University Track Nationals

March 20th, 08

Sorry for the suspense, because university nationals took me away from school for 5 days I've had a busy two weeks of catching up, writing midterms and working. Theoretically I could have studied in Montreal but I like to separate work and play :)

OK, so Thursday was the first day of the meet and there wasn't much on besides Pentathlon. After practicing exclusively for polevault and shot put for the past couple weeks I went in just hoping to maintain my ranking. I managed a personal best in hurdles and a good long jump of 6.40 before heading to shot put. Unfortunately, all the practicing of tossing the ball far didn't stop me from faulting my first 2 throws. Because I only had one throw left, I had to play if safe (so I didn't get 0 points for that event) and finished with a poor mark. After those 3 and an alright high jump of 1.83 I went into the 1000m in last place! I guess people are good at that meet. By this point Rosilyn, Nicholas and Lewis were all in the stands near the finished line as I began the dreaded 1k race. 3 of 5 laps in I was sitting in 10th place and maintained my pace as I passed a couple athletes, with 1 lap to go I was up to 7th and I started to kick(give whatever I had left). It wasn't till the final turn but I made it around a pack of 3 and held them off for 4th spot. The points were enough to give me 11th overall which was all I had hoped for. Polevault was one of the last events on Saturday and I was ranked 8th with a 4.57metre jump. Rosilyn, Lewis, Nicholas and Karine all made it out for the weekend spectacle. Unfortunately I was hurting and the warm up felt terrible, my coach kept me positive and although I wasn't about to give up mentally, I wasn't as optimistic as I should have been. The first height was much higher than usual, 4.30 and everyone cleared it. 4.45 was the next height which I have only ever jumped 3 times. I missed my first attempt so my coach gave me another pole with more pop that got me over the second time. (I used only 15 foot poles that day, he didn't want to risk the 16 again :) Now by this point I'm starting to feel the pressure because I haven't yet solidified 8th spot and the next height is higher than anything I've jumped before. 4.60 was the height and using yet another pole for my first attempt.....I made it! That tied Guelph's school record and was good for 6th place in the meet!

As for points, the top 8 placings win a designated amount of points for their school. Guelph, somehow, ended up with 1st place in men's by 3 points AND in womens by 6 points. Almost everyone on the team achieved their ranking or higher, so we got to jog around the track holding the 2 banners and 2 trophies while high-fiving, hugging, chanting and laughing. Guelph has never placed higher than 3rd at nationals so all the coaches, athletes and friends who made the trek to the great white north were pretty excited.

Montreal's record amounts of snow this winter allowed us the experience of digging/pushing out our bus from the snow the next morning on our way back. Overall, it was a wonderful experience that I'm very grateful for and I'm pretty happy that the family made it out too.

The quality isn't optimal but here are 3 short clips from the showdown.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=NqL6ardnSaQ

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=UKxDeCZSmlE

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=H0vFw3MoTuA

University Track Provincials

March 7th, 2008



So polevault is a wonderful sport that I began part way through my first year at university, and it keeps me busy outside school and work. Last year in Calgary I didn't do much of it and I was out for the first part of this season but I came back in time for the last 4 meets before provincials. My best before this year was 4m 36, things started to get exciting a week ago in Toronto though. I cleared 4.12 and 4.27 then missed my first 2 attempts at 4.42. We then borrowed some light carbon pole from U of Toronto for my third attempt and it got me over. For the first attempt at 4.57, my coach gave me the 16 foot pole.( I normally use a 15 footer) A big pole though is like an animal that can sense your fear; you have to run down the runway and plant with confidence or it won't let you into the pit(the mats). So I knew this and did my best but I obviously wasn't very convincing cause I went up and came down right next to the box on the thin part of the mats. So after getting up, shaking it off and trying to convince my coach that I'd be better the second time my coach put me back on the 15 footer, haha. On my third attempt I hit it with my leg but the bar stayed on with the help of my chest on the way down. That jump ranked me 8th in Canada and top 12 go to nationals so I'll be lucky enough to attend my first nationals in Montreal a week from now. Provincials were in Windsor this past weekend and as well as polevault I was entered in pentathlon because there were only 8 people and top 8 win points for their school. I had only been practicing for polevault this year but I had competed in 2 pents in the past 3 years. Somehow I got a personal best in all five events (60m hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 1000m) and a point score that ranked me 11th in the country so I'll give that a shot in Montreal too. I only hope I can repeat that sort of performance back in the motherland.

