After my embarrassing attempt at Hot Yoga yesterday I come home and took a night for myself. A small handful of pistachios, some television and a comfy couch is all I need. I met up with Fares El Sabbagh and we talked about the Vancouver skyline and how much downtown Vancouver looks like a scene from The Jetsons with all the LED, glass and concrete. Especially with the new UFO looking BC Place stadium you can already picture flying cars booting around the skyscrapers.
Well rested in the morning I head out for one of my MARATHON runs. Set the treadmill to 60 minutes and just giver.The lady next to me was really into her Gene Simmons "Family Jewels" which has to be the worst show on television but oh well.
Back to work to crush the rest of my day. Tomorrow is my big deadline so tonight is an incredibly crucial night to make sure the whole team is grinding and everyone is making calls. My reward tonight is a pair of floor tickets to go see Kings of Leon. VERY EXCITED.
Thursday, 29 September 2011
SEPTEMBER 27th DAY 27: HOT YOGA
Great day at work yesterday, the team is really catching on and crushing their calls. This is what I have been wishing for since the summer and I am stoked to see it pay off for S-Trip! and for my employees. To celebrate I head out for some beveys with the always exciting Brook Robertson. He tells me we are going to a Moroccan party as he sports a tasseled blazer. After the Moroccan party we head to The Factory on Granville (great for unlimited free peanuts!) and cap off the night there. I walk home from the bar and have gotten really good at ignoring temptations. $1 Pizza slices on every corner, Taquito advertisements plaster the 7-11 windows and on the very last corner before I enter my condo, the Golden Arches tease me to buy french fries and McNuggets everynight.
Happy I didn't indulge in greasy treats, up early again and I'm off to Yoga. I have done Yoga before but never Hot Yoga. I have the dear Jenna Fletcher to thank for this alien experience who invites me to her class. Now every yoga class I have been to thus far has felt like intense stretching and a combination of balancing acts...and of course a lot of very fit women in yoga pants. Not a bad workout and not a bad setting either and I entered this class assuming it was the going to be the same as all the other classes. Dressed in appropriate yoga attire (tights and no shirt) I stretch, warm up and get ready for the class.
Once the class begins, I quickly realize this isn't any regular yoga classes. The poses are awkward, the holds are long and the room is freggin hot! Not even 10 minutes into the session, my mat is drenched, my hair is dripping and I even slip in a puddle of my own sweat in front of everyone. My arms aren't as high, my legs aren't as stretched and the instructor decides to stand right next to me to point out my bad form as an example to others. My downward dog looks like I am curled up in the fetal position but on my hands and knees and my when I am on my back I look like a flipped over turtle who can't get back to his feet. I am clearly the outcast in the bunch and find out that this class is for advanced yogis (yoga people term for people who do yoga) and isn't for 60 minutes but 120 minutes of torture. After about 90 minutes I bow out and retreat to my car. I am very satisfied with my effort and look forward to my next practice, I'll just be sure to stay away from the advanced classes.
Happy I didn't indulge in greasy treats, up early again and I'm off to Yoga. I have done Yoga before but never Hot Yoga. I have the dear Jenna Fletcher to thank for this alien experience who invites me to her class. Now every yoga class I have been to thus far has felt like intense stretching and a combination of balancing acts...and of course a lot of very fit women in yoga pants. Not a bad workout and not a bad setting either and I entered this class assuming it was the going to be the same as all the other classes. Dressed in appropriate yoga attire (tights and no shirt) I stretch, warm up and get ready for the class.
