Hbc Run for Canada

If you are wondering where I've been for the last few months I'll tell you...in the hospital recovering from that 10K run back in May!! Just kidding (I've been out for at least a week already!) Actually things got so busy for me with the Hbc Run for Canada that I just never felt I had the time to come online and post things. I preferred to spend my time surfing everyone else's blogs and seeing what was up.

The Hbc Run for Canada was great! I was the Event Manager this year which meant it was up to me to make sure everything went well. Although stressful at times the run was an amazing success! Tarra, the person I hired to be our Marketing Coordinator in Saskatoon for the event, did a great job and really worked hard to make sure the event was a success. I don't think she slept at all in June because she seemed to be working day and night. Overall we had more people than we had last year, better medals for everyone this year and even more entertainment than last year. We also had a lot of food and Coca Cola beverages for everyone which was really good. If you haven't participated in an Hbc Run for Canada yet, you should set aside July 1st, 2008 and be a part of it as it is arguably the best running event around.

After the run was over I ended up going to the U20 World Cup soccer games in Edmonton and saw Mexico play New Zealand and then Canada play Congo. There were 22 of us there and I had bought all the tickets almost a year in advance. It was a great experience to be there and we really enjoyed it!

As for the rest of July I have been coaching my U12 soccer boys (which is almost done now) and we lost in extra time in the semi final and didn't advance to the City Finals for the first time since I've coached them. That was too bad as the boys played their hearts out, but that's life. We have one more tournament on Aug long weekend and then it's over and they all move up to the U14 age group and I will no longer be their coach (sniffle, sniffle...I'll miss them a lot). I've also just joined Facebook and am figuring out how it works...I've found a lot of old high school friends on there which is fun!

So I'm going to try to keep this blog going with more regular entries. I may write a few more detailed posts about the things mentioned above but I'm sure more will happen in my life adventures over the next few weeks...there always seems to be something to talk about!

The Run

The alarm clocks sounded and I was awake in an instant. To be sure I woke up on time I had set 3 different alarm clocks 2 minutes apart...I don't think I needed any of them. I was so anxious about my first 10K run I could hardly sleep...well ok I slept awesome but I wasn't going to sleep in!

After a great breakfast of oatmeal (a little hint from Jason Warick who is Canada's 2nd place ranked athlete in the Marathon) I was out the door and ready to roll. I arrived at the Start line early...actually very early. So early that when I got there they hadn't even put up the Start/Finish arch yet! I wandered around thinking there must be something to do, but there wasn't. I just kept walking around because I was feeling pretty stupid just standing in one spot.

As the people started filling into the formation area I noticed people doing something and it seemed to be popular. I finally had to stop one of them and I asked them what they were doing. "Warming up," she said. "Yeah, I hope the sun comes out too" I answered back as she scantered off apparently trying to find the sun to "get warm". Why is she wasting her energy before the run I pondered to myself as I slowly walked around.

Finally what seemed like hours later I was finally among all the people waiting for the gun to go off. I had managed to find a few people to run with during this race...or at least run with them until the last km or so and then it was every man for himself...at least that was what my competitive nature was saying. I actually managed to find a bunny and was going to follow her right through to the end. This "bunny" was going to hop her way along the course and she guaranteed me that if I stuck with her we'd get to the finish line in 58 minutes. That was perfect because I was bound and determined to finish this race in less than 60 minutes. The bunny told me her strategy was to stick hard to the right hand side so that when we hit the curve we'd be running less distance. I couldn't believe this...strategy for a running event!! This was awesome!

'Bang' - the gun went off and....we all just stood there. Apparently it's not possible for 1700 people to all get through a 10ft wide Starting arch at the same time. But it wasn't long and the crowd started to move and off we went. I was whipping along following my bunny down the track...I was running a bit faster than I was used to but I couldn't lose sight of the bunny as she was my ticket to reaching my goal. I slowed down a bit and let my dad catch up to me. With my eyes still closely on the bunny I chatted with him for a bit. His heel had been hurting him and so he wasn't sure how he would do in this race. He then told me not to worry about him and to run my own race. Very well then, and I picked it up to catch up to that bunny...man could she hop fast!

