Here is a pic of me and my Muppet mitts.  I call them that because they are fluffy and soft like I imagine a Muppet to be.

Happy running!

d.

It is past Halloween by now, but I thought it would be fun to show you the pumpkin that won our department at work lunch.  And those are pumpkin fries, if you were wondering.

Have a great couple weeks!

d.

The fall in Vancouver has been pretty great so far.  Thanksgiving was a fantastic day of fun with church, a farmers market and dinner with friends and the Monday I had off after was a nice day to relax.  My weeks have been busy, but with the rain starting up I have been spending more time in coffee shops hanging out with friends.  I even joined the YMCA.  I knew it was coming and was hoping to hold off until November, but after a 3.5hr run in the rain on Saturday I knew it was the right thing to do.  The evenings are getting shorter for making time to run after work and, well…I love the treadmill.  I do my best speed work then and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Below are some pics from Thanksgiving, including before and after pictures of preparing the turkey, my first ever.  And boy was it good.

We filled it with butter, rosemary and onion under the skin and filled the inside with a large white onion.

The finished product.

Hanging out at the Farmer’s Market with my new best bud Gord.  Kind of makes you feel like a nice bowl of squash soap.

Later!

d.

Things I reference in this podcast:

Twitter Trends (trendsmap.com)

Square Peg Running (squarepegrunning.podbean.com)

Check it out!

This was a view from Manning Park in Southeast BC.  I love French Kisses.

My cut from the brambles at Pacific Spirit Park.

Welcome to Wreck Beach…clothing is optional.

Heading down the path to the beach.  Of course when I realized there was no path around the beach, this became the stairs that I climbed back up.

The beach.

An outdoor urinal.  How quaint.

If my state of mind while running could be caught in a piece of art, I think this would be it.  Well, at least sometimes.

Have a great week Podpeeps and happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

d.

Sorry for the long hiatus.  It has been a frustrating internet/podcast week.  I lost my recording and then spent three days trying to upload the podcast without any luck.  But here we are coming together again, listeners and a blabber.

On this podcast I talk about my training as usual and the Run for One Planet campaign that you must check out.  Matt and Steph ran around North America sharing their passion for the planet.  I also talk about all the adventures I had when my friend Sandra visited.  Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure…

A little down dog in front of the Vancouver Aquarium.  This statue was made by the famous Canadian sculpture Bill Reid.

New friends:  Cuddles and Bumpiekins (okay I made those up).

Just hope this thing never manages to attach itself to your face.  (That thought just gave me shivers…uggggg.)

Swimming with the fishies.  I even look like I’m holding my breath.

My friend’s camera took amazing pictures.  The colours are so vibrant.

Wow if that one doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will.  Out on the seawall in Stanley Park.

At The Cheesecake Factory…Talk about a little Shock and Awe! (Oh and this is Chris, kinda cute isn’t he?)

Screw the nutritional guide!  You only go to the Cheesecake Factory once…in a while.

Have a wonderful couple weeks, Tweet Peeps!  And send me your race reports!  I want to know how you are doing and be able to support you.

d.

I have a really busy upcoming two weeks and I thought I would get the podcast out early as to not miss it completely.  Lucky you!  I have a visitor coming to stay with me, another trip to Seattle and the start of the job search coming up which I will talk about, along with marathon training, in this podcast.

Enjoy!

Did anyone lose their Mojo?  Cause I found him.  Mojo, the friendly neighbourhood cat, came by to check out my apartment the other day.  Looks like my old cat Jack, only about ten pounds lighter.

With so much talk about barefoot running these days I thought this guy was looking like he wanted to try it too.  (we were standing in line for yoga).  I think these would actually be very painful to run in and can you imagine the toe sweat?  Yuck!

Thanks for all the well wishes after the fire.  I’m recovering well for the most part, but still sad over my losses as I keep remembering things.

On this podcast I discuss some changes in my work, marathon watching and my training.  I also have a new K7 number for calls.  CALL ME!  I would love to hear race reports, how you are doing and book reviews or suggestions (I’m starting a book club in a couple weeks).

