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A happy note was recieved from one of our long time trotters Carol Poland. I thought I would share with all of you...and I thought my 'snowshoeing' story with Joy was romantic...
From Duane: Started out of the parking lot up Red Earth Ck on Fri, Dec 30. As experienced by others, waxing was problematic. We started with 2 kicker coats of SkiGo HF (-1 to -20C) which usually works all winter everywhere. The air temp was -4C, but the kickers iced up allowing no slide. We scraped the wax right off, which worked reasonably well. At Shadow Lk turnoff, we were looking at 30-40 cm of fresh powder (one very faint track). Since I was on a mission, I put the “kicker skins” on our skis, and started up the steep trail. Very pretty, but tough going. About 0.5 km from the Shadow Lk cabins, we veered off piste a bit, but managed to home in on the cabins at 3:30 PM. Carol was wondering about me at that point (maybe a lot sooner!). I pulled out tea, and asked her to put her down coat on to stay warm.
From Carol: While sipping B&B fortified tea, Duane reached into his pack and pulled out a diamond ring! Talk about taking my breath away. With a resounding, breathless Wow, I slid the ring on. Return ski was a blurred alpine glow. The skis glided fairly easily now, and using a headlamp reached the car by 6:00pm . Wow. He broke trail to win my hand and heart. What a GREAT ski day!
Hope link to a couple of pics works below. Happy New Years! Duane& Carol
https://picasaweb.google.com/114460863389688957164/ShadowDec302011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXRssq6oaT4twE
https://picasaweb.google.com/114460863389688957164/ShadowDec302011?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXRssq6oaT4twE
Well, for those of you that have not converted to the blogosphere, this will be my last yada-yada. Yep, time to move to a new medium. Plus it allows me to move to a non-work medium after 12 years. I can type some ideas to you all at various times of the day or night and do not have to worry about timelines. So if you haven't added your email address or subscribed (Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)), this will be the last time we chat. http://trottingthetrails.blogspot.com/
That said, I look at the few hundred emails of friends I have made over my twenty five years of training groups starting as a student athlete at SAIT to our first marathon group at the Tech Shop in 1996. I still remember the thought that a marathon should be a piece of cake and quickly realizing that there is more to training than the word FAST. I know that after today I will have many friends that will wonder 'where the hell's John?', of course in honour of Angus, but hopefully will remember the weekly notes sent over the internet since this medium became my driver in 2000.
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| Hydration is Important! |
If I look at our trotting group as a marathon, we have started out strong, all with great enthusiasm and hope for achieving a goal. We hydrated and ate (Wildwood, Blind Monk, and of course Original Joes), we ensured we had the right gear (I STILL have over 100 pair of RUNNING socks, never mind the other drawer), and of course we followed the good (and unique) advice of our fellow victim...err trainees.
We listened to guest speakers (Tara at Healthy2theCore, Ally from ChooseEnergy, Tagyn, Leslie, Juliana, Kim & Cathy from the Arthritis Society, Eugene, Dr's Dean & Breen, and who can forget Dr. Chad - I know the girls don't!) So many others that have helped us along this journey. Do you remember them?
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| Our trooper walkers and hearty volunteers |
They are those people along the route that give you the thumbs up, the encouraging smile, the 'looking good', 'almost there', and any other positive affirmation. They were the volunteers at the water station that ensured you had water, electrolytes, food, and of course lubricant on a stick (chafing victims know this well!)
We high-fived each other and learned the value of the check-back. MOST of us learned the value. We got to know some really great people along the way. I want to say the first special moment I saw was the bond of Jim and Terry in the uncoachables. I think that was the first of many marriages from spending hours sweating, cursing, smelling, and generally knowing the entire beings of the people with whom we shared this wonderful journey.
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| We always found our Willy |
We have been blessed with some lifers within our little community. Tony & Sylvia, Sharon, all the Uncoachables, Helen & Bruce, Keith & Joyce, the Emery's, Cathy, Cheryl, the Andrew's, all were there in the start and are still loosely part of our trotting family today. While not all have stayed on course, they have moved to the side and become the cheerleader, the water station, the lube on a stick friend that has helped the new generation of trotters learn from the very able veterans you all are.
The journey has been great from my perspective. I met many wonderful people from all over the world...and Saskatchewan. Okay, most people from Sask...just kidding. I still look back to the surprise that a number of you created back in ~2005 with a proudly frramed thank you card signed by all of those in attendance. And to think I thought it had something to do with Joy's work. We have all been blessed to create change in our fellow athletes as we crossed that finish line goal.
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| Is it the jeans or the small photo that best describes Joy? |
I have been lucky to find a little bit of Joy all over the world, and Joy found me here at home. Life has adjusted considerably since my single life of entertaining the groups. Now the responsibility of marriage and supporting a small mutt take priority over the Hash House Harrier lifestyle of old. Yep, those were the days but the days are new and fantastic!
So I have yammered on only due to the fact this is the last email to many of you. If you haven't converted to the blogosphere by now we will just have to enjoy our visits as we wave and high five along our pathway which is our life's journey.
All the best my friends and remember that you will not be forgotten for your impact!
John
Nosehill was tough to start, but the beautiful views were worth every step!
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