have it calm down. Releasing of my psoas muscles has given relief to the tension and pulling in my back.

Unfortunately this has not been the case this time. I have had a number of ART sessions, massage, and other "work". And it is getting better. But its very slow. I was barely able to stand and sleeping was difficult in the beginning, but now I am back to running. Riding however, seems to be aggravating. It's only 2.5 weeks to Whistler Gran Fondo, and I have not been on my bike (for an actual ride) since the beginning of the month. I guess I will see how the next few weeks go.

At least I can run now, if not for as long as I was able to a month ago.

STP - Day 2

Sunday we were up by 5:30am, had breakfast and were on the road by 6:45am. Again, the sun was not out. In fact it was misting on top of being cold! Knowing that the sun was likely not coming out any time soon, I added more layers which was a big help.

Sunday we stayed together as a group the entire time, with a well functioning paceline. We all wanted coffee, which was supposed to be at the first rest stop, but was not. We then saw a little coffee shack and stopped there, where the only other flat tire(s) of the ride happened. So one before we headed off, and two when we were already stopped.







We stopped again for lunch, but headed straight through most of the stops, knowing Portland wasn't that far off. Coming into the city, the crowds were building back up again. It was a fun ride the last few kms, even if there were a lot of stoplights, as everyone was excited to get there. We rolled in around 1ish, 135kms and 4:29 of ride time later. The beer in the beer garden tasted really good!

Once it was check in time, we headed over to our hotel, where I think everyone had a quick nap, before heading out for dinner. We had planned to go to Deschutes brew pub, but the wait was 1.5 hours and none of us could wait that long to eat. Instead we ended up at Rogue Brew Pub. The beer was really good, and the food just ok. Still it was a great evening. We didn't get back to the hotel until 11:45! A late night for a long day.

STP - Day 1

Traffic was bad on Friday afternoon and by the time we got into Seattle it was a lot later then we had planned. Graeme had slashed his tire the night before and needed to get a new one. I knew the sponsoring bike store was open 24 hours before the rideand we passed it on our way to UW. After dropping off our stuff, we still needed to find some dinner. We got to bed later then we wanted and the dorm beds left a lot to be desired. I would not do that again! The only good part is they were really close to the start line.

I really didn't sleep much and the 4:45 alarm came very early. Up, stuffed half a bagel and pb down (it wasn't toasted and was hard to swallow), then headed down to the start. We met up with everyone else from the group, dropped our bags off at the truck for our rest stop and after Graeme changing his tire, and then a flat, we were rolling at 5:50am.

The first hour and a bit out of Seattle was very congested. The route goes past a couple lakes along the Seattle Marathon course. You really had to watch the riders as it was obvious not everyone was a good rider. We made our way through the packs and eventually the bikes thinned out a bit. We decided to stop at the first rest top for a bathroom break as none of us had wanted to wait in line at the start line. The volunteers at this stop were the best of the weekend. All wearing matching tuxedo shirts and high energy. I had some food here, and felt way more awake.

We didn't stay too long and started rolling again and it was COLD. We picked up the pace as we were all trying not to freeze. Where was the sunshine that had been forecasted for the entire weekend?? The route is a combination of main roads, side streets, and then leading up to the halfway point in Centralia, a long bike path. After the first rest stop our group split up, with Graeme and I, and another couple from the tri club, joining up with a few random guys and getting a good paceline going. I was a little worried with the speed and wondering how I would hold up all day, but it was good.

By the time we got to the bike path, it was down to the four of us. The path is too narrow to do a real paceline, but we still were passing people, cautiously, as we had seen a number of crashes. That is one of the most interesting parts. The entire time you are passing really slow people. How did they get that far in front of us??

We got into Centralia and had lunch there. That is the midpoint and where most people stay over night. After regrouping and eating lunch, we headed out again, as we had another 40km to do. Well, it turned out to be more, as there was a detour which was not noted! The place where we were staying is actually slightly off the STP route, and it's not marked. At all. As 2 of the girls had stayed there last year, we knew where to go. Until the detour happened. We found our way around it, but it added another 10km or so onto the ride.

