Crossfit Level 1, 50km Frosty Trail Run, PDP (teacher school)

BUSY BUSY BUSY.... FUN FUN FUN!

I don't have much time to write.
Thank you Crossfit Vancouver, my level 1 training was fabulous!
This past weekend ran my first 50km trail run race in a long while. It was tough, my legs hurt, I ran it with Andrew, I had fun, it was beautiful, I am tired, I miss it.....
PDP (professional development program or Teacher program) I began a week ago.... I love it.

I am happy, yet tired, busy but I love it and generally feel great! I am running, biking, kayaking, swimming, crossfitting, and hopefully adding more yoga and circus training....

thank you to all who support. Besos.

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Seven Summits: Rossland BC

So I've wanted to go ride the Seven Summits trail for some time now... thanks to Andrew and his stellar driving, sense of adventure and general awesomeness it happened this past weekend. We decided to do it Andrew and Lina style.... not the easy way, nor the traditional long weekend way....

We managed to sneak out Friday afternoon to make the 8 hour drive in mostly daylight. We arrived at the Nancy Greene Provincial Campsite (right off the highway) at about 9pm. Enough time to set up tent, drink some tea and rest our eyes and heads.



Saturday proved to be a killer day. The clouds were high and were constantly shifting to give us some sunlight when we needed it but otherwise the weather kept things a pleasant temperature as we hiked and biked through alpine, forest, dirt and rocks. We moved camp to Rossland at the Lions campground in the morning and set out adventure racing style from there (no shuttle). We obviously made it a little adventurous by heading up a different way than most. We pushed, biked, walked etc up a steep, technical trail that involved more hike a bike than actual biking but hey, it's all part of the experience. We eventually found the trail that we wanted. SEVEN SUMMITS. I loved it and my biking proved it. I gave it on the trail. I hit technical maneuvres that put a smile on Andrew's face. I think I was glowing that entire 24hrs during and after the ride. Not only was I glowing from the stellar riding and trails and views but someone got down on his knee with a special something in his hand and asked me something special... pretty spectacular event on Record Ridge. Whoa. The last downhill after the seven summits trail was loads of fun and totally worth the longer ride up the road to camp. Steep, long, fast and I rode it all... I am stoked for myself (just so you know).



Sunday morning we slept and woke amongst lots and lots of rain. The raindrops fell hard so we decided to start making our way back to Vancouver after some yummy egg benedicts at the Sunshine Cafe. We had some fun on the way home though. We spotted some sun rays popping out of the clouds as we drove past Christina Lake, naturally we stopped for some quick laps in the lake and a mini aquafit session. The rain came and went for the rest of the ride until we decided to check out some trails in Manning Park. We changed into our run gear and went for a fab run around lightning, flash and strike lakes. Had a picnic by the lake and felt refreshed for the rest of the drive home.

Well, it's my last week of "freedom" before I head to SFU to learn how to inspire the young while teaching them about biology and getting them psyched on fitness and PE. They won't know what hit them..haha....

This weekend it is crossfit level 1 training certification at the Vancouver Crossfit gym and next weekend its Frosty 50km trail run in Manning Park. Busy as ever...


live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Great Explorations: Guiding Best of BC Trip

Andrew and I teamed up and had the opportunity to guide 6 UK visitors and show them some of the best of the best of what we have here on the coast. We cycled and hiked the chief in Squamish, we hiked and camped in Garibaldi Provincial park, we mountain biked, ziplined, gondola viewed and wine and dined in Whistler. We finished the trip off with an exhilarating rafting experience down the Elaho River. Great Explorations set up a fantastic week of adventure and fine food for the lot.

The group showed high spirits, a willing to try new things and a lovely sense of humour. It made the heavy loads, the long days and short nights easy and fun. I had such a fabulous time showing them our beauty and seeing their physical progress throughout the week. Way to go team UK.













Live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Family Fun in Ontario

I hadn't seen my family for over a year... too long.

It was such a pleasure to get picked up at the airport by both of my sisters and my nephew. We headed straight for my most favorite place in the world..."the kaimas" yup you got it, it is by far the place I absolutely love the most. I love "the kaimas" (our cottage). When I was at Queen's working on my undergrad my family and I discovered the most brilliant little Vietnamese restaurant -Mekong. It's cheap, its healthy and its damn good. We stopped in Kingston and at Mekong for dinner. Number 28A never fails me.

The kaimas, is truly a wonderland. A very very old farm house with many barns and 10 acres of goodness situated on Crow Lake. We swam across the lake, we played ping pong, we had campfires, we fished, we rowed, canoed, we slacklined, ran, biked...hmmm.... the list goes on really. We had perfect days of sunshine. Andrew fished for the first time and caught some sunfish and rock bass.... oh yeah. After swimming across the lake we got to the cliffs and did some cliff jumping... they are higher than I remember. It is amazing how our fear grows as we get older (we know what pain feels like and we don't like it).