The adrenaline and the crowd made the first 3km go by in a breeze. Coming up to the first water station I was super pumped...I had always wanted to run through one of these! As I ran through the volunteers held out the cups and cries of "Water!" and "Gatorade" filled my ears. I grabbed three of them and I have no idea why. I just wanted to grab as many as I could. I put the first one to my lips and nearly choked to death! Drinking water on the run is hard! I then threw the second on over my head just for fun. The third one I didn't need and just chucked it on the ground as hard as I could...so much fun!

As I kept moving on I realized that I didn't really get much water at that station...I'd have to be a bit more careful at the next one. I was still doing well and I was right on pace for finishing within 60 minutes as I was running about 5:50 per km. But then there it was...the wall.

I knew the wall would be out there on the course somewhere and at about the 5.5km marker I was about to run right smack into it. The other runners I was running with were further ahead now including the bunny. I thought I caught a few glimpses of those pink ears but she was too far gone. My dream of finishing within the hour was dimming but not gone. I finally kicked myself and burst through the wall and into the 6km water station! I know had no one to run with as they were all ahead of me...or were they. Suddenly out of nowhere I passed one of the girls that was originally in the bunny group with me! We teamed up and pushed each other on as we both wanted to finish within the hour.

The run up Victoria was long. We came up to the intersection and the cops had the streets blocked off. Ah, 8th street I thought. As I ran on by I glanced up at the sign...TAYLOR!! Oh no!!! That means 8th street is still like 10 blocks away! Nothing like discouraging yourself when you already can't breathe anymore and yet you continue to torture yourself. I pushed on and finally made it to Victoria bridge...or should I say falls. The road we ran down towards the bridge was practically a 90 degree angle! I thought picking up speed on the downhill would be a good idea but before I knew it I was like a runaway train. I was barreling down the hill and I couldn't stop or I'd wipe out. I flew down the hill and as I tried to make the sharp left hand turn I couldn't quite make the corner. My foot hit the curb and I tripped and fell onto the grassy hill. People started yelling and one lady screamed. I rolled a few times and then just got back up and kept on going! Thank goodness it was grass! After that every time someone passed me they said "How's it going trainwreck!"

It was almost over and I could almost taste the finish line...wait...no that's just grass from that hill before. I was exhausted by this time but still on pace for the finish of 60 minutes. And then heartbreak hill loomed before me. I thought nothing of it at first but my legs weren't fooled...this was not easy. The girl Iwas running with couldn't go on and so I was on my own. My pace slowed down and I started hallucinating. People passing me were riding this escalator up the hill...I tried to jump on but then it would disappear and everyone would start yelling at me. I would step off and it would reappear and everyone was happy again. I was the only one who had to run up this hill!!

As people sailed by on the escalator I thought it was over...and then there he was. My dad was just ahead of me...I had caught up to him!! I surged on and managed to catch him at the top of the hill. That last surge was all I had left for energy and I could now barely move my legs...and then my dad started to pick up the pace. "What are doing?!?!" I yelled. "If you want to finish in 60 minutes we have to pick it up!" he replied. "I can't anymore I said, I can barely move. Why did you slow down at the end here?" I asked him. "I wanted you to catch up so I could run the last bit with you," he said. That really meant a lot to me and I kept pushing on. My dad could have easily finished the race in under 60 minutes but he decided to not worry about his time and just help me reach mine.

My dad kept urging me on and somehow I managed to put one foot in front of the other. I'd get to the point where I just couldn't do it and I would start to speed walk for 2 seconds...but then my dad kept encouraging me and so I started running again.

And then there it was. It was like the entire area was aglow with a bright white light at the end of a tunnel. I shook my head quick and was back to reality...whoa, I really am close to dying! As I looked out again into the distance I finally saw it...the finish line. Up until this point I had never run farther than 6km and I was about to finish 10km. I glanced at my watch and saw I only had 30 seconds to go before I missed my goal of 60 minutes. My mind said yes but my body said no...my body won. I gave it everything I had for that last km and at the very end my dad told me to go ahead and finish first. Then from out of nowhere with the crowds cheering and chanting my name I managed to find the energy to "sprint" (or run a bit faster) across the finish line. As they announced my name over the sound system the dream of finishing had come true and I had clocked a time of 61 minutes and 56 seconds.

