Well, this past weekend marked the official opening of Ottawa’s annual winter celebration, Winterlude. You know, ice sculptures, snow carving, skating on the canal, outdoor music events, etc. etc. But did you know that each year there is also an associated sporting event in the triathlon community? Yup, each year there is usually a Winterlude Triathlon, consisting of a skate, ski, then run. This event is put on by Zone 3 Sports, and is as much a part of Winterlude as the sculptures. Last year, I raced in it, although it was turned into a duathlon, with only running and skiing, due to ice conditions. And this year? Well, sadly, mother nature’s lack of direction on the weather front meant that this event was only an 8km run along the canal :-(. As such, I didn’t sign up this year. However, that didn’t mean I couldn’t take part in a new event, the Winter-Lewd Triathlon! Yup, this one was thought up by a few crazy racing friends of mine, and this little post will fill you in on the details of this little event. If you’d like, you can head over to flickr and check out the pictures from the day.
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Hey there sports fans. As a few of you have been peripherally aware, I recently volunteered my body for science! I’ve kept some people in the dark as to what that meant, in hopes of compiling some fun pictures and writing up a blog post. Well, the time has come to tell you my little story. Hope you enjoy it. You can also feel free to browse through my little folder of pictures that I convinced people to take for me during the whole process. Head over to flickr for that folder.
How did I end up as part of a study you ask? Well, one of the websites that I read quite regularly (actually, it’s a daily email as well) is TriRudy, which is a website for local triathletes. Essentially, people post all sorts of things there, like discussions on sports, announcements regarding races, race reports, items for sale, etc. Another thing that pops up now and again is Master’s and PhD students from Ottawa U that are looking for test subjects for their theses. That is how I was lured into it. The ad promised a free VO2 max test and DEXA scan as compensation for taking part in the study. These are things I’ve been keen to have done, but never felt like forking over the several hundred dollars to do so. They were looking for males, aged 18-35, and I fit the bill. So call it a bit of selfishness if you will, but I heeded the call. Now on with the story.
Well, break out the resolutions, it’s out with 2006, and into 2007, the year of James Bond (007). To properly bid adieu to another great year, and welcome a new one into our lives, Jody and I had a bunch of our good friends over for a little New Year’s eve party. From what I can recall, a good time was had by all 🙂 We started out by having a cheese fondue and raclette with Alix, Meghan, Dave and Matt, then moved on to the main event, with people popping in and out, although most people stuck around for the duration. After all, at the stroke of midnight, what better place is there to be then at the Nanaimo Bar?? (Don’t answer that) I’d like to say a big thanks to everyone for coming out and making it a great celebration. My laziness the next day tells me things went pretty well. I only mustered up the energy to finish cleaning up the mess, which was quite minimal, and going out for a nice family walk too. Apart from that, it was video games all afternoon! Yay!
Seasons Greetings bloggerinos! As aluded to in my previous post, I will now write out a slightly longer account of my past few days off. All said, it was a great few days, although I missed my better half over my time off, and didn’t play nearly enough video games (none) or watch nearly enough movies (2, both yesterday!). However, I got a fair bit of house chores done, messed around with a few computers, exercised a good little bit, and even worked! Even though I was home alone for the actual holidays, I managed to snag two great Christmas meals. On Christmas eve, my sister invited me to her place to celebrate with her, Patrick and Helena. It was my niece’s first Christmas, so how could I turn that down? Then on Christmas day, I was invited to join the crazy Clyman’s clan for Turkey dinner. Since I had missed Oktoberfest (and the associated Turkey ) this year in K-W, I jumped at the chance to feast on a plump bird and the trimmings fixed up by Roger and Sharon! Thanks to all my ‘hosts’ over the holidays, making sure I can’t lose any weight 😉
Hey gang, well, as the title implies, for me at least, Christmas has more or less came and went. Jody and I decided to celebrate Christmas before she left for BC to spend time with her family. Yup, that’s right, Jonah and I will be bachelors over the Christmas break. Well, by break, I mean a couple days. I decided not to take any holidays this year, and am instead saving my pennies and time for when I might really need them. Hopefully it doesn’t mean I won’t be relaxing, but I’ll still be going in to the office to keep up with what’s gong on, and clean up my office for the new year. The last month or so has been pretty hectic for me it seems. Now, I strive on being busy, but I see I haven’t really posted much lately to keep everyone up to speed. So, I’ll try and rectify that a bit right now.