5 Things I'll Miss Most About Winnipeg

Winnipeg is one of those cities that's very easy to complain about. It's absolutely freezing cold for half of the year (hence the nickname Winterpeg), and you get maybe 2-3 months of nice, sunny weather, it's not exactly a famous touristy city, and the transit system is beyond awful.
But you see, Winnipeg is my home. I was born and raised here and I think it's a beautiful city. Maybe it's because I've travelled that I can come home and really see its beauty. The prairies may be flat and seemingly boring, but all you have to do is try a tiny bit and you'll always find something to do in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg is home. I'm definitely going to miss it while I'm gone.

Skating on the river is one of my favourite things about winter. It may be way too cold, but when the river is frozen, you forget about it all. It's the longest ice rink in the world and you can go whenever you want. I've also run on the river a few times, on the snow trail next to it. The best part? A rum & hot chocolate to warm up afterwards.

Winnipeg Folk Music Festival is my favourite festival by far. I practically grew up at this festival, going almost every year since I can remember, whether it was my dad on stage or some random band from across the globe I'd never heard of before, I owe this festival some of my best summer memories. Some years, it rained so much the week before that we would walk around barefeet in the mud (you can imagine how much fun that is as a child), or you would get the most perfect July weather, with a few sunburns. It's truly a place of happiness and music.

Festival du Voyageur is the outdoors winter festival almost every Franco-Manitoban waits for all year long. Every year, we would go with our class and learn a bit about the fur trade era and our history, all while having a ton of fun in the snow; climbing things, getting lost in the big snow maze or going down the ice slide, and don't forget the tire sur glace! As young adults, we go there to party, see some really great live bands, admire some fantastic snow sculptures and drink some caribou. It's where we get together and pretend it isn't incredibly cold outside. We all know once Festival is over, the summer isn't far away.

Camping season. Okay, so this may not exactly be a Winnipeg-specific thing, but Manitoba in general has so many beautiful places to go to during the summer, that it's definitely something I need to add here. I love going camping and spending time outside. The sunsets, the fresh pine-smelling air, the lakes... Manitoba is a lot prettier than we give it credit for.

The People. If there's one thing I'll miss more than anything, it's the people. Winnipeg has been my home for 21 years, and my roots are deep. I have made some truly great friends over the years, and I am so grateful for the people I have met. You have grown with me, inspired me, made me the person I am today.

There you have it! The 5 things I'll miss most about Winnipeg. Though I'm sure I can find all of these things in Berlin in one way or another, it just won't be the same as good ol' Winterpeg. Until next time!

GoPro

I just got myself a GoPro!! I'm so excited about this, as it's my first video-camera and I already have a lot of ideas for little videos that I want to make. I've been playing with the settings to try and see what it can do, and I made a little video of my daily walk to work to test it out.

So far, I really love this little camera. It's small, compact, easy to use and tough (though I haven't tested that out yet).
This video was a first try and I've learned a lot from it:

I walk with a really heavy step.
As much as I tried to steady the camera and not shake too much as I walked, the video still looked like I was bouncing up and down.... Speeding up the video helped a lot, though.

I'm going to need the chest strap or camera stick if I want to film myself walking or running.
Like I said above, the film was quite shaky from my walking and I plan on filming myself running my next half-marathon, as well as all kinds of adventures I go on in my upcoming trip. It could be as simple as walking down the streets of Dublin! But I need it to be steadier and I refuse to wear a helmet for no reason.

The camera captures sound really really well.
I've always been told that the GoPro doesn't capture sound very well, especially with the case on it, so I wasn't expecting to get any sound on my walk, but, it actually captured the sound coming from my headphones clear enough for me to be able to hear the lyrics of the songs!

The GoPro Studio is pretty easy to use, once you warm up to it.
I'm so used to Final Cut Pro, that using a simpler program was slightly frustrating... but there are some great tutorials in the program and I managed to do exactly what I wanted.

You can connect the camera to your phone! 
The GoPro App let's you see what you're filming or even control the camera like a remote from your phone. Just add WiFi.

More coming soon!

Running During the Summer

Summer is the time when you see all the runners come out of hiding. You can't go a day, if not an hour without seeing someone braving the heat to go for a jog. For most of the summer, I wasn't part of those brave souls. Mostly due to an injury, but also because well, I hate running during the summer. In Winnipeg, the temperature can rise up to 35 degrees Celsius and running in that heat, with the sun glaring down on you is a recipe for a heat stroke/disaster. The obvious solution would be early mornings or late evenings... but I'm not a morning person and I work evenings... So what solution could there be?
I did my best. But hey, having an injury definitely helped with the excuse of not running! I still managed to get a few good runs in this summer and honestly? Some of them really weren't so bad. It also means all kinds of new running gear (always a win), and the landscape is pretty amazing.
You wouldn't believe it, but every single one of these pictures was taken within the city limits. We have some beautiful paths and I loved getting to discover them.

Sometimes you can find all kinds of little treasures, like this chess table in Assiniboine Park.

 

Sometimes during a long run, you can admire the gorgeous dance of colours that are our prairie sunsets.

The thing with summer is finding a way to stay cool during the harsh heat... Sometimes it's shade, or water, or just toughing it out. Some (crazy) people like to wear layers! Or sometimes, it's the clothes themselves that keep you cool.  - Yes, there's another blog post about this! Stay tuned!

Now it's time for some cooler weather.... Perfect for running, sweaters and cuddling. Just a few of my favourite things.

