I am not a writer. I dabble in parenting, sport and making fun of myself. I'm good at coffee. I love where I live and the things I get to do.
Author: Christine Cogger
I am not a writer. I like my kids, coffee, running around and reading about you. I live in the most incredible part of the world and am lucky enough to live some pretty great adventures.
I’m in the motherland, enjoying some family time and a bit of R n R. I’m happy to have a bit of kid-free downtime to focus on getting a few things done that I’ve been neglecting but also to rest and get ready for the upcoming half marathon. I’ve accidentally caught a cold, so that’s slowing me down a bit but I’ll get over it.
My goal for the race is to either run a PR or blow myself to smithereens trying. Maybe I’ll accomplish both! That being said, I’m in the market for a reliable pace bunny… Anyone? Anyone?
I enjoy coming back to all my old running routes when I am back here. I didn’t run very much when I lived here 10 years ago but in the times that I have returned to visit I have carved out some favourites that never get old. It’s a nice change of pace from the Pemberton and whistler runs we know so well. Only a few days to go till race day.
Wool toque and giant sunglasses necessary due to the fact that it was sunny and minus a lot.
This goes on for miles. Love it.
Doesn’t it make you want to build a big booter and learn how to front flip a sled?
Trying for artsy
Yep, a skirt. I’m a fashion faux-pas. And I’m ok with that.
In my humble opinion, there are very few redeeming qualities to the month of February. Possible exceptions are the skiing and the fact that it has fewer days than other months. I tend to find myself willing the days to lengthen and surfing the inter webs for last minute travel deals to warmer climes, despite knowing I’ll likely never book one. This winter has been particularly grey in pemberton, which isn’t helping my relationship with February.
This time last year I knew I had a are in Kona to work towards and look forward to. Thinking about this the other day, I realized I have never posted the race report…which I wrote on the place ride home from that race! I then considered posting it on the anniversary of the race but that seemed silly, even for me. So without further delay… Kona 2011!
We’d been planning this race for about a year… So to finally get on the plane and head to Kona was a bit of a relief. Training had been different from what I had hoped. I am generally pretty good about following a training plan to an 85% “t”: I do exactly what I am told 85% of the time and the next 15% I either blow the training off completely or do exactly what I feel like it, which is frequently nothing. This time, however, it was more like 60/40. A combination of life, kids and some pretty atrocious spring weather conspired to make it a little harder than I had anticipated to get everything done that I had hoped. That said, I know that when I race I pretty much never want to make a fool of myself or let myself down so I knew what I had to do come race day.
Our trip over was smooth and we were completely spoiled by the ultra fantastic accommodation thanks to Sarah allowing to share her beautiful Kona home. W arrived, settled in and rested up.
It was my first time in Kona and it was pretty great to see the infamous ironman sites that I had seen so many times in magazines and on tv. Lava Java did not disappoint! The days leading up to the race were spent getting race ready, getting in a few last minutes sessions, taking in some of the scenery, getting Sarah immersed in the world of triathlon and basically turning her into a tri nerd. 2 things during the lead up stand out: my most favorite was without a doubt swimming next to some dolphins at the pier ( this despite the fact that when I first saw them I thought they were sharks, oops. Swallowed a lot of water there). Next was attending the pro meeting which Chrissy convinced us we would enjoy and “blend right in!” Uh, yeah. We didn’t exactly blend in (hi, Chris Lieto! You’re pretty cute) or learn much but it was fun…
Race day morning came, as it always does, much too early for my taste. I always have to fight the desire to roll over and say ” meh, I’ll just race later”. We did eventually all pile into our sweet minivan and make our way to the transition in the dark.
A few last minute tweaks, load up nutrition and check the bike and it was finally down to the beach for body marking and the swim start.
I dazzled with my focus at the start. So much so, in fact, that I was so intent on looking at my watch that I didn’t even notice the big wave that rolled in and literally knocked me into a sweet backwards somersault! Awesome. That certainly took the edge off.
