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Normally if I have a post about packing, it would generally be about an upcoming trip (And there is one of those at the end of this week) but this time, the packing refers more to the household kind. My lease is up at my current apartment on the 22nd of June. That weekend would mean that it is time for me to either stay in the current apartment or move somewhere else. Considering at the moment I enjoy my location due to it’s closeness to Paine Field. On a good day I am maybe 10-12 minutes drive away from the field so I can catch those good Boeing departures. But lately, weekend test flights have been less and less prevalent and with all the good stuff mainly flying over the week when I am at work, well, there isn’t much of a point of being so close to the field. Sadly my current location though convenient for weekends, is not at all great for commuting to work. I need to use 2 buses to get to and from work and since I moved in, the times have just become shockingly bad. I am now constantly getting into work way to early and due to bus times, I can’t stay all that late as my buses end late and require either a 2.5km walk or a solid 25 minute wait to connect to another bus. The other thing is that the apartment complex is undergoing refurbishments, however my apartment has not yet had that done, with a rent increase again (this time almost $200!) and no date as to when the apartment would be refurbished (which probably wouldn’t happen knowing them), that is not a good thing.

So I looked about for somewhere else to live. I wanted to also bring myself closer to Heidi as well, to avoid the 45 minute drives in each direction. That would mean that I can put a bit of that extra $$ that I am spending in fuel each week (the truck isn’t exactly frugal with the fuel I put into it) towards somewhere nicer, somewhere that may cost a bit extra. Well, after looking around, it is time for everyone to know that I am moving… the date is set, the location found.

Two years ago when I moved over here to the USA I checked out some new apartments in the Renton Highlands at a complex called “Harrington Square”. Funny thing is two years later, I went back to check it out. The place had gotten better and in the end I signed a lease for a 1 Bedroom. What sealed the deal? Well there is a Bus stop at the door that goes directly to work (and actually stops just across the street), it is in a fairly decent location (surrounds wise) and it has an amazing Gym. I couldn’t turn it down.. I went for it straight away!

So on the 14th of this month (yep there is a 1 week overlap) I pack up the truck and head south to Renton to a new apartment, a new location and another step in this journey over here. I will be much closer to Heidi (timed it last night to around 10-12 minutes) and the trip to work should be easier as well (though about the same time frame as the bus goes all over the shop, but still 1 bus is better than two). The packing has begun as I started taking stuff down off the walls today. I don’t have all that much stuff, but still the packing will be a new experience. At least I have a whole heap of favors to call in for moving day. Since the truck has been utilised many times to help others, it is time to call in those favors. Should be an interesting couple of weeks.

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Well I have been slacking off as of late but in reality there isn’t that much exciting news that I want to release just yet (there will be in the next week or so once stuff get’s worked out). At the moment life just ticks on forward and I figured I should at least update something so that you know I am alive, safe & well.

Paine Field Aviation Day was last weekend and I got myself roasted (though I was kind of sad that they did not have a run this year). I have about 2000 photos to work through and I need to get them out of the way as soon as possible as well, with my impending trip to Alaska (trip report coming, since I haven’t done one all year!) that is only going to add more to the queue.

Life moves on day by day, but at the moment, nothing to see here…

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It’s all over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I type this on my laptop, sitting in the passenger seat of Heidi’s car, I feel a certain sense of accomplishment. I also feel every single piece of muscle in my body screaming at me saying “You’re fucking stupid, if you ever do this again I am going to smack you in the head”. If there was ever going to be a time that Murrphy’s Law was going to make its presence known, this has been it. Ever since that fateful time after my 13km training run, it was all down hill from there.

Friday night was a good night, however the trip north had a false start as we had to go back to my place to pick up some candy that had to go north to Canada (I sure hope those pineapple lumps are tasty Roy!). That should of been the first sign that things were not going to go “as planned”. The weather was fairly rotten up north, the border crossing was as usual, horrible. The border agent just had a bug up his ass and wanted me to say the words “Work Visa” and kept being a douche about it. But the arrival at the hotel and check in was fantastic and by the time we headed out towards the city for dinner we were happy!