Mud Hero and Dirty Donkey

This summer, not only have I been running a lot of half-marathons, I have also been running a few 5km runs, including Mud Hero and Dirty Donkey. Both of these include a lot of mud and some pretty great obstacles! The end result is always the best part, when you're covered in mud. The courses are 5 and 6 km but it definitely doesn't feel that way! With friends music and obstacles, the run goes by so quickly!
Most of these types of races travel and also give all their proceeds to a charity, like Mud Hero travels throughout Canada, and with each city, the company picks a new charity. This year, Mud Hero Winnipeg gave to CancerCare Manitoba, so it makes you feel a little better about the registration prices.
As you can see, you are literally covered in mud from head to toe! Some obstacles were designed specifically to get you as dirty as possible! And in some cases, the mud is so thick, you feel like a zombie stuck in quicksand!

Now here are some pictures of the dirty races!

Thank you to Cam, Pat and my sister Nat for running with me!

Until next year!

New Running Gear!

For Christmas, my mother and I decided that instead of buying me a present, she would pay for some of my running gear. So, we headed to Running Room and went on a shopping spree....

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

Let me tell you, running is not cheap. These leggings cost about $100, but oh my, are they comfortable. They are wind resistant, really warm, super flexible, they have a pocket for keys or a small music device, and they have that plastic band at the bottom so they don't rise up and let your ankles freeze.

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

I paid for the shirt and the jacket, but also for a pair of socks and honestly, I never thought I would say this, but socks make an incredibly huge difference when you run. These socks have some kind of arch support built in, they are sooooo comfortable and super warm!

Leggings: New Balance // Shirt: Running Room // Jacket: Running Room // Socks: Running Room FitSok

In total, a pair of leggings, a shirt, jacket and socks cost about $250. Whoever said running was cheap, was gravely mistaken. At least winter running (in Winnipeg, no less) isn't... But, this stuff is amazing and totally worth the price. Plus, it doesn't look too bad either ;)

Fishing Poem

I wrote another poem for my creative writing class and I thought I would share it with you. The writing prompt was a photograph of a man, alone on a big rock that overlooked a large body of water that I thought looked like the ocean.

This is obviously not the picture that inspired the poem, but close enough, right?

A swing of the arm,

The flick of a wrist.

The hushed “whoosh” of the rod,

As it cuts through the air.

I'm getting better at this.

Slowly but surely, I'm learning.

I haven't caught anything yet,

So I wait patiently as he always did.

The waves are crashing against the shore,

Along the rocky pedestal on which I stand.

My feet are wet, my hands tired.

I'm getting weary of waiting.

The moment I give up,

The second I start reeling in,

Something tugs violently at the end

Of my line, something hidden.

Whip the rod upwards,

Just like he taught me;

Secure the hook, he'd say.

And I start a battle of tug-o-war.

This is when it gets exciting,

Playing tug-o-war with an invisible force,

Not knowing what's on the other end.

It's what he loved about it.

Finally, I see something.

A flash of a golden fin.

A smile tugs at my lips;

I did it.

Why he always loved to fish

Remains a mystery to me.

My dad never taught me,

I never taught my son.

He loved it so much.

And so here I am,

Catching my first fish at 62,

Just the way he taught me.

Running in Pink

Shirt: Champion // Shorts: Champion // Shoes: New Balance

Running has always been my strong-suit. Going to the gym? Hate it. Winnipeg winters are really harsh (-40 Celsius...) and so running outside is out of the question. My mother still goes out and runs in the freezing cold, but I'm a chicken, so I use the treadmill. I have a free membership at the university, so I might as well use it!

Right now, the clothes I have in my locker are super old. Like, 4 years old, old. But, I don't care. It's sitting at the bottom of my gym bag most of the week anyway (I go Tuesdays and Thursdays during my 2-hour break). I did just buy brand new work out clothes, but I haven't had the chance to use them yet, until Tuesday, when I went for a quick jog outside, nearly getting myself killed by an apparently blind, mini-van driving woman.

I LOVE my new clothes! Super light, very comfortable and cheap! (Yay for Target!) It's been a revelation! I never really had really work out clothes, just whatever shorts and t-shirt I could find lying around in my closet, or whatever my mom would lend me. The pink may be my least favourite colour (it was the only one my size...), but it actually looks pretty good!

I'm really starting to dread winter right about now, but let's not get ahead of ourselves; it's only October 3rd!

September Long!

This weekend was the last weekend of summer, the last weekend where I won't have to worry about homework, or work. Like almost every year, I went camping with my family at Black Lake.

This year, both of my dad's brothers were there with their family, Alex was there with me, except that my sister wasn't there (shocker). In total, we were 11 people in 3 campsites. We spent most of our time kayaking, fishing, going to the beach, drinking by the fire and relaxing.

My tent!

Beer and fire, that's what camping is all about!

"The Tree of Knowledge"...

I hope everyone had a great September long weekend!

Garden Treasures

My parents really love adding little things to the garden to add some charm. Just like some people have garden gnomes. We do too, except that they aren't exactly gnomes.

My mom has always had a fascination with the Indian culture, so this little guy is a little hidden in our garden. It adds a splash of colour among all the green!

My dad, being the artist that he is, took one of our sick trees we had to cut down and turn it into a chair with this face he carved.

Probably the most original thing in the yard. My dad has an old friend who makes wooden sculptures. My dad got this one and it sits nicely at the edge of the garden, right over the Buddha.

This silver bird is also in the garden. Little fact: I ran it over with the car, so it's missing the majority of its body... hehe. 

Camping

This weekend Alex and I went camping at Black Lake, in Nopiming Provincial Park. It's about 3 hours North-east from Winnipeg. I've been going there since I can remember and it's definitely one of my favourite places in the world. I love that there's no electricity, running water or cellphone service. Just nature. It's nice to get away from the "real world" every once in a while. We spent our weekend relaxing at the beach or by the fire. I can't wait to get back there in two weeks!

Jiffy Pop! Best camping popcorn ever!

Octopus Hot Dogs!