Christine Cogger

Biking, Day-to-day life, Family, Kids, Pemberton, QOTD, Running, Skiing

Wherein I ramble.

March 4, 2013March 5, 2013 Christine Cogger

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, mainly because I’ve been mopey. Nobody wants to hang around mopey, much less read about mopey. So I’m trying to move past mopey into more hopeful. Mopeful, maybe?

My body is nowhere near 100% fixed, as much as I like to pretend it is. Watching the winter pass me by has been very frustrating – particularly not being able to ski. I miss skiing and feel like I am missing out on a lot with the kidlets.

I’ve tried a few days of skate skiing without poles which was ok, but otherwise my workouts have been limited to the gym, pool running (ugh) and the wind trainer… endless hours on the wind trainer. Actually, I’m pretty proud of myself for the workouts I’ve developed: they are based solely on TV characters. When character A comes on, I spin 100 rpm. When his enemy comes on, I spin 80 rpm, etc. etc. It actually makes time fly. As much as time can fly on a wind trainer at 5:30am. Maybe I’ll trademark these workouts and become an infomercial superstar! (Wait… do infomercials still exist?)

I celebrated 1 month post-op with a 1km run on the treadmill in the garage – which I then had taken away from me by a well-meaning physio who told me to back off again. I may or may not had shed tears of frustration. Not having the ability to run daily has had a huge effect on my ability to manage my anxiety, so for both my physical and mental health I’m hoping to get back at it sooner rather than later.

Baby steps, I suppose. In the meantime, while I build my body back up, I’ll continue to lurk on race websites, read blogs, try to pick up a hobby, follow people’s twitter updates and will the snow to melt and my body to heal so I can once again get out and play.

—

Know thyself

A few weeks ago, I was headed to the city to run some errands and let the boys know I’d be picking them up some tees and hoodies as they’d outgrown/destroyed the ones they had. Rory piped up that he “wanted a pink t-shirt with a skateboarder on it, but if they don’t have that, I’ll just get whatever”.

Will looked at me and said “I don’t want to be a dude”. I was a little confused by this comment and replied “but you’re a boy, therefore you are a dude.” He elaborated: “No, no. I don’t want to be a dude, like who skateboards and wears pink shirts and stuff. I like Lego and books and calmer stuff. I just want a plain blue t-shirt”.

It’s interesting to me that at 6 years old, he’s pretty self-aware. And so very, very different from his brother.

—

Meanwhile…

I bought Anja a new coat as she’d outgrown her current one (belly coats, anyone?) She came downstairs, saw it and said “OH MINE GOODNESS! It’s Beee-ooootiful”!

I like an appreciative kid.

—

Completely unrelated to anything

I was at one of my recent 298374 doctors appointments waiting for the doc when I saw this:

I must have been having a bad day because it infuriated me. I’m no feminist, but COME ON. Set your daughter up with some slightly higher standards than “Diva”. I hate that moniker applied to little girls – never mind newborns. How about “Astronaut in Training” or “Athlete in Training” or “Average, healthy kid in training”? Anything is better than Diva.

*steps off soap box*

—

Don’t ask.

I gave up chocolate for Lent. I’m not religious, nor have I ever given anything up for Lent. I wonder what possessed me this year. So far so good. But The Chocolate Easter Bunny better watch his back March 31. And his ears. And tail.

—

Yesterday

It was the first warm and sunny day we’d had in a long time. I spent a lot of it thinking about Mum. She used to love early Spring days and would bundle up into her coats and blankets, drag an old chair to a sunny spot somewhere outside and read her book till the sun became shade. I think that early spring days will always remind me of Mum and some of her ingrained habits. I can’t believe that it’s already been 6 months without her.

—

I’m back at work! Bring on the sitting, office snacks and the fluorescent lighting. And hopefully more positive blog updates.

They take care of me by taking care of themselves. Sometimes.

Day-to-day life, Kids

On kids and independence.

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 Christine Cogger

I feel like this should be a confession. We let – actually, we encourage – Will to walk or bike to and from school on his own.

He’s 6, soon to be 7 and has been doing this since the fall when he started grade 1. I’m fully aware that there are parents in our community who think that this is a big mistake and I get the hairy eyeball pretty frequently when people find out about this ritual of ours.