Tower of goodness

April 5th, 2007

Throughout the year I had thrown my used cereal boxes in my closet since Calgary doesn’t have door to door recycling so that I could go recycle them all on the same day. On the 5th though I took them out and Anselm helped me build the two story Jumbo tower(we only used 45 of the 60 boxes). We then removed the top section before leaving for work. When I returned home I found a sign on our door warning me to enter slowly. Turns out Paul had put the sign up to protect the tower that he had restored to its full height. On the 7th we decided to kick out the bottom of the tower and watch it tumble. I'm glad that I'm not too old to build things and knock them down. Although I'm not nearly as awesome as 8 year old Richard was, it's important to me that the most recent, maturer version can still enjoy himself.

The Couch

August 2007

This is a song about the Couch, a log beside Sunwapta Falls staff's beloved campfire place. I finished it soon after working there for 3 months and it describes one of my favourite things to do.

We shuffle down this unlit road; the hum of human voices begins to grow
Away from electronics we know, turn down a path to a secret place we go
I take a seat as the water moves behind me its song fills up my ears
The fire is all I see and I think that, I could sit here for years
This place is holy this place is ours, hidden in the mountains beneath the stars
It’s a great escape but it feels like home to me, with you, with every single one of you

I can’t believe it’s been this long, it feels like less it feels like more
Guess one could say we’re all still new, but not after what we’ve been through
We’ve had some close calls this summer, but were lucky enough to get away
We’ve met some interesting people too and had some awesome ones that couldn’t stay
But it’s been all worth it hasn’t it, even with our lousy jobs
Yeah it’s been all worth it hasn’t it, it’s all been worth it for this

We hear some chords and they’re coming from the woods, they’re quiet but company’s on the way,
Someone on the side puts the drum between their knees and smiles as they begin to play
And the conversations continue on and there are two who start to sing a song
Now the guitars here and the drum is beating, the rest have joined in singing in a song we all know,
And they belt it out, every word they remember, they sing it to the sky and they sing it for each other,
Cause we’ve got no fear, no we’re all friends here, just sitting and enjoying a couple things we hold dear,
This log is our couch, that carton is our chair, that bucket is a bass beating music in the air,
This fire is a beacon leading others to the couch, so we can talk the night away while water drowns us out,
Cause there’s nothing else to do, we’re thirty miles from town, but that’s alright with me cause I don’t want this place found,
Cause everything seems to be going our way here tonight, everything about this place is right

(Chorus)

Now we’ve settled down and there’s lots of empty cups, some see the moon, check their watch and think of heading up,
but the musicians will play one final silly song, just to get some smiles before it's bed, before the break of dawn,
And they play away while the others try to listen, and sing along to the chorus if a chorus isn’t missing,
Now the mood is good, and we’re all set to go, and for one last week we extinguish the embers red hot glow

(Chorus)

This place is holy this place is ours hidden in the mountains beneath the stars
It’s a great escape but it feels like home to me, with you, with every single one of you.

Climb for wilderness up the Calgary tower

April 21^st, 2007

Since I decided to do this thing on Tuesday night, I had only Wednesday and Thursday to train (Friday I took off) and on Saturday morning as I got out of bed my legs were still sore from the training. I had to walk down the stairs sideways so that my legs hurt less but I did my best to keep my thought positive. I missed the bus after breakfast so I drove downtown and discovered that parking isn't free on Saturdays, so I looked around for a while and found a spot not too far from the tower. I hurried down into the base of the tower and heard the gun go off(8:30 am). So I checked my bag in, took a deep breath and took off. In my nightmares leading up to this day I had pictured a large spiral concrete staircase but it turned out to be two maroon-coloured steel staircases that rose side by side, each only two people wide. Each flight was 15 stairs and at the end of each flight there was often a painted mural as well as the floor level and the number of steps conquered at that point. After a few runs I got to know the ones I liked and I looked forward to them on the way up. After the first 390 stairs there was a fox on a hill and at the bottom it said "Alberta Fox: created by God, painted by Jake, Suzanne ...". And after 615 steps there was Calvin and Hobbes walking on a log and keeping their hands up for balance, sometimes I'd give them a high-five because I knew they wouldn't fall off the log and I needed the support, haha.

My legs hadn't been feeling too good at the beginning of the day but I sang some hymns in my head on my way up and kept my mind on other things. And after the first hour and a half I had finished 6 runs so I was making good time. Unfortunately a surge of people, mostly those just coming to climb it once, came in around 10:00 and clogged up the staircases a bit and made the wait for the elevator quite long.

