3.27.2011

I am thankful for laughter - except when milk comes out my nose

Now that my blog is somewhat operational, I figured it was about time for a little fun.  This is a voice-over done by BBC of a few video clips of some awkward animal moments.  I can't get enough of these 2 videos, and there are loads more just like them.  This is the kind of stuff that I end up watching when I don't feel like doing homework have completed all of my homework, and can't think of anything productive to do with my spare time.
Anyways, Enjoy!

P.S. Before you start the videos, make sure you don't have any food in your mouth...it will most likely end up on the computer screen!



3.24.2011

Destination Alaska



One of the key perks in living in Alaska for the next few years, is that I will be surrounded with eye-opening experiences that I will likely never forget.  This is a great video I found showing the vast land of Alaska, and all it's beauty.  Anchorage is a city unlike any other that I have ever visited, and while the Alaskan wild spreads far further than the city itself, living so close to this kind of environment definitely gives Anchorage a similar level of awesomeness in my mind.  Now of course, I won't be climbing mountains and riding polar bears to school every day, but that's not too far off.  I really can't wait to discover what living in Alaska is really all about, and watching this video just makes me want to pack my bags and book a flight for tomorrow morning!

3.21.2011

9 things you never knew about me

1.  My absolute favourite workout is 1km repeats.  They are fast enough that you need to work on turning over a little quicker, but long enough that it feels like more of a progressive effort, and before you know it you're almost done the kilometer.
2.  My least favourite workout involves sets of 600's.  It doesn't seem to matter how many or how fast, there is just something about 600's that my body doesn't like.  Over the past couple of years, it has always been the 600m workouts that completely destroy my legs, even if I'm in fantastic shape.  If nothing else, I guess it tells me that I still have a lot of work to do, and serves as a reminder that I may not be as fit as I think.
3.  My favourite place to run is in Sunnybrook Park.  It is a huge grass park with tons of soft trails as well as connecting trails that can take you virtually anywhere in Toronto.
4.  I am not too big on the cross training that everyone seems to be in love with these days.  I prefer to let my running provide me with the real fitness, and occasionally I will use cross training to strengthen the core muscles.
5.  I can't stop eating cereal.  It is the backbone of my diet, and I will typically have a bowl in the morning, a bowl before bed, and sometimes even another bowl throughout the day.  By the way, my favourite is Cheerios.
6.  I can't stand wearing pants/tights on a run.  Usually, when the temperature is 0 degrees C/32 F or above, I will run in shorts.  The feeling of constriction of stride that I get from pants makes it much more difficult to get a nice stride going.
7.  I have a few weird rituals.  In the winter, I always wear the same toque each day, even though I usually need to do some serious searching for it if my room gets too messy.  Also, when doing strides before a race, I always hold my spikes in my hand (don't ask me why, I really don't know where this one came from) as opposed to leaving them in my bag or putting them on my feet.
8.  My favourite running shoes are the Asics Cumulus series.  They don't have excessive bulk, but they are sturdy enough to use as an everyday trainer.  Additionally, they can easily be used in longer track workouts and hard tempo runs.
9.  I was planning on using the title "10 things you didn't know about me", but I got a little lazy.

3.16.2011

Officially a Seawolf!

Since Grade 9, I've been motivated not only by improving my track times and running faster than my competition, but also by the NCAA coaches that are continually looking for Canadian talent to recruit for their teams.  It's amazing to think that college coaches everywhere are willing to pay thousands of dollars each semester for you to attend their school and play the sport you love.  In my mind it was just further incentive to work hard for my chance to run with some of the best up and coming runners in the world.  4 years later, and I've officially signed with the University of Alaska Seawolves.  With the great training group, some of the best facilities in the world, too many trails to count, and their top notch competition schedule, I'm ready to roll with the big boys!

Let the blogging begin...

Not too sure how this whole blogging thing works quite yet, but I'll figure it out sooner or later.  In the meantime, I'll be updating my blog whenever I can to fill you all in on the happenings in my life and anything else that I find interesting.  The blog isn't completely operational yet, but it's a work in progress, so bear with me, and everything should be up and running (metaphorically) shortly!