The sun had started to come out at Centralia and the afternoon was really nice. Because the place we were staying is not on the actual route, the last section of Saturday was mostly open roads with hardly any other cyclists. We got in to Toledo around 3:30pm - the first to arrive at the school. 207 kms done, in 7:19 of ride time.

The afternoon was about relaxing and waiting for the spaghetti dinner, which was at 5. After eating, we headed down to the local pub for a few drinks which was quite the experience. After a couple drinks, Graeme and I headed back for some rest. Unfortunately, sleeping on the classroom floor was not much better than the dorm room, and once again, I didn't get much sleep!

Seattle to Portland

After work today we head to Seattle and then start the Seatttle to Portland ride tomorrow with 10,000 other riders.



200 miles in 2 days! There are 7 of us in the group. We are planning on 205km on Saturday and 120km on Sunday. Most of us are staying over in Portland on Sunday evening and then heading home on Monday. Another fun weekend on tap!

Random Mid-July Update

It's been a busy few weeks around here! Training has been going well. Well, at least on the bike front. Lots of good rides, long rides and hard rides! Running has been coming along. Swimming, well I need to get back at that.

Racing has yet to happen this year. First with Shawnigan being so cold and since then, I haven't signed up for another. It may sound stupid, but I just don't feel like I am ready. Mainly on the swim. Graeme says I am, but the problem is I don't have the confidence in myself. And not swimming much the past few weeks isn't going to help anything! Next week it's time to get back in the pool and really decide what I want to do.

I know how to much myself on the bike and run now, and need to figure out the swim part. The funny thing about all of this is I am actually a *way* better swimmer this year then last. I just can't find the drive to swim any long distances. Part is with Graeme not ironman training this year, we are spending way less time at the pool in general. But I just have to get myself there. No excuses.

On another note, today we celebrated 4 amazing married years. I am so so lucky! I was the recipent of a very pretty delicate necklace and this:



I have been talking about wanting a frozen yogurt maker for a while and Graeme did some research and found one of the only ones left in the city! I can't wait to use it. If anyone has any favourite recipes, let me know!

Ferry to Ferry - Langdale to Earls Cove

Graeme had an idea to do this ride about a month ago, and decided to set it up as a club ride. We had about 18 people total, mostly from the club.

The ride was the hardest I have ever done. 160kms of hills and hill and hills and hills. I am used to riding hills but this was a whole other level. We took the 7:20am ferry from Horseshoe Bay over to Langdale, arriving there at 8:00. We were lucky enough to have a club member and wife of one of the guys doing the ride drive support for us. After loading up the truck we were off. And up one of the steepest and longest hills of the day, with no warm up.

The hills were relentless. My legs had nothing from the start which I honestly think was both good and bad. I felt better the second half of the ride then I did the first, and as I wasn't able to push that hard, I didn't really strain my fitness which meant I didn't feel totally trashed the rest of the weekend.

I lost the main group early on (which would have happened dead legs or not) but thankfully was able to ride almost the entire thing with my good friend J, and then meeting up with a few others at the rest stops.

It is a beautiful ride - an out and back from the Langdale ferry along the Sunshine Coast to the Earls Cove ferry terminal. Great views and the weather was perfect. The support was needed both to refuel and rehydrate as well as for a break from the hills!

Overall I felt pretty good, except for a weird foot thing which started around 110km in. Both of my feet, from just below the toes and all the way through the toes started to BURN! It was so painful I thought I might cry. I honestly thought I would have to get off the bike at Sechelt and hop in the truck. Luckily a couple minutes of standing at Sechelt made them feel a lot better, and while I could feel it after, it wasn't too bothersome. I have never had it happen before, and I think it must have had something to do with all of the climbing.