Saturday started off fairly ok, I managed to take some photos of a Air Canada Rouge A319 which is what I was searching for (still didnt get my Westjet Q400 but theres still time) but when we were heading down towards breakfast on Broadway, I realised I had forgotten the pineapple lumps…. again. Back to the airport, back to the car, then back to broadway. I am stupid, I know But we had a good lunch with Roy and explored Granville Island and then headed over to the Expo to score some free stuff and pick up my race kit (I now have more power bars than I know what to do with).

Saturday night was meant to be quiet, it was meant to be relaxed. After some carbo loading we were meant to relax in the spa and just have a nice quiet night in…. yeah didnt happen. We waited almost an hour for our take out order to appear *sigh* and by that stage I was tired, hungry, cranky and ready for sleep. I was not a happy chappy. But dinner was pretty good (not really worth the wait though) and I got to have a wagon wheel (or at least the Canadian equivalnet).

Sunday morning was full on pouring down rain. Several times I contemplated sleeping in….. Several times!!! But the ever convincing girlfriend kept me on track and dropped me off to make sure that I got to the race start on time. The race went pretty well and although I didn’t run the whole thing it went better than expected. The rain came down about 90% of the time and it was hard trying to dodge people and giant puddles full of water. When my shoes got full of water, I stopped caring, I just took it as it came. Although I didn’t see Heidi till the final stretch (our timings were off) there was plenty of other people to support me while I was out running. I did like the Tinder support team (around the halfway mark). A few very pretty ladies, some really good pumping music and best of all, a little bit of a a boost to my energy.

I was one of those people that had to make a potty break during the run, which I didn’t want to do at all but it just ended up that way and although it slowed me down, it wasn’t by all that much. The last half of the race was my hardest. My calves were burning, my knees were shot but my injury wasn’t a hassle at all. However the rest of me just didn’t want to give up. I walked a little, ran for a bit, walked some more. I was trying to run for a bit when we hit the hill in Stanley Park near the Rose Garden… yep.. I walked… so kill me 😛 I did walk about a good kilometer and a half at the end of the race, but I was determined to run the last full kilometer (ended up running about the last 1.25km). I saw Heidi on the final turn, ran off the course to kiss her and kept goinng. Best inspiration ever!

I crossed the line in 2h 35m and I am thoroughly happy with that time. When I had set my goals originally I was expecting to run the full half marathon, start to finish. I was aiming for 2.5 hours for that. When I injured myself I decided to revise that to 3 hours. Even then I figured it would be closer to 3 than anything else. Although I was pacing with the 2.5 hour group for part of the way, I kept up to them but they overtook me after the potty break and I never saw them again after that.

I am proud of myself for not giving up and pushing through the injury to get this done. But I know that Heidi will probably kick me in the head if I say I want to do it again. This race has been the hardest thing I have done since I moved to the USA. It could possibly be the hardest thing I have done ever. The weight loss felt a lot easier than this, Kokoda felt considerably easier, This morning I could have given up so many times and just stopped & walked to the nearest Tim Hortons for a coffee (tempted to as well considering they are on almost ever corner in Downtown Vancouver) but I didn’t, I stuck with it. I know a few people are proud of me for keeping at it, but I know I could have done better.

I wont say I will ever run a Half Marathon again, no matter what others think, it just isn’t me. I will stick to my 5ks and 10ks for a good race event push. Till I have to stop running outright the least I can do is just keep on pushing.. right?

PS if you have some good pain killers, I could do with some right now 😉

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2 years ago, at around this time in the morning, I stepped foot off a flight in Los Angeles, struggling with 3 suitcases, an extremely heavy camera bag (if someone had of tried to weigh that thing, It would of been as much as a checked bag i swear) and a backpack, I navigated my way through US Immigration & Customs. “Why are you coming to the USA” is a standard question at immigration, my words that morning were… “I am here to work”. That I have done!