Susan, the accountant at the hotel I work at had come out that day to support me/ make sure I actually showed up since she had made a contribution. She brought Baxter along who is a small dog stuffed animal who she jokes is the perfect kid because he's low maintenance, she doesn't have to buy him anything and he always gets along with her. So because he hadn't done it before I brought him with me on trips 2 and 13. Susan decided to climb it once and I met her at the top where I got a picture but was too tired to realize that I didn't have one without Baxter. After the tenth run I didn't think I would get more than one other climb in but I managed to keep my slowed pace for another 4. After the 14th run I met another large group of people waiting for one of the two elevators at the top, each of which holds only 15 people. So, knowing that it would take longer if I had waited my turn, I raced back down the 802 stairs. With 30 minutes left in the 5 hour affair and unenthused about the number 14 I decided to make my up one more time, slowly but surely, to make it 15. So in all I made it up 12,030 stairs, which isn't what I was hoping for but much more than I expected after climbing it once or twice :) There were two people who missed the record of 30 by one but could have made it had people let them on to the elevator quicker. Oh and my legs were fine! they felt better when I got home from the race than they had before it started. And the next day they weren't sore either, I guess someone heard my hymns. So, I've talked too much once again but the view was amazing, the challenge was exciting and it was a great experience.

Skeleton trial at Canada Olympic Park

February 25^th 2007:

On this day I had the once in a life time opportunity to try skeleton, which is like luge only you go head first down the 1.5 km ice track. Skeleton Canada is looking to recruit athletes and through the track coach at the University of Calgary I heard about this free session to get athletes interested. Normally in skeleton you can reach speeds up to 130 km/h but that’s going from the top, and you need a special drivers license to legally go from there. So we started at turn 5 of 14. First we walked to the top and listened to the president of skeleton Canada talk about the sport and some interesting parts of the ice track. Apparently, if you’re going to flip over, it’ll be at turn 8, in which case we were told to flip back onto the sled. So the 20 of us strapped on helmets and elbow pads and waited for our turn. When I was called up I picked up the steel sled that we were supposed to “just flip back onto” and the thing weighed at least 50 lbs. I think I’d have a better chance setting a record then of getting this sled off of me while I’m hitting turns at 90 km/h. So I promised myself that I wouldn’t flip, got on the sled and was a kilometer farther down after 44 seconds of fairly smooth sailing. Definitely the experience of a lifetime, and for the rate I was paying, you can imagine how happy I was. 4 other new skeleton lovers and I jumped into the back of a truck and we were driven back to the top, with a beautiful view of north west Calgary, for our second attempt down the chute. I had finished the first round with the second fastest time and was feeling pretty confident about my ability to tame the beast until I was given a push for the second time and my helmet slipped down over my eyes. With my arms at my sides and with no idea how close I was to a wall I kept my arms where they were and went down blind. Not having done this sport let alone this course more than once before, I was relying solely on “the force”. I hurtled in and out of turns, came out of turn 8 alive and was clocked at 88km/h as I hit the walls of the straightaway a couple times each before straightening out just in time for the 270 degree, turn 9. In this turn athletes can feel up to 4.5 G’s. So in an instant your neck, head and helmet which overhang the sled feel 4 times heavier. Managing to just keep my helmet off the ice I continued down the chute, half wishing that the next turn would be my last but also loving every second of it. As I finally came to a stop and picked up the sled (with the help of a volunteer) I discovered that my embarrassing run had set the best time yet. Confused, but not about to argue, I excitedly ran up to the straightaway between turns 8 and 9 to watch the remaining runs. It was amazing to see how fast people flew by and how hard some hit the walls. Occasionally you would even see sparks flying from the sled when a runner hit a piece of the track where the ice had worn down. I also heard a strange noise when some people went into the turn 9. Turns out it was the sound of their helmets scraping against the ice because they couldn’t, or chose not to, keep their head above the ice. At the end of the afternoon we returned to the ice house (the only indoor bobsleigh training facility in the world) where the coordinator shared some final thoughts. I met someone there who had shifted over accidentally on his way down his second run, his sled and shoulder went in to a wall and the friction was enough too put a hole through his winter jacket, his long sleeve shirt and left a mark on his arm. Which gives me even more of a reason to wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt wherever I go; if I ever end up going down an ice chute and get a hole in my clothes, I can always afford to replace them.