Once the class begins, I quickly realize this isn't any regular yoga classes. The poses are awkward, the holds are long and the room is freggin hot! Not even 10 minutes into the session, my mat is drenched, my hair is dripping and I even slip in a puddle of my own sweat in front of everyone. My arms aren't as high, my legs aren't as stretched and the instructor decides to stand right next to me to point out my bad form as an example to others. My downward dog looks like I am curled up in the fetal position but on my hands and knees and my when I am on my back I look like a flipped over turtle who can't get back to his feet. I am clearly the outcast in the bunch and find out that this class is for advanced yogis (yoga people term for people who do yoga) and isn't for 60 minutes but 120 minutes of torture. After about 90 minutes I bow out and retreat to my car. I am very satisfied with my effort and look forward to my next practice, I'll just be sure to stay away from the advanced classes.
SEPTEMBER 26th DAY 26: ABSOLUTE SPA
Sore is an understatement after the ass-whooping the trampolines treated me to yesterday. I now have a huge day ahead of me and an intimidating workout waiting for me at the end of the day and am physically not feeling up to any of it. To shake myself of this, I decide to bully my body through the pain. I peel myself off my bed (couch) at 8:00am, strap my shoes on and go for a run. My back hurts, my shins are killing me but I commit myself to get this done so I don't hurt all day. Pleased with myself after the run, I crush a lunch meeting or two and then retreat to the Absolute Spa.
Yeah, I went there. An hour and a half massage, 20 minutes in the steam room and a nice complimentary light salad concluded my visit, I head back to work in the pouring rain.
Yeah, I went there. An hour and a half massage, 20 minutes in the steam room and a nice complimentary light salad concluded my visit, I head back to work in the pouring rain.
SEPTEMBER 25th DAY 25: SEATTLE - SKY HIGH
Yesterday was a classic Super Saturday and was nothing short of active. Today however I am going to up the stakes because I have a Supreme Sunday set up and can't wait to get things started. 7:30am Sunday morning I make myself a hearty breakfast, call my buddy Chris McClelland and hit the road to Seattle. Highlights of the drive were the Washington Bandito motorcyclist who flipped off a cop call and then rode away and the Honda "Audi"sey, a 94 Honda Odyssey with Audi rings instead of the Honda "H".
We are headed to Seattle Washington to watch an NFL football game. Now these aren't any old tickets and this isn't any old game. We are front row, on the field, 50 yard line, behind the home team, for the home opener!!! It really doesn't get any better than this! We make it to Seattle around 11:30am which gives us plenty of time to hit up as many tailgates as we can before the game. Before that can begin, I go to print my tickets off at a local Office Depot where I meet Ryan. Picture a 5'8'' neon ginger with the best Carleton (from the Fresh Prince of Bel-air) costume I have ever seen, except he wasn't in costume. I some how managed to offend him by thinking that Staples and Office Depot were the same thing. You could visibly see how sad he was and he went on to recite his Office Depot pledge. Sensitive little ginger aren't we?!
In the stadium, players rush out the gates, pyrotechnics are in full effect, the fireworks, the smoke, the marching bands and the sirens, the energy in the building is electric!! Blue skies until about 5 minutes before the game, torrential downpour for the first 5 minutes of the game and then beautiful sunshine the rest of the game. The rain doesn't damper anyone's attitude and this building is alive! We make friends with all our neighbors, high fives all around, the Seahawks pull off a WIN! Not the most exciting game but we won. I called the Seahawks to win as well as 10 other wins I predicted. My picks are getting better! (Wk.1=9/16, Wk.2=12/16, Wk.3=11/16). AND on a healthy note, I stayed away from ALL tasty stadium snacks. I happily enjoyed my bag of peanuts.
WEEK 3 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS
Jacksonville vs. Carolina - JAC
San Francisco vs. Cincinnati - SF
Miami vs. Cleveland - CLE
New England vs. Buffalo - NE
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia - PHI
Detroit vs. Minnesota - DET
Houston vs. New Orleans - NO (two of my favorite teams facing off)
Denver vs. Tennessee - TEN
New York Jets vs. Oakland - NYJ
Baltimore vs. St. Louis - BAL
Kansas City vs. San Diego - SD
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay - ATL
Arizona vs. Seattle - SEA (I'll be at the game, look for me behind the home teams bench!)
