I am out in the eastern part of British Columbia in an area known as the Kootenays. Geographically it is basically a very long glacial trench that lies between the various ranges of mountains that make up the Canadian Rockies. I am staying here until tomorrow when I will drive down to Idaho and setup base camp for Ironman Coeur d’ALene. Apparently the weather tomorrow is going to be very stormy so I thought I would spend the day traveling and then cycle the IM CDA bike course on Thursday when the weather improves. Well that is the current plan anyway. I am on vacation and plans tend to change by the hour which is completely fine with me.
We actually have done quite a bit during my visit here despite my frequent napping and eating. On Sunday, we drove out to Wasa Lake and watched my sister and brother in-law race in an Olympic triathlon. It was a great venue for the event. We sat on the beach and watched the waves of swimmers head out. Then we moved over to some shady grass to watch the cyclists. Finally finished up by sitting on a picturesque trail, cheering on the athletes as they ran through the pines.
Here is a photo of my sister exiting the swim. Look at that smile!
And here is my brother in-law ripping up the bike course.
Yesterday we went out to the St Eugene golf course for lunch. It was quite interesting because the main building on the course was a restored school that was originally used by the Catholic church to house First Nations children. The photos inside the building told the story of the children who were forcibly removed from their families and housed at the school, watched over by the ominous nuns and priests of the Catholic regime. Very sad. The good news is that the school now serves as a source of revenue for the local First Nations band which is rather fitting. Here is a photo of some of my family sitting inside one of the sweatlodge tents.
Last night after dinner we went and watched my sister and my nephew play soccer together at their mixed league game. The rest of my family were practicing their Ironman cheering at the soccer game. I think the locals were a little surprised to hear such enthusiastic cheering at their game. They probably thought that there was an Muslim invasion happening when were doing our war cries.
It hasn’t been all relaxation while I have been out here. Well mostly it has but I have been doing a little bit of excersize during my pre-Ironman taper. Just doing some very short stuff in between naps. Like a 1 km swim, 30 minute bike or run. I also have been doing a fair amount of stretching which is beneficial because I would certainly seize up due to all of the sleeping that I am doing.
So it’s all good out here in vacation land. No work stress. Lots of time to catch-up with family. Loads of healthy food and lots of time to sleep.
I could really get used to this.
I likes it!