It has been 2 years since I left Australia and moved over here to the USA and it sure has been a life experience. My life then compared to now is totally different. I have done so much, accomplished so much that my previous life back in Australia feels like a distant memory. I can’t even count the exact ways my life is different, but to be honest things are different now.

Since I moved here, I have traveled quite a bit, visited a new continent, returned to two countries that I love, taken road trips across country borders, even flew across the country just to fly back the very next day. I have met new people, made new friends both in Seattle and around the country. Visited old friends and new, and even managed to have what feels like a family here now in the USA. I set a goal to get out in the dating world this year and that has gone way further than I thought, and now I have a reason to want to stay in the USA. With a girlfriend (yeah I finally said it) that I love and cherish with every day, why would I want to leave?

I have my dream car (well Truck) and have a second “job” on the side doing something that to me is a challenge and provides with the most fun times some days. Getting to travel and write about some of the things that I deal with on a daily basis or just want to write about, either way it is a fulfilling experience.

What will my future hold here in the US? I don’t know. I know for certain that I don’t want to go home, I don’t want to leave my new life here in the USA. As much as that pains me to say it, it is true. My parents are totally ok with this and they know that they may not get to see me as much as they had hoped, but it is my friends and family back home in Australia that I worry about at times. I wonder how they are going, what they are doing, do they miss me, do they even remember me at all?

But no matter what happens, I have a life here now in the US, I love my life here, I have family here, I have friends here and no matter what… This is my future.

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Well, this morning was my final training run, and even though my legs, knees, joints and body hates me right now, It was worth it. The last few training runs have been pretty good. I started off with a big full run last saturday. It was my first 10k since the injury and that was going to be a hard task. I hit the trail early for the run so that if things went ok I could go to bootcamp after. I was determined to do at least 10K and try to run as much as I possibly could. I managed to do 7K’s straight non stop and then spent the rest doing 10/1 intervals.

The 10/1’s are working out pretty well for me and the run went off pretty well. Yes it was slow compared to my PB for a 10K but that is to be expected. It has been just two months since my injury and it has been a slow recovery and training process. So that is not all that horrible and my body felt good (especially after a whole other hour of bootcamp straight after the run).

Since that run I have run Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, all 5k’s each and all not to bad. Monday & Tuesday was 5k’s straight each, non stop. Yesterday was the roughest as I have not been running back to back like that and it has been an effort. But then this morning I did 10/1’s and although my legs hated me immensley, I still did it, I still pushed myself.

From here the full taper program starts. I am going to hit the gym tonight (something I didn’t do all that much of Monday night due to wanting to rest my legs a little, or last night as I had dinner with Heidi) and then the same tomorrow morning. Thursday night begins the full rest period with no gym (might walk home though, still undecided) and then Friday and Saturday are full stops, no gym, no running at all.

Sunday is the big day and I am mighty nervous. I don’t know the outcome yet or how things are going to go, but sure as hell I am going to give it my best and try my hardest. Bring on Sunday morning in Vancouver!

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It is Anzac Day (well yesterday was technically but it just turned the 25th here in the USA) and it is a day of remembrance for Australian’s & New Zealender’s. For my American friends, Anzac Day commemorates the day that the Australian & New Zealand Army Corp (hence ANZAC) landed on a beach in Turkey. When they hit the shores at Galipoli it was the start of an attrocious battle, one that saw many men loose their life. That battle was 99 years ago in 1915 during World War 1. We take the day to look back on those that have served and fallen and remember them, pay tribute to them and also thank those who currently serve. I guess you could say it is our version of Memorial Day (public holiday and all).