Green Bay vs. Chicago - GB
Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis - PIT
Washington vs. Dallas - WAS
Now if the day ended right there, it wouldn't be anything short of epic but the reason this was a Supreme Sunday was because we are headed to a very special place on the way back to Canada; SKYHIGH Sports! I think people dream about places like this but when you find out it actually exists, your mind is blown. SKYHIGH is a trampoline gym but not a regular gymnastic trampoline gym. It is built for people like me who just want to runaround and bounce and flip off everything in sight. SKYHIGH features wall to wall trampolines, trampolines on the walls, a trampoline dodge ball arena and my favorite...a foam pit the size of a backyard swimming pool!!! Who says exercise and working out needs to be boring?! I begin bouncing, flipping, spinning and hucking myself into the foam pit and 6'7" Chris McClelland joins right in. We quickly realize how much cardio and energy bouncing takes out of you but on the clock, winded as we may be, don't waste a single minute (we even swindled another 30 mins for free after talking to the pretty girl at the front desk). Worn out, sore and exhausted we drive back to Canada. Wait about an hour in the border line up and finish the day with a well deserved hot tub session to sooth the muscles. I know I will be sore tomorrow.
We are headed to Seattle Washington to watch an NFL football game. Now these aren't any old tickets and this isn't any old game. We are front row, on the field, 50 yard line, behind the home team, for the home opener!!! It really doesn't get any better than this! We make it to Seattle around 11:30am which gives us plenty of time to hit up as many tailgates as we can before the game. Before that can begin, I go to print my tickets off at a local Office Depot where I meet Ryan. Picture a 5'8'' neon ginger with the best Carleton (from the Fresh Prince of Bel-air) costume I have ever seen, except he wasn't in costume. I some how managed to offend him by thinking that Staples and Office Depot were the same thing. You could visibly see how sad he was and he went on to recite his Office Depot pledge. Sensitive little ginger aren't we?!
In the stadium, players rush out the gates, pyrotechnics are in full effect, the fireworks, the smoke, the marching bands and the sirens, the energy in the building is electric!! Blue skies until about 5 minutes before the game, torrential downpour for the first 5 minutes of the game and then beautiful sunshine the rest of the game. The rain doesn't damper anyone's attitude and this building is alive! We make friends with all our neighbors, high fives all around, the Seahawks pull off a WIN! Not the most exciting game but we won. I called the Seahawks to win as well as 10 other wins I predicted. My picks are getting better! (Wk.1=9/16, Wk.2=12/16, Wk.3=11/16). AND on a healthy note, I stayed away from ALL tasty stadium snacks. I happily enjoyed my bag of peanuts.
WEEK 3 NFL FOOTBALL PICKS
Jacksonville vs. Carolina - JAC
San Francisco vs. Cincinnati - SF
Miami vs. Cleveland - CLE
New England vs. Buffalo - NE
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia - PHI
Detroit vs. Minnesota - DET
Houston vs. New Orleans - NO (two of my favorite teams facing off)
Denver vs. Tennessee - TEN
New York Jets vs. Oakland - NYJ
Baltimore vs. St. Louis - BAL
Kansas City vs. San Diego - SD
Atlanta vs. Tampa Bay - ATL
Arizona vs. Seattle - SEA (I'll be at the game, look for me behind the home teams bench!)