This is from my second hike up Hollyburn Mountain this year.  You can see earlier pictures in one of my other podcasts…don’t ask me which one, I don’t remember.   What a view eh?  My friend Heather and I spent 1.5hrs going up and couldn’t see 50 feet ahead of us.  Oh well, it did make for a magical, mystical hike.

Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen done with foam?  Thought it was so cool I had to post it. Have a great couple weeks and run a few K for me!

d.

So this is a call out to all my podcast listeners for your help.  If you are going to, or live in, any of these cities could you pick up a clay magnet for me?  They need to have the name of the city (or country) on them.  If you do pick one up let me know and I will send you my address.  I would love to rebuild my collection.  It would mean a lot to me to be able to replace these as a lot of the items that I lost were irreplaceable (pictures, race medals/bibs etc).

Thanks in advance for your help.  You guys are wonderful!

Clay magnets I lost:

Washington, DC, United States/ Jamaica/ London, England/ Edinburough, Scotland/ York, England/ Oxford, England/ Ypres, Belgium/ Amsterdam, The Netherlands/ Berlin, Germany/ Munich, Germany/ Heidelburg, Germany/ Salzburg, Austria/ Vienna, Austria/ Prague, Czech Republic /Venice, Italy/ Florence, Italy/ Vatican City/ Rome, Italy/ Nice, France/ Paris, France /Lucerne, Switzerland/ San Salvador, El Salvador

These are samples of a couple magnets that I do have, so you get an idea of what I’m looking for.

These are a few pictures of the fire.

My parent’s house is behind all that smoke.

The next day.  You can see my parent’s house behind the rubble.

This is the view from my parents porch.  It was that close.

As promised on the podcast here are some of my favourite songs to run to divided into Rock and All the Rest.  I hope you enjoy!

Dana’s Music Mix

1.    Paoulo Nutini – New Shoes 2.    Athlete – Hurricane 3.    Ryan Adams – Gonna Make You Love Me 4.    Franz Ferdinand – No You Girls 5.    Coldplay – Rainy Day 6.    Stars and Crosses – Got Me 7.    The Black Ghosts – Full Moon 8.    Gwen Stefani – What You Waiting For? (Classic) 9.    Muse – Starlight 10.    Doves – Sky Starts Falling 11.    Veronicas – Untouched 12.    Snow Patrol – Take Back the City 13.    Mark Ronson – Oh My God 14.    Robbie Williams – Lovelight 15.    Gnarls Barkley – Run (I’m a Natural Disaster) 16.    I’m From Barcelona – We’re From Barcelona 17.    Jack Johnson – Staple It Together 18.    Kate Nash – Pumpkin Soup 19.    Keane Spirling 20.    Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire 21.    McFly – Sorry’s Not Good Enough 22.    Rage Against the Machine – Renegades of Funk 23.    Robbie Seay Band – Song of Hope 24.    The Ting Tings – Shut Up and Let Me Go 25.    Shiny Toy Guns – Rainy Monday

All the Rest (Hip Hop/Dance/Eletronica)

1.    Jamiroquai – Space Cowboy or Runaway 2.    The Source – You Got the Love 3.    Ironic – Tiny Dancer 4.    Scissor Sisters – Paul McCartney 5.    Basement Jaxx – Do Your Thang 6.    The Chemical Brothers – Keep My Composure 7.    Kanye West – Paranoid 8.    Justice – D.A.N.C.E 9.    John Legend w Andre 3000 – Greenlight

*Sorry for the rush at the end of the podcast.  Not having internet at home right now does not lend itself to quality time editing and posting.

Check it out.  The podcast is up on a Monday.  Can you believe it?  Pat on the back for Dana, one day earlier than normal.  I was all set to have it up on Sunday, but couldn’t upload for some reason and I lost my recording so had to record again.  Bah!

The last couple weeks have been busy but fun.  Meeting lots of people and doing new things like playing tennis and eating sushi…which I never thought I would enjoy, but I finally found a flavour I like.  See below.