Here’s the thing. We live in a small town, and our home is about 1km away from school. Everyone seems to know everyone else and families look out for each other. Will takes the responsibility of getting himself to and from school very seriously. He doesn’t like to talk to anyone – friends included – when he’s en route. We don’t let him do it every day. But the best part? I trust him. I know he’s not going to break my trust and do something stupid to compromise the privilege of going to and fro on his own.

So my question is: how soon is too soon? How much independence or leeway do you grant your kids?

Day-to-day life, Racing

The inconvenience of injury

January 24, 2013 Christine Cogger

Let me preface this by saying that, in the grand scheme of things, my current injuries are very minor. I’m mobile, upright and for the most part, coherent. When I start to feel sorry for myself, I think of a friend who’s son is in hospital and mentally slap myself and thank my lucky stars.

That being said, being injured sucks. A few weeks ago, I fractured my shoulder. As I was peeling myself off the ground – knowing instantly that I’d done a fair bit of damage, random thoughts ran through my brain:

“There’s NO WAY I’m calling patrol. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Ugh. How am I going to get my shirt off?”

“Stay calm. Kids are watching.”

“Well, there goes swimming for a while. Can I bike? Run? Skate ski?”

See? Inconvenient but not that big of a deal. Does it hurt? Yes. Is it awkward? Yes: just ask anyone who’s watched me pull off a sweater. Do I think I did more damage than good when I caught the blender falling off the counter a few days ago? Oh hell yes.

Being hard-headed, I knew I had a minor knee surgery scheduled for yesterday. Despite knowing that hobbling around on crutches probably wasn’t going to happen, I refused to re-schedule in the hopes that I’d be weight-bearing. And waddya know? The stars aligned, and here I am. Weight-bearing and feeling like I’ve been punched in the thigh. Peeling off the dressing last night made for a super fun family activity, one that all kids were keen to get involved in!

The good news is that surgery went smoothly and that frankly, it was the best sleep I’ve had in YEARS. The bad news is that there are potentially 2 more to come. But I figure I’ll cross that bridge when I’m being shoved over it.

In the meantime, I’m going to work on physio/recovery/rehad like it’s my job. There are too many upcoming adventures hanging in the balance not to!

Racing, Random

Wading in.

January 18, 2013 Christine Cogger

There have been some incredible articles written by athletes and journalists about how the Lance saga has affected them or their sport: all you have to do is peruse Twitter or any of the running/triathlon/cycling sites and you’ll get a good taste of everyone’s disgust, particularly in light of last night’s confession. Most are very well written, some are matter of fact, others are bitter and vindictive. I’ve yet to read a single article shedding positive light on the interview.

I’ll be clear: I know precisely nothing about doping in sport. I have no first had experience with it but as an amateur athlete I’ve read a ton about it: who’s done it, who’s suspected of doing it, the whys, hows and whos. I’ve never, to my knowledge, been directly affected by it, so perhaps that negates my right to voice my opinion on this topic. That being said, what knowledge I do have is of the he-said/she-said variety of articles; my eyes glazed over when reading the USADA report. I guess I don’t care that much about the scientific side of it, what with having no interest in doping myself.

I watched Lance on Oprah last night with an interest bordering on fascination. Most people I know/read today are saying that his apology wasn’t sincere, that he was arrogant, controlling and all the rest. There’s no doubt he was well prepared for the tête-à-tête; he’d be an idiot to go in blind and we all know he’s not that. He’s been called out for not naming names, dragging others down. But wasn’t the point of the interview for it to be about him and his actions? Not others who were, ostensibly, doing the same thing (minus, say the bullying and the Foundation building). Yes, I came away with lots of questions – particularly about his “clean comeback” and a few other salient points that didn’t seem to add up. I’m going to watch again tonight and see what else he’s got to say.

Here’s the thing. I don’t know the man, so obviously can’t speak to his personality. However, I suppose I am naive enough to hope that his apology was true – whether he gave us all the details or not. People are screaming “it’s not enough!” So then, what more do we want? Why do need so many details? He himself – and several of his critics – have admitted that this whole “coming clean” business is a process. So perhaps it’s merely a starting point for better things to come? Would people have been happier had he broken down and wept? I don’t get it. Who am I to question his sincerity? Yes, I think he’s got ulterior motives here – millions of dollars of evaporated sponsorship will likely do that to a guy – but frankly, he’s got to start somewhere.