Green Bay vs. Chicago - GB
Pittsburgh vs. Indianapolis - PIT
Washington vs. Dallas - WAS
Now if the day ended right there, it wouldn't be anything short of epic but the reason this was a Supreme Sunday was because we are headed to a very special place on the way back to Canada; SKYHIGH Sports! I think people dream about places like this but when you find out it actually exists, your mind is blown. SKYHIGH is a trampoline gym but not a regular gymnastic trampoline gym. It is built for people like me who just want to runaround and bounce and flip off everything in sight. SKYHIGH features wall to wall trampolines, trampolines on the walls, a trampoline dodge ball arena and my favorite...a foam pit the size of a backyard swimming pool!!! Who says exercise and working out needs to be boring?! I begin bouncing, flipping, spinning and hucking myself into the foam pit and 6'7" Chris McClelland joins right in. We quickly realize how much cardio and energy bouncing takes out of you but on the clock, winded as we may be, don't waste a single minute (we even swindled another 30 mins for free after talking to the pretty girl at the front desk). Worn out, sore and exhausted we drive back to Canada. Wait about an hour in the border line up and finish the day with a well deserved hot tub session to sooth the muscles. I know I will be sore tomorrow.
SEPTEMBER 24th DAY 24: SUPER SATURDAYS
OH WHAT A NIGHT. It's been a long time since I had a 5:00am coffee table dance party but that definitely went down last night. I went to the Waldorf to meet up with the lovely Genny Phillips and check out Maria in the Shower. This was one of the coolest live shows I have seen. Accordians, Harmonicas, a stand up Bass and barbershop quartett harmonies. They opened with a magic show and successfully managed to get a room of 500 people to kneel on the ground to watch the show. (http://www.myspace.com/mariaintheshower). The highlight of the whole night was bumping into Heather and Jessica Prince as well as my new friend Ben Leslie who I went to high schools with!! Talk about a trip down memory lane!! After the Waldorf room, we went back to the Prince residence, cranked up the iPad and danced the night away. I walked in my door at 7:00am, just enough time to grab a cat nap before I start my Super Saturday.
Today's agenda:
12:00- Breakfast and emails
1:30- Yoga in North Vancouver
2:30- Skateboarding on West 6th with Richard Joseph
3:30- Frisbee at False Creek with Richard Joseph
6:00- UFC at Boston Pizza in Burnaby
Today's agenda:
12:00- Breakfast and emails
1:30- Yoga in North Vancouver
2:30- Skateboarding on West 6th with Richard Joseph
3:30- Frisbee at False Creek with Richard Joseph
6:00- UFC at Boston Pizza in Burnaby
SEPTEMBER 23rd: DAY 23: SWIMMING and SAUNA
A gorgeous Friday morning in Vancouver and I hit the road full of energy. This is my last weekend in BC for a while so I have to go out with a bang!! Off to Delta first and what do you know...I get a flat tire. I pull into the closest Enterprise Rent-a-Car (probably the best rent-a-car place if I could suggest any. If you are in Kitsilano, ask for Sandra) and all they have in stock is a beautiful white Dodge Dakota. "No problem" I say, I snatch the keys and off to Aldergrove next. Flat tire ruin my day? Hells no! Thanks for the free upgrade. I crush a meeting with about 50 students hanging out of my tailgate, all cheering and chanting as I pulled away. Back to the office to crank out some emails and phone calls and then off to the pool I go! I have lived in a house with a pool in the backyard my whole life but don't fancy myself a skilled swimmer. More of a cannonball / backflip kind of dude.
Trying to shake up my routine and shock my body the routine I commit myself to is 10 minutes of swimming and at the end of each lap, pull myself out of the pool and either do 5 push ups or 10 sit ups. This is inspired from my Army buddy Justin Ford who used to make me do this in his indoor pool back in 2008 when I was 200 lbs. In between each 10 minute swim I will go in the Sauna for 5 minutes to catch my breath and keep my sweat going. Do that for a full hour and I beleive that should be a good work out. I hope I don't just sink when I hit the water. Five minutes into my first swim set I feel like throwing in the towel. I really suck at swimming. I look like a one armed golden retriever treading water. My laps take a whole 30 seconds to do while an 80 year old asian man does 2 laps in the time it takes me to do one. Then a congregation of 8 othe elderly asians are having a friday night hot tub party. Even though I don't speak any asian tongues, I can tell they are talking about me. I have become their entertainment for the night. Anyhow, I power through it somehow with my anxious audience and when I finally collapse on the side of the pool done my work out, I got a round of applause. That was the only gratifying part of my swim. I retreat back to my room where I lay on the floor in a fetal position for a good 30 minutes before I do anything else. I am exhausted, dehydrated, sore in the shoulders and not a happy camper. I have no idea why I thought swimming was a good idea.