The only thing I wanted to do at that point was drink a Coke and lay down and die. I grabbed a Coke, went to the grass and proceeded to pass out from sheer exhaustion. As I lay there nearly dieing, the hallucinations started coming back. I glanced to the side and there was my bunny, sitting on the grass, her big pink ears still on with the words 58 minutes written on them...and she had finished the race in exactly 58 minutes. I rolled onto my back again and fell asleep...next time you silly rabbit!!

Are Girls as Good as Guys in Soccer?

Whoa!!! Don't hate me yet! I'm just posing the question...all because there is a new soccer movie out for girls. I'm sure guys can watch it too, but if you are one of those girls who wouldn't be caught dead as a cheerleader and would rather play soccer I can practically guarantee you will want to buy this DVD and place it right up there next to your Bend it Like Beckham one. The only difference is this one looks like much more of a movie and not near as happy go lucky as Bend it Like Beckham which should make for a better show.

Judging by the trailer which you can check out here...this movie looks really good (and yes, I'm a guy saying that).

Running Adventure

30 hours from now the gun is going to go and I will be running in a pack of 1500 people on my first ever 10K run. I'm a little scared to say the least because I haven't trained enough.

Today I went out for my last run before the event. My goal was to run longer than I have ever ran. I started running just like normal and about 2 minutes into it I hit the wall. Normally it takes people about half way through a race to hit the wall, but there it was, 2 minutes in. Luckily for me I did hurdles in track while in high school and I hurdled over the wall not letting it stop me...at least not completely. As I gasped for breath for the next few minutes after stumbling over the wall (I didn't say I was good at hurdles...I just did them) I finally got into my rhythem and managed to keep going.

About 4.5 km in I was getting quite tired. With my headphones on and my IPOD music going I decided to focus on the music for a bit to take my mind off of running. I turned up the volume and focused on the words. It was Guns N' Roses "Welcome to the Jungle" (I love the 80's!) playing as one of my pump up songs while I ran. As I listened to the words they said "Do you know where you are??? You're in the jungle baby.... and you're going to dieeeee!!!!!" Ok, I thought, maybe let's not focus on the words so much as I really didn't need someone to tell me that I was about to die from all this running...I knew that already!

I finally managed to finish the loop and crossed my finish line where I stopped my watch to look at the time...38 minutes. As I walked back home for my cool down I quickly did the math and figured I had run 6KM in 38 minutes which is approximately 6min and 20sec per KM. My goal is to finish the 10K in 60 minutes.

For all you math wizards out there, you can probably see two problems with that:
1) 6min and 20sec per KM multiplied by 10 isn't 60 minutes...it's around 63.5minutes
2) I've only run 6KM and am tired...the length of the run is 10KM. I probably won't be speeding up at the end to compensate for this extra time as I will be extremely tired since 6KM is the longest I have ever run at one time.

So Sunday will be an interesting day. I'm proud of myself for at least doing it instead of just talking about it and we'll see how it goes...maybe I'll surprise myself and end up running faster due to all the adrenaline and stuff. Truthfully, I just hope I can finish the 10K without becoming better friends with my wifes co-workers (she works for MD Ambulance).

If anyone is in Saskatoon on Sunday May 27th and wants to cheer me on, come on down to Diefenbaker Park at around 8:00am (it starts at 7:00am so if I reach my goal, by 8:00am I'll be celebrating) or stand somewhere along the 10K course (click here for a map) as it would be great to have the encouragement. If you really want some fun, stand around the 8KM marker as I'm thinking that is about where I will be collapsing from complete exhaustion!

Anyone want to guess a time for when I'll finish? I have a prize for whoever get's the closest without going over (must enter your guess before it is posted anywhere).

We Won

Yes, my boys won the Gold medal by defeating Aurora 2-1 in double overtime!!! It was an extremely tense game for us coaches and more than once I had shivers and goosebumps as I watched the Aurora team shoot the ball high over an empty net, hit one of the post and see us just barely miss a number of chances too! But with 2 minutes left until penalty shots we got a corner kick and James vollied it into the back of the net with the outside of his foot to give us the go ahead goal. There was a brief writeup in the Star Phoenix about our "upset" they called it...and I guess for us to beat Aurora in the final after the beat us 6-2 in the opening game, it is a bit of an upset...but they'll be singing a different tune come the end of this season (I hope!)