We teach our kids to accept apologies, to look each other in the eye and move on. Why aren’t we doing the same here? I’m not implying we all need to “forgive and forget”, but why not move on? The press has devoted enough ink to the man and his myth, why not start dictating change and focus on those clean athletes doing incredible things instead of rehashing the past over and over?

Naive self, out.

Random

Road Trip Chronicles

January 17, 2013 Christine Cogger

We’ve been home for about 3 weeks now, after 10 days on the road with the
kids. We’ve had the chance to reflect on the event, shop-vac the truck and
well, recover. There were some ups, some downs, some very long stretches
but the reality is that I think we’d do it again.

Highs:

Spending time together, all 5 of us. It made me realize how rarely we do
this for extended periods of time without “outside influence”, so to speak.
It took some adjustment but I’m fairly certain we all enjoyed this. It was entertaining watching Anja do her best to keep up with the boys and seeing the boys adjust their habits to include her a little bit more.

Learning we can all be pretty adaptable despite the curve balls. Extra
night in Northern Cali due to snowstorms? Frustrating for the parents but
the kids thought the 10×10 freezing cold pool in the hotel was pretty cool.
Broken down truck? Anxiety-inducing for mom, annoying for dad but the
kids got to RIDE. IN. A. TOWTRUCK! A low-light turned highlight.

The San Diego Zoo. Amazing place. Our recipe for success included going in
the pouring rain, on Christmas Eve. We practically had the elephants and
giraffes to ourselves. Plus, it was the first day in about 5 that we really
got to move, and we all needed it. Everyone walked/ran/skipped/shuffled/piggy-backed the entire park. Highly recommended.

Legoland, for the kids. Ultimately, this was the reason for the trip and the kids did enjoy it. Parents, meh. I don’t need to go back. EVER.

Christmas dinner outside. Not a turkey in sight.

Lows:

Screen time. For parental-sanity’s sake, we broke our own “no TV/Screen
time on such and such a day” and tried to make it painless for both the
kids and ourselves. Which meant that the kids watched a lot more movies
than usual, but that was ok. After all, it was their holiday, too. But I felt like my Mum when I kept saying “look out the window! look at what you’re missing!”

Road food. Ugh. Despite how much I was able to pack, we still had to rely
on some fairly unreliable establishments for sustenance. We hit a few
highs, for sure — the breakfasts dives were the best, as was the cafe in
Crescent City, Nor Cal. Otherwise, it was pretty grim. We stuck to Liz’s suggestion to
avoid chains – which we did, for the most part. When we do this again, I’d
research food options a little better.

Physical activity, or the lack thereof. None of us are used to sitting for
so long – I think I got 35 minutes of exercise the entire time we were away.
Every time we opened the truck doors, it was like unleashing caged animals
into the wild – whether we were in a parking lot, a beach or a gas station.
Everyone scattered. I’d definitely do this differently next time: lots of daytime activity, save the driving for the nights.

All in all, it was pretty great – an experience the kids remember and the parents enjoyed. We’ve been talking about the next adventure… Suggestions welcome!

She’s totally fascinated by everything that crawls, slithers, molts or kills.

Someone thinks boys swim shorts are awesome!

When the boys roller coaster, the girl gets painted.

I freely admit this roller coaster scared the crap out of me.

Biking, Day-to-day life, Racing, Running, Skiing, Triathlon, Whistler

Greater tuberosity and other fun things.

January 15, 2013 Christine Cogger

Greater Tuberosity.

Doesn’t that sound like it should be a name of a roller coaster at a super fun amusement park? “Step right up people and have a ride on the death defying GREATER TUBEROSITY! A feat of engineering, a marvel of adventure!”

The reality is that “greater tuberosity” is just a fancy name for shoulder. Which I fractured last week. Oops.

Considering I’m scheduled for knee surgery next week, my timing is spectacular and this has put a damper on the ski season. Just when I’d managed to rekindle my love/hate relationship with skate skiing… Plus, I get total FOMO when it comes to skiing with my kids – I don’t want to miss a thing. It drives me bonkers when they go without me.