Anyways, Friday night, time to go party. Here is my weekly Friday song and wish me luck tomorrow. My super saturday consists of hot yoga, a gym routine with the always motivational Richard Joseph, a skate session with Rich and all followed by tossing around the frisbee. Oh boy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w ENJOY!!!
Trying to shake up my routine and shock my body the routine I commit myself to is 10 minutes of swimming and at the end of each lap, pull myself out of the pool and either do 5 push ups or 10 sit ups. This is inspired from my Army buddy Justin Ford who used to make me do this in his indoor pool back in 2008 when I was 200 lbs. In between each 10 minute swim I will go in the Sauna for 5 minutes to catch my breath and keep my sweat going. Do that for a full hour and I beleive that should be a good work out. I hope I don't just sink when I hit the water. Five minutes into my first swim set I feel like throwing in the towel. I really suck at swimming. I look like a one armed golden retriever treading water. My laps take a whole 30 seconds to do while an 80 year old asian man does 2 laps in the time it takes me to do one. Then a congregation of 8 othe elderly asians are having a friday night hot tub party. Even though I don't speak any asian tongues, I can tell they are talking about me. I have become their entertainment for the night. Anyhow, I power through it somehow with my anxious audience and when I finally collapse on the side of the pool done my work out, I got a round of applause. That was the only gratifying part of my swim. I retreat back to my room where I lay on the floor in a fetal position for a good 30 minutes before I do anything else. I am exhausted, dehydrated, sore in the shoulders and not a happy camper. I have no idea why I thought swimming was a good idea.
Anyways, Friday night, time to go party. Here is my weekly Friday song and wish me luck tomorrow. My super saturday consists of hot yoga, a gym routine with the always motivational Richard Joseph, a skate session with Rich and all followed by tossing around the frisbee. Oh boy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR6oYX1D-0w ENJOY!!!
SEPTEMBER 22nd DAY 22: RUN - SUITCASES - LEGS
Officially I am 3 weeks into my challenge and its the last day of summer. Definitely wasn't summer in Vancouver. Forecast of rain, cold brisk air and one of the gloomiest skies I have seen since I have been out here. Amongst meetings in Coquitlam, Richmond, New Westminister and Burnaby, I had a few errands I needed to run. I held a contest for all my Vancouver sales staff for who could generate the most leads in a 2 week period and the winner would get a brand new Apple iPad from me. With an over night surge in the final hours Julian "Enjoys bench-pressing me in the office" Theriaut walked away with the grand prize. Everyone put in an incredible effort but Julian walked away with it by the narrowest of margin. I make a pit stop at the Apple store in Richmond and I'm telling you, I could spend all day in one of those. I wonder how long I could stay in one and work of a laptop before they would kick me out?
I meet up with my co-worker and Vancouver roommate Michelle Mathias for lunch and we eat like the Greek at The Healthy Greek. Only a few days into registration and bookings are going great in BC for the whole team. The new guys are doing great and I think everyone wrapped up the day on a high. On that same high I decide to go out Wednesday night and rush home at 9:45pm so I can squeeze in 50 min run before the gym closes at 11:00pm. Running is starting to get easier and easier and I find myself constantly increasing the lengths of my cardio and the level of my cardio.
Wednesday night I head to Guilt and Co. located in Gastown and just steps from my house. The unique thing about Guilt and Co. is you get three menus when you descend into what resembles the basement you had in your house growing up. Old couches, board games, snacks and a low ceiling. You get a food menu, a drink menu and get this... a board game menu. Scrabble, Jenga, Uno, Boggle and Sorry are all on the list. Guilt an Co. has incredible food, a unique drink menu including a chilli beer and a chocolate beer that make you finish you pints a little too easily.