The Awakening

Have you ever worked really hard at something for a long time and it just wasn't coming together....and then suddenly the light went on and everything clicked? This weekend it happened to my boys U12 Premier soccer team.

This is my 3rd season coaching these boys and I love it. For the past 3 seasons we have been working on developing technique, teaching our defensive shape, working on give and go passing and playing the ball out wide. This past weekend we entered the Festival of Soccer which is a Saskatoon soccer tournament. I missed the first game because I was in Calgary for the day, but our boys went out and ended up losing 6-2 in their first game. I flew back into town in time to watch the final 5 minutes of the game and had a chance to talk to the boys afterward. That was the last time I saw that soccer team.

On Saturday an entire new team showed up! We entered the penalty shooting competition and ended up winning the whole thing! Then we had to play our soccer game and the boys were suddenly doing everything we had been teaching them for the last 3 seasons. Our defensive shape was tight and compact...we were give and go passing around their defenders...we were shooting so many shots at their goalie he barely had time to stand up before having to try and save another shot. We ended up winning 7-0! I stood there that game with my mouth wide open wondering what in the world happened to my team...it was awesome!

Hoping it wasn't a fluke we played another game this morning against a team that hadn't lost a game yet in the tournament. We trounced them 4 or 5 to nothing giving us two shutouts in a row! We then played another game this afternoon and if we won we would move on to the final on Monday morning. We once again played amazing and beat the team from Sherwood Park 4 or 5 to 1 (yeah, they got one where it took a bad bounce on the grass and went right past our keeper at about a snails pace...unlucky for our goalie because he was playing outstanding!)

It is so great to see the confidence in these boys eyes...I can't wait for the final on Monday morning at 10:00am at Saskatoon's new soccer centre. The skill these boys have is phenomenal and it is so much fun to coach them!

Olympic Athlete in Saskatoon

The Hbc Run for Canada is only about 6 weeks away! If you haven't signed up already you really should right away.

There is also an Olympic Athlete Appearance happening on Saturday May 12 at the Zellers at Market Mall. Come on down between 11:00am - 5:00pm for a BBQ, a Garage sale and also get an autograph from Erin Cumpstone, a member of Canada's Olympic Softabll team.

See you there!

Almost a Winner

C95 had their brainbuster and I came very close to winning...I had the right answer immediately but didn't call in fast enough!

The question was: What do you own that costs 50% more to make than it's worth?

If you know the answer, put it in the comments section!

***UPDATE****

The answer is: a penny. According to C95 sources (whoever they are) it cost approx. 1.4 times as much to make a penny than it is worth.

Have You Heard of This Guy?

I'm no expert on music, but our Windsor Marketing Coordinator for the Hbc Run for Canada told me about this guy today, Jody Raffoul. He's an up and coming musician that is starting to make a name for himself in Canada.

I took a quick look today and I really like the song he sings "She Says". Go here and check out a couple songs...I think you'll like it!

Let me know what you think of him or if you have heard of him before.

Slower than Slow

It just took me over an hour to put together a new burner for my BBQ...and I even had pieces left over! At least the burgers tasted good once I finally got it fired up!

Best Coverage of U20 World Cup

If you want to keep up to date with all the U20 World Cup that is coming to Canada starting in July, then you will want to check out this site:

www.poweradetv.com

Created by the company I work for, TrojanOne, it has a lot of great interactive items on it as well as highlight videos, etc. Be sure to move your mouse all over the screen and click on the many different items. When I was in Toronto, I actually got to see a number of guys come in and audtion for the part of the guy who is in the video when you go to the site...I guess he's the one they picked!

After one attempt at the game on that site my high score was 158...write in the comments if anyone is able to beat that! (click on the playstation to play the game)

Hypocrites R' Us

I'm a hypocrite. Yes, one of those low living, scum sucking people that everybody loves to hate. So what exactly am I hypocritical about? The answer: Blogging.