At 155km, we pulled into the pub in Gibsons and met up with everyone ahead of us. We had time for a quick beer before the last 5 km down to the ferry. A great, if not exhausting day!

I have a CLIF bar in my mouth in this picture...




The data from MapMyRide - a bit stupid you can't actually paste it into the blog...

MapMyRide - Ferry to Ferry - Langdale to Earls Cove

Minneapolis

Heading to Minneapolis last week, I didn't have any preconcieved notion of what the city would be like, though I was still happily surprised with how nice it was. A work related conference was the reason for the trip, but I decided to add on an extra day and stay for the weekend. Luckily, I have an online friend who lives there who was more than willing to show me around. The city is really green, very active, and has lots of good restaurants and rooftop patios everywhere.

I arrived in Wednesday afternoon and took the train downtown. There was a Twins game that evening and the train was packed! Still, an easy and quick way to get around. I met up with my friend and we went out for dinner and drinks.

Thursday I wandered around town a bit before meeting my friend again. We went to the bike shop so I could rent a bike, all while hoping the looming skies would hold off and we could get a ride in. We managed just over 2 hours on the bike paths around the lakes. You can ride forever on those bike paths. So strange coming from somewhere where there is no alternative to riding on the road. The ride was a bit wet, but nothing too bad. With all of the bike paths, its easy to see how Minneapolis has now become the number one bike riding city, overtaking Portland. Plus, last week was the introduction of the shared bike system. I saw lots of people taking advantage, even with the weather not being the greatest.



Thursday evening and Friday were all about the conference. It was a good experience overall. Lots of learning, eating and drinking!

Saturday and Sunday I ran with the friend again. Shorter on Saturday and long on Sunday. I don't know if it was the flatness of the run, but Sunday's long run was the best I have had in a long long time and it was a muggy day! We ran from downtown, through the sculpture garden, through the old neighbourhood, and around Calhoun Lake. My friend dropped off to go home and I ran more of the lake before heading to her place.


(photo by Bl@ck Coffee)

After a shower, we went out for brunch, walked Uptown a bit, had ice cream and then she dropped me to the airport. While Minneapolis is not somewhere I had on my list of places to visit, I am glad I had the opportunity and would recommend it. At least if you don't have to go in the winter!

The race that wasn't

This is pretty much an anti-race report. I had been thinking for a while about doing the Shawnigan Lake Olympic, and last week I committed. We were going to be in Victoria for the weekend anyway, as Graeme was racing the Sooke Classic road race - 95km from Sooke, past Jordan River and then back. As the week went on, the weather got worse and worse.

I spent Saturday morning standing on the side of the road as Graeme raced. It was wet, cold, breezy and just downright miserable. People were dropping out all over the place due to the cold. A lot of those fast guys have no body fat! Graeme rode his entire race and was frozen after and he has a high tolerance for the cold. We had the heat blasting in the car on the drive back to Victoria and I thought I'd pass out from the heat, while Graeme was fine. It took him a few hours to defrost.

I looked up the weather for Shawnigan and it said low of 6 and 60% chance of rain. The thought of getting on the bike, soaking wet in a tank top and shorts in those conditions just wasn't working for me. This is supposed to be fun and I am just not that hardcore! I felt extremely guilty about deciding not to race, but Graeme told me to stand outside in my tri top and shorts for 10 mins and that would reinforce that I had made the right decision. Each time I went outside for the rest of Saturday and Sunday and was cold in full clothing made me feel a bit better about my decision. I am mostly over the guilt now and there will be more races.

Oops!

It's been an entire month with nothing! And that is most definitely not because there has been nothing going on. In fact, it's been just the opposite. Weekends have been filled with long rides, with a few weekends in a row of beating my previous longest ride distance.

The first was a 110km ride, which equaled my previous longest. This was followed by a 125km ride, which included a lot of hill riding and had me trashed for days. But it was a beautiful day and at least the first half of the ride was with great friends.