For me personally it holds a little bit more. My Grandfather (Charles Stewart, on my mother’s side) went to fight in World War 2. He was part of the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion and along with his 2 other brothers (Jim & Gordon) all three of them went off to war. They fought in Africa at the 2nd battle of Alamein and also spent time in Gaza, Palestine & Egypt. After returning from Africa they moved up to Borneo and Papua New Guinea (sadly for a time we had thought they had been on the Kokoda Track, but when I got a copy of his pay book we found that he landed in Lae instead). As part of the Australian 9th Division they fought well and did what they had to do to protect our countries interests.

So at a time when I would prefer to be back in Australia, spending time with my family and remembering those who have sacrificed so much for us, I want to say a deep and heartfelt thank you to all those who still currently serve. Because without you, our countries would not be the way they are now. So no matter where you are, take a few moments to think about those who sacrificed their lives for us.

Lest We Forget

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There is less than 2 weeks to go now before the Vancouver Half Marathon and I am pretty sure now that no matter what I think, it won’t happen the way I want.

The longest run I have done in 2 months is 5.6k and I can manage a 5k without to much discomfort, but the thought of 20k straight just isn’t realistic. I’ll be suprised if I can do more than 5k. But I have a plan.

This week I am going to try and keep running as much as I can to strengthen my leg. I don’t know if it will work but I can try right? Saturday morning I am going to try & do a long training run, a smaller version of what I want to do on the day itself.  For the reminder of the week ahead, more runs and then as of next Thursday morning I will make my final run and then nothing till race day, not even gym, to save my legs.

My plan for rave day and for the training run this weekend is pretty much just intervals. Going to start with a 5k run (which I know I can do) then break for a kilometer and then pick up again for another 5k. After that I hope that my legs can handle another 5k run (after a 1k walk break). After that I will just break it up into manageable pieces of whatever I can handle finishing up with a small run to the finish line.

I really don’t know if the whole thing will work, or if It is going to be possible but sure as hell I’m going to try right?

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Well on the weekend I saw the latest installment in the Marvel Movie line, Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. I can’t describe how much I was looking forward to this movie, and it didn’t disappoint. It made me wonder though, why do I like the Marvel movies so much?

To be honest I don’t really know where it all started, my earliest memory of anything marvel has nothing to do with the comic books, I was never a comic book fan as a child and I don’t really remember my parents ever letting me have them. My earliest memory is of the cartoons that were produced. I am pretty sure my first memory was of Iron Man as a cartoon and I really enjoyed it. It kind of went from there.

Fast forward to the first Iron Man movie, which was really the first of the new “Marvel” series. After a long long period of time between when I first saw the cartoons and then saw the movies, it brought that fascination back to life. I loved the first Iron Man movie, it felt to me like Marvel really understood what making a good movie was about (Robert Downey Jnr was a perfect choice to play Tony Stark) and I grew to love the proceeding movies even more. When Avengers came out (I was in Seattle on my round the world trip at the time) I was like a giddy school girl, wanting to see it days after release. The first Captain America movie was great and I lapped it up.

Late last year Marvel took their first step into Live Action TV shows in quite some time with “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” (I just call it Shield) and I loved every minute of it. Though not really to do with movies the back story kind of works around it all and I was hooked. When I saw the latest episode of Shield I was a bit shocked by the story line (no spoilers here) I knew about the background of what happened but it was like “where the hell did this come from”. Had I seen Captain America 2 first, it would of made sense. When I saw it on Sunday, things became clear…. it is all linked, even the tv show.

Linking the movies together over several years is a great thing to do for money but stretching it out over time, makes me go crazy. I still say that the 3 worst words in the english language are “To Be Continued” and this is kind of what it feels like (just with a several year gap between movies). I can’t complain that Marvel are doing justice to their own comics and making a movie that is not only entertaining but keeps fans talking about it for hours and days afterwards.

Captain America 2 to give you my thoughts on the movie, it was dark, it was moody and it was action all the time. At one point I did see a tear in Heidi’s eye. If this is the kind of movie that Marvel is going to produce… Bring it on!