After some amazing days at the cottage it was time to experience downtown Toronto with Rasa and Mike. Rasa showed us around her neighbourhood on a run (which by the way is a great way to see a city). We went out for drinks and then the next day had a private bike tour of the lakeshore and downtown with Rasa. I totally recommend running and or biking in any new town: People talk to you, you can stop and look around, you can get to places cars just can't and you truly can experience a locals point of view. It's fab-plain and simple.

Then it was babysitting time at Asta's place in Port Credit. What a cute little place right on Lake Ontario. We had fun with Kiefer, I particualrly enjoyed playing with his trucks and toys. I also accompanied Asta while she biked with kiefer I got to run beside them. Good little work out: as we stopped at each playground I managed to squeeze in some pull ups and leg lifts... oh yeah. (i miss Crossfit).





Asta, Dereck, Andrew and I decided an adventure was necessary so: as Lithuanian Baseball Weekend was happening in Wasaga Beach, we decided to go check it out. It was one blast of an adventure, in short: we house jumped, we sang, we slept illegally in a crooked tent on the beach, had a staple greasy breakfast and managed to watch a little baseball....

A visit to Mociute's (grandma's). Here, Andrew met the last of the Augaitis family. We enjoyed delicious food, crochet lessons and a run around Western University.



It was good healthy family fun!

Now, what do I have to look forward to?: Frosty 50km trail run and Teacher School at SFU

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Sunshine Coast Ride: Great Explorations

Last weekend Andrew and I helped run the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Ride with company Great Explorations. This is a fantastic two day point to point ride with an awesome salmon bbq on Saturday night. It is the same weekend every summer and I definitely recommend it to everyone who likes to ride bikes and meet some great people. I was in charge of first aid and yoga.



The trails on the sunshine coast have a fun variety and are welcoming to most level of riders. There is climbing and good descents. We began the ride at Halfmoon Bay and completed and camped Saturday night at Porpoise Bay in Sechelt. The second day we rode all the way to the ferry. We lucked out with the weather.... a little bit of rain, a little bit of sun and a whole lot of goodness.

I was able to lead a little yoga, partner stretching in the mornings to get the guests muscles moving. I set up my slackline and taught some folks the basics of slacklining which always feels so rewarding. The food was delicious and plentifull all weekend, we had fresh fruit, sandwhiches, potatoes, pies, chips, and more....yummy yummy....



My favorite trails are those close to Langdale off of Highway 102 and 103...fun fun fun.....



At the end of the day Andrew and I hit up the little kids park and he taught me how to ride the pump track... I need more practice....haha

this week I am getting things organized for a trip I am guiding: The Best of BC (a little riding, a little hiking, a little rafting and a whole lot of good times and beautiful views).

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Back to Running, Crossfit, and water sports

This week my leg was beginning to feel much better so I started back into running... Although not much of it really. I'm at 45 minutes of flat running. It's mentally tough to feel like you have taken major set backs due to an injury. I just have to believe in my fitness level and realize this is the right way to get back into running: baby steps and patience.

My squats can not go past 90 yet so crossfit workouts have been mostly focusing on upperbody and I can feel the difference. On my regular Tuesday night kayak racing in Deep Cove I paddled the double surf ski with Johnny and felt great for the entire 10km course. Normally my arms and back and wrists would be killing me... Yay for getting stronger!

This weekend I will be off to the Sunshine Coast riding and first aiding with Great Explorations. It is a two day ride along the amazing single track of the Coast with a yummy bbq salmon dinner.

life is good!

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina

Long Weekend on the Islands: Hornby Island

Along with the rest of Vancouver folk, we decided to hit up the Gulf Islands for the weekend. Hornby is a fabulous island full of adventure: in addition to the goodness and richness of most gulf islands it has some sweet mountain bike trails.

7 of us headed to Denman/Hornby for the weekend. Biking, swimming, drinking coffee, and tubing were on the agenda. I am still trying to heal so needed to still take it easy on the bike. The uphills are the biggest problem for the leg so there was some walking up/some pushing help and slow granny gear climbing (it was definitely difficult to not just giver...arg). In the end, lucky for my leg, we didn't end up biking as much as I probably would have liked had I been injury free but still had a good taste of what the Hornby trails are like.



Can't mention enough how much I love ridin' my Giant Trance XO. Steed Cycles in North Vancouver sells lots of sweet Giant bikes so go check them out. The trails on Hornby are smooth and fast. I really enjoy this style of riding. We did find some built up stuff and Andrew showed us how it was done with style...



intermixed with our ridin we stopped and had some delicious iced coffee at Vorizo's in Tribune bay, as well as a refreshing swim in the ocean (along with all the crowds but still amazing). Following our rides we hit up a secret lake on Denman and enjoyed some fresh water fun, dock and all....


Sunday night we headed to Comox and enjoyed a lovely potluck dinner down by the beach. Some poach camping was a great last night to a terrific long weekend.



We finished off the weekend tubing down the Pungeont river in Courtney. Marc did an awesome job of collecting tubes for us all. And so we all floated down the river enjoying the refreshing river and just relaxing.... a fab change to the usual biking....

The leg is feeling better already. I can't wait to be full swing back into biking and running.... woot woot! Trails here I come (soon!)...

live, love, laugh,...DREAM!
lina