2008 - Page 5 of 26 - ActiveSteve

Another Wickedly Wild Weekend

I’m baaack. Yup, for all of you folks who have been waiting with bated breath for news of the latest actions of one ActiveSteve, here I go again. You’ll note that I’m using the vernacular ActiveSteve rather than current usage (in)ActiveSteve. There’s good reason for that, as will become apparent should you choose to read this post in its entirety. Not only have I decided to get a little bit of running in on the side, I’ve also taken up more active volunteering activities, such as the weekend long staged Raid Pulse adventure race up at Lac de L’Argile. I volunteered at another adventure race a couple months ago, but this one was a multi-stage event with a full day of racing on Saturday, a night stage in the middle of Saturday night, and a full day of racing on Sunday. I knew that this time, Thierry would be giving some more active roles than I had the past weekend at the 5 Peaks race, so I had to be in top form. It was a total blast, and read on to find out all about it. I’ve also treated you to a custom map from the event, as well as a collection of images on flickr. Enjoy, then follow the ‘read more’ link.

Race Reports

Run to the Hills

Hey gang! I sincerely hope that everyone’s summer is going swimmingly. Mine, despite the minor setbacks related to not being allowed to run, has been fun so far. Even though I’m frustrated with the lack of running, I can definitely take solace in the fact that I do indeed still have my health. As such, I’m still embracing activity and getting out when I can to do interesting things. Such has been the case yet again for the past couple weekends, where I once again threw my hat in the ring as a volunteer to help out at local races. I’ll put up two separate posts for you to all digest, and this first one is about the 5 Peaks Trail Run that took place near Farrellton, Quebec. If you’re interested in seeing some pictures from the event, head on over to the folder I put up on Flickr. For fun, I also decided to bike back from the event for a little extra training, and since I haven’t put up a map in a while for all you keeners, you can check that out as well. When you’re done, come on back and read my short tale about the day. Oh yeah, and as a bonus, I have a pseudo update on my knee first.

Life in General

Rediscovering my Motivation

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Since I’ve got your attention on these matters, I think I’ll also share another source of inspiration that I’ve unearthed. I was going to tack this onto the end of my last post, but decided that it was important enough to get it’s very own post. This inspiration comes from an unlikely source. Well, maybe not unlikely, but undiscovered by me until just today. It came in the form of a news article shared to me today by Larry, an old co-worker of Jody’s from her CREA days. This article was about a fellow by the name of Randy Pausch, who just died today from pancreatic cancer. He was a university prof with a very distinguished pedigree in the world of virtual reality. So just what is the source of inspiration from him? Well that would be his 1hr and 16min lecture that he delivered in September 2007, which was his ‘Last Lecture’. Basically, profs at Carnegie Mellon are given the chance to reflect on their lives and give a lecture based on what they would say if it would be the last lecture they would ever be giving before dying. Well, in an odd twist, Randy was actually doing just that. He had already been handed his death sentence resulting from the cancer diagnosis, and had to come to grips with it.

Race Reports

Planning for the Future

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Hello friends and well-wishers. You may be wondering what is happening with ActiveSteve, especially given that my last post was all about buying a video game system. Well, I’m here to assure you all that my athletic aspirations have not gone too far away. Granted, I’m not running these days, but I’m still cycling, and trying to get out paddling and swimming a bit. As well, I’ve taken up going to the gym again, so at least 3 times a week I’m doing weights and flexibility training. My theory for this is to stay sharp and toned, and keep all my little stabilizer muscles in good shape, so that once I ask my body to start performing again, it’ll be ready to support me in that. As such, this post will fill you in on a tentative future plan that’s been percolating. Now, I don’t want to jinx things by spilling the beans too early, but this race requires commitment about a year in advance, both monetary and physically. I’ve already started training for it, and saving up for it. Next step will be booking flights. Curious yet? Well, read on and find out what I’m talking about. And the accompanying picture here? Well, that’s just a screenshot from my training software showing a little mountain bike ride that I went on last weekend. You may note my high heart rate for most of the ride. It was a good push, and I felt great at the end.

Life in General

(In)ActiveSteve Invests in Next-Gen Gaming

Well, since many of you may also follow Kev’s blog, you’d already be aware that he made the jump and actually stood in line to buy a new iPhone. Of course, he’s already written up a post about that, and you can read it in all its glory, should you be inclined. I myself chose not to make that leap. I’ll be holding off on either buying an iPhone or a BlackBerry until my employer opts to make it part of my everyday life. This may surprise some of you, and it was indeed a conscious decision and thought, but I just can’t justify spending $1000+ a year on that kind of service. Why? Well, I’ve got lots of computers already. I have a couple iPods already. I have a cell phone, a work phone, and a home phone. I have several GPS devices (car, wrist, computer, handheld). Do I need to bring them all together just so that I can use them on a whim while walking or in the bus or car? Nope. I decided I don’t. As exciting as the new tech may be, I think I still ascribe to the belief that dedicated units are better. Surely Kev will disagree, and I respect that, but I decided it isn’t for me. However, that didn’t stop me from jumping on a bandwagon just the same, and forking over the same amount of money. What did I get? Well, the XBOX 360 of course! When the price for the 20Gb model dropped to $299, I couldn’t resist any longer. Read on for a little story about that if you’d care to.