I really enjoy blogging, but the part I enjoy about blogging is actually reading other people's blogs. I love surfing through my list of blogs, finding out what people are doing, commenting on some and mostly lurking on the others. I mean, I enjoy posting too and telling my stories, but I LOVE reading blogs.

And that is where I am a hypocrite. I always browse through the blogs and when someone hasn't updated theirs in a while I get all upset and wonder why they don't post something new. I mean, come on already, it's been 12 hours...don't you have anything new to say!!! Then I go by my blog and think "Yeah, I should really post something...later." and off I go exploring more blogs.

That's not really fair. So, I hope to be posting more regularly and get rid of the title hypocrite. Any other hypocrites out there?

Am I A Stalker?

This past weekend I was in Winnipeg at the Canadian Sports Awards. Our company was there promoting our Hbc Run for Canada and we also had another cool booth there where you could get your picture inside a real bobsled or snowboard or on an Olympic podium. It was pretty cool.

On Friday night I was going to attend the gala where they were giving away a number of the awards for the year. I was helping set up our booth prior to this event and suddenly realized I only had 45 minutes to get a taxi, go back to my hotel, change, get another taxi back to the awards all before 7:00pm. I quickly phoned a taxi service and then proceeded to wait outside for a LONG time. Finally a taxi pulled up and as I was jumping in I told him I had called for a taxi and was glad he came. He then kicked me out of the taxi!! He said that since I called for a taxi I would have to wait as another taxi was coming to get me (and yes, it was the same taxi company). Dumbfounded, I watched the taxi drive away and continued to stand outside in the rain for another 10 minutes before a taxi finally arrived.

As I quickly changed at my hotel I phoned my taxi guy's cell phone that he gave me so I wouldn't have to wait another 30 minutes. I was now 5 minutes late for the awards show and so the taxi pulled right up to the door. In the doorway I saw three people eagerly looking out as if waiting for someone. I knew that I wasn't that important and started to wonder if maybe they were locking the doors so no one else could get in. I was paying the taxi driver with my VISA (taxis hate it when you pay with VISA) when suddenly all three guys come out the door and surround our taxi. I thought they were going to get mad at us for something, but as I looked over my shoulder I saw another van there and these guys were all helping out this VIP. Our taxi was clearly blocking the main route to the door and so this VIP had to walk around through the rain to get in the door...it ended up being Cindy Klassen, 5 time Olympic medallist in the last Olympics.

I rushed inside to my seat and realized that Cindy had arrived just in time to present an award. I watched all the awards and then after in the lobby, once again I ran into Cindy Klassen. Knowing that she is a speed skater and a boy I coach in soccer is also into speed skating, I asked her for an autograph for him. She was really nice and made it out to him. I then decided to make my way to the reception where everyone else was.

It was still raining outside so I asked this guy in a van where to go and he said he'd give me a ride since he was driving the shuttle. I jumped in and he went inside to see if anyone else was left. And who did he come back out with...Cindy Klassen and her parents. Suddenly our van was now upgraded to a VIP van and we were driven right to the main doors of the University. During this trip I apologized to Cindy for blocking her vehicle prior to the event with my taxi and she just laughed. We chatted a bit about coaching and Winnipeg before we arrived at the place. As we entered the building it was absolutely dead. It felt like one of those movies where they secretly drop off a VIP at a remote location and then something bad happens to them. Luckily this was Winnipeg and we just laughed as we wandered around trying to find the reception room.

We finally found it after following the noise and smell of food and we parted ways for the final time...or so I thought. Later that night I was chatting with my boss and she saw Cindy Klassen again...but now she wanted a picture. I no longer wanted to talk to Cindy because I had already run into her numerous times and figured that she was going to think I was stalking her. But finally I figured, who cares, what's one more encounter. So we went up to her for a final picture as I apologized for stalking her. And then that was it. As we thanked her for the pictures she said see you later, and I said "by the way things have happened I'm sure we will."

So it was a great trip. Here's a picture of me, Cindy Klassen and my boss. The picture at the top is of myself with Duff Gibson - Canadian Male Athlete of the Year - was an Olympic Gold medallist in Skeleton - Yes, he let me wear his gold medal.

