The Compostela Bellas need YOU!

Hello beautiful people:
We are hosting a "Fun-Raiser" for our upcoming adventure. Here is your invitation to join us! They say laughter is the best medicine -and I don’t know about you but I am always up for a laugh! There’s nothing better than laughter to re-energize the batteries and generate some smiles. So…here’s the invite!

Let’s head to Absolute Comedy (on Preston St.) at 8pm on Wednesday July 16, 2008

The tickets are $10 per person or 10 tickets for $90. Contact us at lacompostelle@gmail.com to purchase your tickets.
This will be a great night out and an opportunity to have some fun. Friends and family members are welcome to join us as well. Our motto - "The more the merrier!" It will be an evening filled with laughs. It’s a “win-win-win” as we get to unwind, enjoy and help raise funds for a charity.

Holly jumpin'...."T" minus less than 10 weeks

It is ASTOUNDING how quickly time passes.

Man! I'm starting to sound like a broken record over here I know.

The excitement is building and I realize there's still much to do. Firstly, I need to reconsider my backpack. At first, I had hoped to take my old faithful "Eureka" ~20L pack. However, it's coming onto it's 12th year and may not be up for the voyage. In addition, I've decided to camp rather than race from hostel to hostel. Therefore, it's been recommended that I get my mitts on a Bivouac. This is like a tent and a tarp so will provide shelter in the event that "à la belle étoile" isn't a possibility. I welcome any suggestions or hints from those seasoned campers out there. Actually, I would like to appeal to the camping connoisseurs to see if one of you might be willing to lend some of your gear. I am particularly keen to obtain a Bivouac for 1, compact sleeping bag and/or ~20L backpack. Every little bit helps and I greatly appreciate anything you can offer.

Adventure here I come!!!!

11 weeks before BLAST OFF.......

Wow! what a great way to mark this 11 week milestone - a frolick in the Gatineau Park.

I headed out solo to the Pink Lake Trail which is great for cardio with its stairs and up/downs. It was brilliant to be out there right after the rain. It smelled pristine and the air was fresh. Doing 3 rounds of the trail seemed effortless almost.
Note the "almost". Tonight was also the first night that I (Danielle) am doing some "zone" training. In order to improve my cardio vascular fitness and increase the efficiency of my Slow Twitch, fat burning muscles I had my zones calculated at Peak Centre last week. The Charismatic Catriona gave me my numbers on Friday so I know where to work. Therefore, when I headed out this evening I knew that I had to keep my heart rate between 128 and 148. WOW! What a mission. With the varied terrain of Pink Trail I found myself either climbing through the roof 148+ or returning quicky to 128. So that distraction, monitoring my heart rate with my monitor made time fly.

The result was a workout lasting 1:23 minutes with 51 of those minutes in my target heart zone of 1. In addition, my pedometer says 19,652 right now.

Not a bad day :)

Walk on!

End of day numbers

Steps stepped (and I still have to hussle home from the library)
= 27,467 steps

Walk on!

Today's gift from Sylvie Sunshine

I got a nice gift from a client this morning. As we set out for our morning training session I shared the sad news about loosing my pedometer. I called the various places I had been and no one had found my pedometer. Heck! most asked what a "pedometer" was. SERIOUSLY?! C'mon now - it's a "thingy" that measures your steps.

Anyhoo...my client was kind enough to dust off a pedometer she wasn't using and offer it to me. So once again I am wearing the measuring tool that will help me with my training.

What a nice gift :) Thank you Sylvie Sunshine!

Yesterday's adventure - sans pedometer

Bummer! I lost my pedometer…

I didn’t even notice until this morning. Where was my brain? Normally my ritual is to log my steps in the evening when I take off my pedometer before going to bed. However, last night I changed into my pjs and neglected to jot down my numbers. Then this morning I was checking in every corner of the house.
ARG I lost it last night in between Cuppedia on Main St. and Bridgehead on Elgin OR between Bridgehead and home in the Glebe.

I felt naked today without it as I walked to Wellington and Churchill to meet a friend. I feel a little discombobulated not knowing my steps. I know I walked at least 10km today EASY. But have nothing to confirm that barring a few searches on Mapquest.
“Oh! The humanity of it all!”

I have had an “issue” arise and I am looking to nip it in the bud. My left knee gets wonky sometimes and I get a sharp pain when stepping up onto a step. This discomfort started after I started riding my road bike a few weeks ago. WARNING! WARNING!

So the preventative measures are to: get my gait checked, work on my alignment in Pilates class, invest in another pair of shoes and stay off my bike until I Mountain Bike Sunday.

Keep your fingers crossed for me pretty please

Aligning for Success with Pilates Space

Today I had my first session with the “Posture Queen” at the Pilates Space. Jacqueline Ethier has been kind enough to assist me in my training for the Camino by inviting me to get reconnected with the “Reformer”. We are on a mission to get me properly aligned for the many kilometers I am going to walk in France-Spain and Portugal. What a great return to Pilates! Jacqueline and her crew are clearly passionate about what they do. It shines through in every aspect of the Pilates Space experience. From the moment you walk into the door you are truly welcomed. It only took a wee while for me to shake off the cobwebs and remember the basics I had acquired with Jacqueline last year. I would like to tip my hat to this Goddess who recently celebrated the 3rd expansion at her successful studio. Thank you again for this tremendous gift.

For more information about Pilates Space and their wonderful array of services please do not hesitate to contact the crew at (613) PILATES (745-2837) or make some enquiries at info@pilatesspace.com

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth....

I've just been tied up with other things but have been dutifully logging my steps.

Date Steps
May 26, 2008 24,408
May 27, 2008 10,522
May 28, 2008 19,347
May 29, 2008 31,521
May 30, 2008 21,988
May 31, 2008 Wild Women On Wheels Weekend
June 1, 2008 Mountain Bike Camp
June 2, 2008 22,944

We're well into week "13 before we leave". My oh my how time is wizzing past.

Walk on!