Yam tempura with avocado and Prawn tempura.  Check out the little orange pearl-like things…fish eggs…yup, I’m going to let you ‘digest’ that one. 

The Jazz festival was on the past week and a half and I got to some shows including one at the CBC which was pretty cool as the show was recorded for radio.  Below is a picture of me at the jazz concert out at the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  I could tell I was a runner because as soon as the bridge started moving so did my knee caps…not comfortable.

Have a great couple weeks my friends.

d.

I also talk about my upcoming marathon training and my search for a training program.  If you have any suggestions send them my way.

Coldplay bibs for your little slobber monsters.

The Coldplay guys moving it closer to the crowd.  They later went and performed in a section of seats at the back.  I’m very envious of the people standing behind them.

Showering the crowd with leaves during Lovers In Japan.  What a great song.

Have a great week my peeps!

I somehow managed to find time before my retreat to get a podcast out.  It isn’t long, but it is full of valuable information…life-giving almost.  Okay, probably not, but I do talk about my apartment hunt and MarathonFoto.  I have also set up a new message line, so give me a call at 1-206-600-5885.  I would love to hear from you.  Unless it is you breathing heavily into the phone.  None of that now.

And lastly, here is the photo I promise in the podcast.  I’m guessing the poor guy behind me isn’t too impressed with his picture, or had a good laugh when he saw this.  So now that I’ve shown you mine, show me your’s!

Standing in the crowd ready to go down by GM Place.  Finished 1000 out of 7000 signed up. Not too shabby.

Here are some pictures from the past two weeks, including the Sun Run and a 19K long run I did to prep for the Half on May 3rd.

The start line.  There were about 56,000 people that signed up, but I think only about 45,000 ran.  Still, quite the crowd.  Finished in 53:50.

Cool down area inside BC Place.  Also the same location the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics will take place.  I exited through the area where I suspect the athletes will parade in and it was just a strange feeling to think that in less than ten months this place will be so transformed.

Free Big Gulps on the trail?  Since when did 7Eleven become health conscious?

This is in Central Park in Burnaby.  They had all these great little workout stations along the path in the park with these helpful instructional signs.  Might go back in a couple weeks and (insert a little Arnold here) pump it up.

Ah, yes.  The arm warmers.  I know you were waiting to see what the fuss was all about.  Aren’t they beautiful?  Look even better on.  They don’t make you go any faster, but they sure make you look faster…and that’s all that really matters. 

Here are some random pictures from my adventures so far.

First week here and I already have a wrap.

Snowshoeing at Cypress Mountain.  On the XC ski trail overlooking the ocean.

At the top of the Chief, outside Squamish.  This was the thigh killing climb.

The Olympic clock counting down.

The seawall around Stanley Park.

Regardless here is my longest podcast and perhaps one of my favs.  I had a great trip, exhausting, but wonderful and I am loving Vancouver so far.  Can you believe that in 4 weeks I traveled about 40,000kms?  No wonder I’m tired.  Future podcasts will probably be about all the fun things I’m doing in this city that never stops giving and about my training for an upcoming half.  So stick around, it’s going to get good!

My first land boarder in North Dakota/Manitoba.  I have never crossed the boarder without paying because I always take bridges, so this was amazing!

The Bay in Winnipeg…one of these things doesn’t belong in a department store…

Lots of these in Saskatchewan (mills).

Me with the Calgary Tower sprouting out of my head.

The Trans Canada.  Heading into the Rockies and out of Calgary.  BC bound!

A hotel I did not stay at.    The Banff Springs Hotel in Banff.

Lake Louise?

My car partway through the mountains.  It’s like Big Bird crapped on it.

Getting close to Mount Doom and got some energy to spare.

This one is for all those who bike…don’t go to New Zealand.  Mightly dangerous!

Questions or comments can be sent to threeapplestallpodcast@gmail.com (geesh that looks really long when you type it out).  I will also be on iTunes soon, so look for me there.