I’m front loading the surgery with as much running as I can as I am not sure when I’ll be able to get out there again (super graceful, one-armed running). I devastated that I can’t swim (total lie). Garage biking is happening. I tried snowshoeing but almost died of boredom: I would have been a terrible coureur des bois.

Coming soon: road trip recap! In the meantime, enjoy some random photos.

anja cold — Why would anyone want to miss a ski day with this face?

anja jay — Sometimes, you do what you gotta do to keep up.

greater TB — This is the aforementioned roller coaster.

Snowshoeing. This is about 7 minutes after I started. Notice the boredom yet?

snow — Did you know that fractured shoulder = no shoveling. Perk.

spy — “Someone” may have told him that spies dress up so that they can fly business class.

Kids, QOTD

QOTD

January 15, 2013 Christine Cogger

Today. Backseat. Coming home from ski school.

Will: “When I grow up, I’m going to be a spy.”

Rory: “When I grow up, I’m going to be a parent.”

Will: “To be a parent, you have to get married. To a girl.”

(…)

Rory: “Ok, well maybe I’ll just be a superhero, then.”

Racing, Running, Whistler

Whistler Half Marathon. Do it.

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013 Christine Cogger

This run is without a doubt one of the most fun races I’ve ever done. It’s a challenging but fun course; it’s scenic; the “fans” are numerous and entertaining and the swag bag is great! And let’s face it, how often have you seen people look this happy after a half-marathon?

Get your butts in gear and sign up! It’s selling out fast and you won’t want to miss it. Plus, my regular running partners are going to be otherwise occupied in June, so mama needs some people to match with.

(Excuse the very crappy iPhone reproductions of great photos by Robin O’Neill)

We’ll see you on the start line, right?

Random

All I want for Christmas

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012 Christine Cogger

Love, happiness and peace of mind.

Sleep.

A dose of confidence and the courage to try new things.

Speed and endurance.

Patience (x 100,000,000).

The memory of my mother to become both stronger and fade a little bit.

Fun.

New adventures.

To meet new people and forge new friendships, and strengthen the ones I’m lucky enough to have.

My sense of humour to remain intact, or better yet, improve.

Merry Christmas to all!

Family, Kids, Travel

Tales from the road

December 24, 2012December 24, 2012 Christine Cogger

Alternate blog titles:
-WTF was I thinking;
-wow, this is further than I thought;
-“hey, it’s only 36 more miles to Mexico!”

Well, we made it.

Road trip chronicles: day 1

I set the bar pretty low in terms of successful touch points for day 1: no puking, minimal crying, no getting lost and not eating every single snack I pack. Day 1 = success!

Liz sent the following recommendations:
Driver picks music: moot point as the raining was pounding down so hard at we couldn’t hear it anyway.
Don’t eat at chain restaurants: does eating at White Spot before we left Vancouver count?
Pit stops/pee breaks by majority: no. I force peeing on everyone except Will, who enjoys peeing once a day on I-5 in rush hour traffic.
Do something that bores the kids: wait till I bust out the adult audiobooks.

We made it to Eugene, crashed out.

Day 2:

More rain. Goal: California, maybe as far south as San Francisco. Reality: get stuck in a decent snowstorm near Ashland, OR and end up stranded in Yreka, CA due to the fact that California highway patrol closed the freeway. Follow ST’s rules and eat at the Purple Plum. Terrible. But! Our hotel has a 10ft square pool, so woo! Holiday!

Day 3:
Hey, wow – rain! More dangerous drivers in moderate snow but we make it almost to San Luis Obispo before the truck breaks down in a gas station parking lot… Long story boiled down: gas up, car won’t start, call a tow truck, get towed to a GMC dealership, Jay fiddles with fuses and voila! Car starts. 2h45 we won’t ever get back. We load back up and mission to Ventura.

Day 4. San Diego and thank god for that.

More to come, provided we don’t kill each other. 2 days till Noel…

Oh – to my friends who called me out for popping up on social media when I said I was. Taking a break: thank you. I’m sticking to it now. I’ll post this but I’m not checking up in anyone!

Update: dec 24th. Rain!