On the road to Ironman

Wow, it has been a while.

The plan is to race Ironman Louisville on 9 October 2016.

Care to follow along?

Oh, my aching back!

Okay, not so much now but it was earlier this week.  It got to the point that I couldn't manage to sit at my desk at work for the whole day a couple of times last week.

I ended up going to the doctor (I can't take regular NSAIDs due to stomach issues), to get some meds and ended up on 30 days worth of restrictions (yeah for being military).  The doctor that was on duty really does not seem to like athletes (he called me a jock - bullied as a child?).

I have been doing some light spinning and yoga.  I am feeling much better and I have an appointment in just over a week to get my restrictions lifted (with the Physicians Assistant, NOT the same doctor who slapped the restrictions on me).

I really hate being restricted from activity in this way (the doctor was VERY specific about my restrictions - no triathlon training/activity, no running, only walking and stretching) and since I am in the military, I have to mostly behave.

The good news is that we have finally emerged from "minus stupid" weather (seriously, the wind chills were below -40°C) and it is quite pleasant outside.  Hopefully the nice temperatures stick around for a long while!

A new year

Another year has begun.  Hard to believe that this time last year, I was about as far north as you can get.

This year, no travel, for now.

I have a son in university (how did that happen so fast?), who is learning to become an independently functioning adult.

Training is going well.  I have made some real improvements in the pool, thanks to my coach's weekly group swims - some serious laps in the pool and the coach there to pick apart our stroke.

Here is to a fantastic 2013 with hopes, goals and desires met :)

I'm home!

Okay, sorry for not posting earlier.  The past three weeks since I got home have flown by.

The things that I have noticed since coming home:

- I need to get used to the heat outside for running, ugh it is hot.
- I miss the quiet of the north
- I love wifi and high speed internet and I didn't realized quite how much I missed it
- traffic sucks
- it being night when you go to bed and having the sun wake you up in the morning is awesome

Overall, I am very happy to be home.  At times I find my self feeling 'homesick' for Alert -the people, the scenery, the wolves - even the sun being up 24 hours a day.

Training is getting back in to the groove, work is work - my position changed, so they are not entirely sure what my job is yet.

Just trying to fit back in to the routine of being home :)

Saturday's walk

I went for a walk after brunch today (so about 1230 hrs). It was beautiful out, no wind and surprisingly bright out.


Here is what I got to see when I turned the corner around the main Station building.





This was behind the Station, looking out to the hills.

Some signs around the Station. Who knows how long they have been there?

A great walk, some fresh air and some neat pictures - a pretty decent start to the day! Now, to get on the bike trainer and get today's scheduled training done ;)

Colleen

Time is flying!

Wow, I have been here for almost two and a half months and time is going by really quickly.

Only about 43 more days until I depart the Station for my mid tour leave trip home. I can't wait to get back and see everyone - that is about the only bad part about being here, the people that I miss (okay and the no sun yet part).



We are getting twilight and the horizon is brightening up for a few hours each day - the first sun rise is February 27th, everyone is getting excited to see our long lost friend.

I've managed to get out ice fishing after New Years - tiny little Arctic Char, catch and release of course! It was fun to get out of the Station for a few hours and do something different - some days feel like the movie "Groundhog Day", you get up, shower, eat, got to work, eat, go back to work, eat again, go to sleep and then do it all over again.

We try to mix things up and there are bunch of social activities on the Station to keep us busy. Then again, some days you just need a bit of piece and quiet and you hide in your room and watch a movie, lol.

We have had more exciting times - the C17 Globemaster came for a visit. That plane is huge, before it left the Station it was loaded with three pieces of heavy machinery and still had a ton of space for passengers and cargo! I managed to get out to the airfield to take a peak at it before it left, since I didn't have any inbound passengers to look after that day (I have to look after the baggage inspection when people come off the planes).

That is it for now, more to come once we can see more outside!

Colleen

Plane Day!

Today was plane day.

We had a Herc land, drop off passengers/cargo (more about the cargo in a minute) and take outgoing passengers and cargo.

The planes our our lifeline up here. They bring us everything that we need to survive - food (that they feed us way too much of!), supplies, equipment and of course the mail.

The mail always brings an added boast for morale - even with the internet and email, it is always nice to get something sent to you. A letter, card, parcel - you name it. You kind of feel like a little kid again when it is your turn to get something.

Since we only have one flight left until Christmas, today's mail filled three dollies! There were tons of parcels and lots of cards. It was pretty neat to see.

I was pleasantly surprised when I received a package. There was only a return address (no name) and I didn't recognise the address. It turns out that it was from my Aunt Pat and Uncle Omar in Burlington!

It was filled with goodies and treats - it absolutely made my day!
















(Some of the Turtles may or may have not been eaten already when this picture was taken...)

I also received a couple of cards from friends as well - I need to start a string to hang my cards on in my room. I will see how many more I get next week.

I had almost forgotten how nice mail and parcels are when you are away from home for a long time - it has been almost twenty years since I was last at cadet camp and had parcels sent by Mom to look forward to.

Colleen