The following weekend was the Tri Club's annual Penticton training weekend. Last year I made it 110kms of the way on the IMC course and this year I wanted to do the entire 160kms (no out and back portion). I had a flat in 2009 and lost the main group (except for 2 very nice guys who stayed with me and rode with me to the next rest stop) and this year I was really hoping to be in a bigger group. We managed to stay together as a club until McClean Creek when things splintered. I ended up riding with a group of 6-8 that I would spend a lot of the day with. Most of the time I rode with one other girl (and then saw the rest of the group at rest stops) and had a great day. And I made the entire 160km. Of course my bike computer decided to stop working so I only have an estimate of time. We were out of the road 6.5hrs and that includes the rest stops.

When I got back I dipped my legs in the cold waters of Okanagan Lake. I think this was the key as my legs were nowhere near as trashed following this ride as they were for the 125km the week before. Plus I was able to get out and run 80 mins the next day.

This weekend was one of my favourites last summer and was great again this year. It is so nice to get out with a big group of like minded people for a long ride followed by a great dinner, drinks and chatting.

I can't find the cord for my camera (which is NOT a standard USB cord) so photos will have to wait!

Element

I've never been one for cars, really, but I've always liked the Honda Element. Although our little Acura was only 5 years old, it was well over 100K and things were starting to happen. Plus, the Acura wasn't the best car for bikes and gear. So we bit the bullet and bought a new (to us) car!

You can roll bikes right in with both wheels on! This is going to make roadtripping so much more fun.

Not ours, but same model and colour.

Weekend on Saltspring

We are really lucky in that Graeme's parents own a house on Saltspring. There's quite a story around the house as it was actually shipped over to the island on a barge, and set on a piece of bare land they had owned for a while. The house has been there about 7 years now and we've had a lot of good times there. Over the last few years Graeme's parents have been renting it out a lot and between that and Graeme's ironman training, we didn't even make it to Saltspring once last year!

Mid last week Graeme took a look at the booking calendar and saw that the weekend was free so we decided last minute to head over. We tried something new this time and went through Horsehoe Bay, and then drove down to Crofton to take the ferry to Vesuvius. Being that we live on the North Shore, this is a great option for us.


Of course Friday night was a Canucks game, and neither of us wanted to miss it, but through the beauty of technology, we were able to watch the game while on the ferry - by streaming cbc sports on the laptop with tethering to the iPhone! Pretty amazing what you can do now!


The weekend was great as it always is. Good food, good drink, farmers market (I wanted to buy more stuff!), pub lunch, a couple funny short runs (after a failed attempt at finding a trailhead) and a ride on Sunday, in the sunshine (as it rained in Vancouver!), and a great book.



I will say that the ride was one of the hardest I have done! I think it was a combination of a tired body, a wee bit too much to drink on Saturday night and the fact that the hills on the north end of the island, while not long are STEEP. All in your smallest gear, standing up, leaning over the front wheel. In the end the ride was not as long as I would have wanted as I was just DONE. The stop for an iced latte in Ganges on the way back was a necessity!

I hope we get back a few more times this year. It's just so easy to fully decompress when you are there.

Kona

Not the place this time.

We are dogsitting this pretty girl for the next week.

Kona



She is a very smart and funny one and the biggest suck I have ever met. But she is so cute that it makes up for it.

A Very Vancouver Weekend

Friday night trail running




Saturday skiing at Whistler



Sunday long bike ride




What a great place to live!

San Diego

So finally a San Diego update!

We arrived in late Friday night, down one suitcase. Luckily it did show up at the hotel the next morning. The hotel itself was good. We were "upgraded" to a 10th floor ocean view room. I say upgraded as it is right below the restaurant and you can hear the music in the evenings, but aside from the first Saturday it wasn't loud. It was mostly blue-haired dancing music.