It’s no secret that I am not exactly Summer Sanders and I did not disappoint! I came out in a nice casual time of that which shall not be mentioned in print. If you care, you can google it. I certainly didn’t care, I was just so damn happy to be done (and see my friend Danny and his son Tyler!) That swim was rough! Crowded and messy. Oh well, I managed to run up the long hill to transition and get to my bike relatively quickly.
Once onto the bike I knew it was important to stay conservative until the turnaround and I did. I didn’t particularly enjoy the ride and found it hard to kick my own ass on the way to Hawi. I saw Sarah on her way home from Hawi and decided I should probably put my head down for a while to try to catch her. I finally caught her on the hill back to the Queen K and was happy for us to ride back to the transition together.
Handed off my bike in a rather disorganized fashion and put on my shoes and grabbed some sunscreen to start the hot-very-hot run. The first 2 miles felt amazing. I can do this! I am winning this thing! And then… Miles 3-7 not so much with the winning… I was hot, kind of over it, my mind was wandering. Saw Chrissy running just back of Bree and cheered her on, it was great to see her running strong. I was also quite jealous that she was almost done. By the time I hit mile 8 I got some energy back and had quite enjoyed weaving up and over and through the golf course. 5 miles? Pshh. I got this. So easy. And then, I went to what Danny affectionately calls “hell’s kitchen”. Yeah, pretty much the most miserable stretch of pavement anywhere. A brutal 2 or 3 mile out and back that seems to never end.
Well, end it finally did and I made it back out onto the golf course and could taste the finish line. However, not before a lovely little Japanese racer passes me whilst running in his crocs. Sigh. That was humbling.
Finish chute! So long! Such a teeny finish arch! So happy to take off my damn shoes! Race done and dusted. I was happy with my time but not ecstatic. Pleasantly satisfied?
I did thoroughly enjoy the post-race-beer-and-chips-lying-on-an-ocean-side-massage table. Doesn’t get much sweeter than that…
So there you have it. That was the last real race I did in 2011! That was a bit unusual for me, but I was ok with it. After several years of racing, it was time to give my mind and body a break and focus on doing sport for fun. Which isn’t to say I didn’t miss it somewhat because I’ll be back out there this summer… As tanned as ever!
A quick note about my header photo. Local Whistler photographer and general excellent person David McColm shot that photo on the evening that Sarah died. He shared it on his FB page. Go take a look, it’s stunning…
Moving on, after this not so fantastic week, it’s time to dwell on a new topic. I have notoriously terrible taste in music and given that I spend a lot of my running and triathlon training solo, it means I listen to a lot of it (hello, Beyonce! Why, yes! I’d love to listen to you on repeat!)
I’m expanding my musical horizons and listening to lots of artists that are new to me and, well, so far so good. My ears aren’t bleeding and I haven’t listened to Rick Springfield in weeks.
So c’mon people, what’s on your iPod? Fire away your best play lists, preferably ones with songs that are fast and furious.
In other news, I discovered that my treadmill tops out at 16 km/h. I guess that’s a good discovery? I didn’t even fall off the back of it!
Training ticks along… slowly getting back into the rhythm of it. Running’s consistent, swimming still sucks and I haven’t fallen off the rollers. Yet. Half-Marathon in 20 days…
Spare time around here is taken up by keeping up with these:
And negotiating with this one:
If you are familiar with toddlers then you’ll know which activity I’m having more success with.
Yesterday we learned that a friend of ours, Dave Brolin, was killed in a helicopter crash.
I’ll always remember him as the guy who took the time to fly me, Jay and our 2 big dogs to Whistler from Pemberton during the 2003 floods. He flew the “long way” to show us the destruction the washouts had caused and he did it all for in exchange for a ski suit for his kid. You just knew that he was someone who took pride in what he did and was very, very talented.
Early on in the Games, I opened my big mouth and said I’d jump from the 10m platform. I was all bravado until Todd and I went up to take pictures… and then all of a sudden I just wasn’t so sure.
The final day of competition came and my big mouth came back to haunt me. Luckily, I had company. Rachel and I went through with it… twice!
I can confirm that I couldn’t really breathe up there and that I never have to do this again.