Only 2 more days

I can't believe it is only 2 more sleeps away...one of the greatest days of the year is quickly approaching. No, it's not Easter...No, it's not spring cleaning...it's my birthday!!! Yes, this post is a shameless plug for my birthday.

This year my birthday is going to be....well...mediocre. Unfortunately I have to go to Winnipeg on my birthday and am there until Sunday afternoon. That means no birthday poker game or other birthday fun things on the 22nd. I also work at home alone so there is no one in the office to "celebrate" with.

However, I am more than willing to accept gifts before or after my actual birthday. I never really know what I want for my birthday. People ask me that and I just can't think of things. But this year, there is something that I would really like.

Here it is...the Poker Genie. This thing looks great. It would allow me to hold poker tournaments where I can set the timer for blind levels and program in the blind levels. Is it absolutely necessary? No. Do I want it? Yes.

If you have ever played in a poker tournament it's nice to know what the blind levels are and how much time is left in each level. It also just adds to the professionalism and fun of a poker tournament.

I also want to build a poker table. My wife bought me a great table top poker table a few years ago and I love it and use it all the time. What I want now is to make a table that seats 10 people and is oval shaped. I think this would be perfect for a games room!

Anyways, the whole point of this post was really just to show you the poker genie. If you want to buy it (for me or yourself) go here to purchase it (but don't feel pressured).

Hbc Run For Canada 2007

Yep, this is my job. Playing around and watching videos on You Tube. Well, not really, but this is one video I can watch at work without getting into trouble!

This ad will be airing on CTV between now and July 1st. If you haven't signed up for this great event yet, you better do so pretty quick because the early bird deadline is fast approaching.

Fam Bam

The company I work for is putting on these events across Canada. Unfortunately they aren't coming to my city, but this video is from when they were in Calgary on March 4th.
The cool part was this group was having a little trouble with their routine. Being the hard core breakdancer I flew to Toronto for a few of their rehearsal sessions. We practiced for about 6 hours a day and I taught them everything I know (ok, that only took about 30 seconds as I showed them the snake move)
To learn some of these moves, go the Family Channel website and they teach you how to do them.

Open Tryouts

I feel this is just like that movie Invincible or something like that. You know the one where the Philadelphia Eagles hold open tryouts and that one guy actually makes the team? If you haven't seen it don't bother now because I just gave it all away (just kidding, there's an extra 5 minutes after that yet). Well, it's happening here in Saskatoon.

The Saskatoon Accelerators are holding open tryouts for their semi-pro league. That's right, you could be a professional soccer player (or at least as close as you can come to that in Canada outside the national team). For all those avid soccer players out there wanting to live the dream, here are the details:

Friday March 16 6:30-8:00pm
Saturday March 17 7:00 - 9:00pm
Sunday March 18 11:00 - 1:00pm (selected players only)
Thursday March 22 5:00 - 7:00pm (selected players only)

The final players will be selected to play against Winnipeg on March 23.

On the SDSA website the head coach specifically says "This is for serious, fit, and committed soccer players, if you feel you do not fall into this category I advise you not to attend. There will be fitness testing during the try-out sessions." I'd like to go out and watch just to see if there are any people who think they are fit and try out...just like that big beer drinking guy in the movie Invincible (now you really don't need to see it because I just gave away the only funny part).

So, anyone out there planning on "living the dream" and trying out? If you make it, don't forget us little guys!

German prank

Near Death Experience

I've always heard of near death experiences. You know the ones where people say they are in a dark tunnel and are moving towards the light at the end. Or they see their life flash before their eyes just before they think they'll die from a car accident or something (but then don't). I can now join this group. Maybe not in quite the same way, but I definately had a near death experience. I went to a Group Power session.

For those who don't know what Group Power is it's simple. It is a session where a bunch of people get together who want to be tortured. Sure they could all go out and torture themselves on an individual basis, but for some reason these group torture sessions are extremely popular, and amazingly enough, the majority of the people who want to be tortured in a group are women!

I woke up extremely early in the morning (5:30am) which I think is part of the torture process. I slipped on some clothes and drove down to the torture building called Mawson Health and Fitness. I ran inside and put on the regular torture attire of shorts and a t-shirt. It was just before 6:00am when I walked into the torture chamber. There were already lots of other people there and not much room left. With this being my first torture session I decided to find some place near the back where people couldn't hear me scream.