The first weekend the weather was awesome. Perfect blue skies, warm/hot. The weather for the rest of the week was cooler, but still nice. Arm warmers for the rides, and even leg warmers for one. Even the “storm” they talked about all week turned out to be less then ½ inch of rain during the night. I guess it’s a different standard!

With getting in later on Friday, although we had talked about heading up to Oceanside to watch the 70.3, we were tired. Instead we went for a really yummy breakfast at The Cottage, walked around La Jolla, and then went and picked up our rental bikes. The bike Graeme had reserved had been stolen and so he ended up with what is still a nice bike, but more of a comfort bike, and it was the most purple bike that ever that is not a little girls bike.

The first day we rode a few hours up the coast to Encinitas and back. It is such a nice ride! Really breezy, though not as windy as later in the week and warm!

So many people out riding, running, surfing. I think that was our favourite thing about San Diego. Everyone is actually out enjoying the fabulous weather.

I had read a lot about the hill in Torrey Pines National Reserve, and while it is a long hill, its not steep. During one ride with the wind, I felt like going up the hill was the easiest part of the day due to the tail wind. Graeme says it wasn't. Maybe I am in ok bike shape. At least one thing is going well!

My back started acting up on Thursday (and still is a bit) so I didn't get as much riding in as I'd like, but still 5 rides (mostly on the coast, with one heading inlad to Scripps Ranch). Because I had only ridden outside twice this year, it took until the last day for me to really feel comfortable. That and being on a bike that wasn't mine and wasn't a perfect fit. I think that also contributed to the back issues.

I also have decided that its not that I don't like swimming, its that I don't like swimming in crowded indoor pools. Swimming outside in your own lane is like a little slice of heaven. I would probably swim almost every day if that was what I had here.

Running on the beach was fun, especially watching the surfers, but my favourite run was in Torrey Pines. The trails are so much fun. Dipping up and down, running through brush, just completely different type of trails then we have here. And of course all overlooking the ocean on a cliff. Loved it.

I really like La Jolla as a town. Lots of restaurants, stores, nice beach, good running, riding, and people are friendly. I said when I was 10 I wanted to retire there and I could still see doing that. And housing is cheaper than Vancouver...Oh, and good CA wine and craft beers too.

Vacation Time!

This time tomorrow we will be on a plane to San Diego for a week of bike, run, swim, eating and relaxing. We will likely head up to Oceanside on Saturday morning to watch some of the Oceanside 70.3 race.

Can't wait!

Getting Ready

For spring riding that is!

First order from Sugoi under their Brand Champions program. Vest, leg and knee warmers. Im hoping to get out of work early today for an (almost) spring ride!


On another note, last night we went to the Paralympics Sledge Hockey semi-final between the USA and Norway. Those guys are awesome. It looks so tough. And they poke each other with the spikey parts of their sticks that they use to propel themselves on the ice, on top of the normal full contact hockey stuff. The USA won and will play in the gold medal game.

Speedtheory Ambassador Program

Graeme and I are both really lucky to be part of the Speedtheory ambassador program. I am looking forward to the spring/summer/fall of training and racing with everyone. Thank you again to Jeremy, Doug and everyone at Speedtheory. Now that spring is (almost) here its time to kick it up a notch.

We are really lucky to be riding in the new Speedtheory team kit, so if you see us on the road, wave!

Olympics in the City!

Well, it was a crazy, busy few weeks in the city of Vancouver! I don't think any of us really knew what to expect or knew that it would turn out the way it did. People in the streets at all times of the day and night, whopping it up.

On top of that there were the houses of various countries and free events galore. There was way more to do then one could get done in a couple weeks.

I was very fortunate to attend a number of events. From watching the Women's Super G from the side of the hill at Whistler, the Men's Super Combined from the viewing area, Men's Aerial Finals at Cypress (those guys are crazy!) and the best sporting event I have ever attended - The Canada vs. Russia men's hockey game. I don't really think words can sum any of it up. You really had to be here.






Speedy Peterson and the Hurricane!