Life in this part of my world has returned to our version of normal. The excitement of “Mom’s home!” wore off in about 8 minutes and the sensation that I had never actually left set in about a hour after getting home.
Here’s a few random shots of what life holds for me these days. It’s pretty simple: kids (weee!) /kitchen duty (ugh) /getting back to training (ow…)/catching up on life. I will be posting a longer and more detailed update soon… There’s lots of other stuff going on that I just don’t feel like writing about.
In no particular order:
This damn Mascot traveled home with me and beat all Christmas gifts HANDS DOWN.Saturday ski date. Fueled by carbs as big as his head.I fear that this will be the view for the next 15 years of skiing with my kids. Bugger is 5!A bit of togetherness before I turn into the Trade Show Widow
In the meantime, I am pondering what my next adventure should be. I have a few ideas… but I’m open to suggestions!
It’s 6:15am, I’ve been up for about 45 minutes… It’s dark outside, snowing and I am staring at a pile of kids’ ski stuff and unwrapped Christmas presents. If it weren’t for the jet lag, it would be hard for me to believe that 4 days ago I was wrapping up our final day at the Hamad Aquatic Centre and packing up to leave the Middle East after 6 incredible weeks.
It’s hard to even process the whole experience right now. I left in such a rush, traveled for 24 hours and arrive home to full blown Christmas chaos that I haven’t really had the time to sit and appreciate what just happened! As thrilled and excited I was to get home and see my family and friends, I was equally sad to leave the friends who essentially became my family while I was away. Summer camp is over!
The final days in venue were very successful. It was a pleasure to work in a venue with people who were passionate about their jobs and had a vested interest in seeing the event succeed. It was great to hear the cheers of the Tunisian fans (deafening at times!) and watch the star of the Games, Oussama Mellouli capture 14 medals. In fact, there was one night during which we planned our entire ceremonies schedule around his race schedule! I could not have asked for a better way to finish off my experience at the Arab Games.
My final hours in Doha were spent saying goodbye to my team of medal and flower bearers and escorts, whom I will miss dearly. Doing something I never thought I’d do and will never, ever do again (more on that later). Racing back to the hotel, packing. Grabbing a final beer and saying another round of goodbyes to the Auditoire team at the wrap party. Heading to the airport for a 2am flight.
As I headed to the airport, I could feel the adrenaline leaving me and the fatigue settling in… as expected, it was a very long trip home – during which I had an incredibly difficult time staying awake, never mind trying to focus on any one thing! I had a layover in Germany and had the very odd sensation of feeling out of place in a Western environment, and missing the sound of Arabic…
Things I won’t miss? The Marriot food. Air conditioning. Traffic. Hermetically sealed rooms. The ring tone of all the Auditoire phones. Weird elevator lady. People asking me if they could have a medal. Champions. Cigarettes. The fact that after 6 weeks, I still couldn’t figure out the layout of the city.
Things I will miss? The people and friends I made. The souq. Morning runs on the Corniche. My roommate. The daily recaps and catch-ups. The experience.
Time now to settle back into daily life and enjoy my family for a while!
Team 3!
HAC in action
Medal Ceremony
The girls and the Canadian Hobo
Holiday spirit at the Marriott
I think this was a sign it was time to come home. Yes, those are my glasses. No, I did not do this.
The locals kicked off their celebrations in earnest last night by causing traffic jams and abandoning their weirdly decorated vehicles in the middle of 4 lane roads. Throw in some silly string, shaving cream and some flags and you have yourselves a party.
This was the scene outside the hotel at 2am. None of these cars were moving, engines were being revved and backfired and drivers were just generally being obnoxious. I did, however, note the lack of women present in these “celebrations”…
1:49am.
After getting a bit of much needed rest (thank you, black and white party) we got up early to check out the Qatar Day Parade. It pretty much consisted in a show of military strength and not much else. Horses, camels and tanks. What more do you want?
1:49am.
Qatar Day crowds
Patient Ponies
Note the firepower
Sail past
They dropped a flag… I wonder how many soldiers fell off
The SMO's stories 