Most people already had their weight bar, weights and step bench in place (these are the torture devices they use in this session). I wasn't sure what to do exactly but I saw a few spots where the weight bar and weights were already laid out. I quickly walked over to one of them and started to take off some of the weights as it was way too much for my first time. As I was adjusting the weights I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see an old man with huge biceps and a scowl on his face. He informed me that I was in his spot and those were his weights. I didn't want to get beat up by him on my first day so I backed off to go find another spot. I made my way to a spot in the middle of the crowd and started to adjust those weights. A few seconds later I was pushed on my shoulder and knocked to the ground. I looked up to see the face of a women glaring at me. I guess those were her weights. I stood up and looked around. I finally figured out that each person has to get their own weights and weight bar, etc. I knew I should have taken the Torture 101 class.

I quickly grabbed my torture gear and set up my stuff in the only place left...the front row directly in front of the head torturer! As she began the session I was still setting up my gear when she asked if there were any first timers. I raised my hand and she gave me this wicked smile. "Welcome," she said, "what's your name?" "Sheldon," I replied. "Well, Sheldon, prepare to hurt a little!" As the music started I was already sweating...not from the torture but from fear!

The first 15 minutes were excruciating. She had us doing squats, lunges, dead lifts (millions of them!) and above the head military style bench pressing. At the first break I realized that I had forgotten my water bottle. As I dropped my weight bar to the floor I started to make my way to the water fountain outside. I put one foot forward and when I lifted my next one the first one gave out. I crashed to the floor and almost took out one of the other women standing there. My legs were like jello already and I couldn't walk. I crawled out the door and made my to the fountain. The cold, wonderful yet tasteless water gave me some more energy and I pulled myself back up to my feet. Using the walls for support I made my way back into the torture chamber. I could hear the snickers as I stumbled by but I didn't care...I was being tortured and I didn't care what I looked like!

I made my way back to my spot and casually asked the lady behind me how long this session was. One hour she told me. It was at that precise moment that I felt my heart stop and fear took over my entire body. I had barely survived the first 15 minutes and could no longer walk. I could not imagine how I was going to last another 45 minutes. I looked up at the head torturer for some sympathy, but all I saw were glowing red eyes and a menacing smile as she said "Here we go!"

The next 45 minutes are a blur. My body was so tired that it no longer mattered how much they tortured me. We did more squats, dead lifts, bench press, over the head lifts, tricep curls, bicep curls, pushups, sit ups, abdominal exercises and then each one about 10 times again! The only thing I can vaguely remember is the head torturer yelling "Come on Sheldon! Don't let these women show you up! Push yourself!" With about 10 minutes left I literally felt that I was going to throw up. I kept glancing around wondering where I would throw up and if I would be the first person to actually throw up during a torture session. I tried not to think about it but it was all I could do to keep going and not hurl.

The final thing we did were some abdominal exercises on the mats. We were all lying on our backs and were suppose to do them, but just lying there on my back felt like heaven. I laid there for a few seconds before I felt a hard slap on my stomach. The wind was knocked out of me and the head torturer was standing over top. "Don't just lie there Sheldon, suck in your stomach to tighten those abs!" Once again I could hear the snickers around me.

When the final music stopped it was announced that the torture session was over. I put away my torture devices so others could be tortured later that day. I stumbled into the locker room and I somehow managed to change and make my way outside. As I glanced back towards the torture chamber and thought through the horrific experience I had just been through I amazingly said to myself "I can't wait to try GroupRide!"

Still here

In the spirit of Monty Python, "I'm not dead yet!" I told myself I was going to stop writing posts apologizing for not blogging for so long, but why not break yet another resolution! Usually when I don't blog it's because I'm too busy or I don't have anything to say. Truthfully, I've had quite a bit of time when I could have blogged and I have lots to say...I just haven't felt like blogging. Part of it is that I want to write stories but I really want to have a separate website for my stories and not put them all on here. But we'll see, maybe I'll put up the story about how I was trampled on the subway in Toronto.

Anyways, I'm back!