Thursday morning I wake up in an incredible mood. Great pub, great company, all around great night. Meghan Hughes calls me up first thing to let me know that we are all out of brochures in the office. My staff team needs to hit the road and I need to ensure the office is stocked for peoples meetings. I load 3 bundles into 4 grocery bags, each bundle weighing 13 lbs each end up creating two awkwardly shaped 78 lb sacks of paper. These things are heavy. I am walking with my laptop bag and 156 lbs of weight in my two hands as I walk to the elevator. The thin straps start ripping at my fingers but I get them to the door and then schlep them into the elevator. The walk from my lobby to my car is where the real challenge begins and then from my car (which you cannot park anywhere near the office) to the office is twice that. I hobble as I use my legs to kick the bags in motion with my steps. Finally arriving in the office, my fingers are numb, my shoulders feel out of place and my arms seem frozen in a position where it looks like would be carrying large suitcases in each my hand. I'll count that as a work out.
Today my meeting in White Rock allows me to pit stop and visit my cousin Kendra Bauer at her mansion. I wish I was kidding when I say mansion but her boyfriend and her house is better then some I have seen on cribs. Seriously. Kendra is 8 and a half weeks pregnant and only 2 weeks away from the big day/expected day. She already has the whole baby room made and set up with a full wardrobe in the closet. Khali what they decided to name the baby girl had more shoes in her closet then I have with me here in Vancouver!! Always great to see family, congratulations Kendra and Tarek.
Wrapped up my day on another high note. Work is going well I am excited tonight to crush the gym. Lets are one of my stronger workouts so rush home and get my grunt on. I decide to do some really challenging cardio before I max out my legs. I run up a 3 incline for 25 minutes straight. Once that is done I line up 2 different 3 exercise super-sets and start givin'r. There is this MASSIVE dude in the gym which just encourages me to press until my whole body shakes. I better feel the burn in these legs tomorrow.
Before I leave BC and the first of three main cities I will visit through out this journey am going to try and really mix up my work out. A plyometrics day with Julian, and Super Saturday with Richard Joseph, swim and sauna session and even a Hot Yoga session on the 27th.
I meet up with my co-worker and Vancouver roommate Michelle Mathias for lunch and we eat like the Greek at The Healthy Greek. Only a few days into registration and bookings are going great in BC for the whole team. The new guys are doing great and I think everyone wrapped up the day on a high. On that same high I decide to go out Wednesday night and rush home at 9:45pm so I can squeeze in 50 min run before the gym closes at 11:00pm. Running is starting to get easier and easier and I find myself constantly increasing the lengths of my cardio and the level of my cardio.
Wednesday night I head to Guilt and Co. located in Gastown and just steps from my house. The unique thing about Guilt and Co. is you get three menus when you descend into what resembles the basement you had in your house growing up. Old couches, board games, snacks and a low ceiling. You get a food menu, a drink menu and get this... a board game menu. Scrabble, Jenga, Uno, Boggle and Sorry are all on the list. Guilt an Co. has incredible food, a unique drink menu including a chilli beer and a chocolate beer that make you finish you pints a little too easily.
Thursday morning I wake up in an incredible mood. Great pub, great company, all around great night. Meghan Hughes calls me up first thing to let me know that we are all out of brochures in the office. My staff team needs to hit the road and I need to ensure the office is stocked for peoples meetings. I load 3 bundles into 4 grocery bags, each bundle weighing 13 lbs each end up creating two awkwardly shaped 78 lb sacks of paper. These things are heavy. I am walking with my laptop bag and 156 lbs of weight in my two hands as I walk to the elevator. The thin straps start ripping at my fingers but I get them to the door and then schlep them into the elevator. The walk from my lobby to my car is where the real challenge begins and then from my car (which you cannot park anywhere near the office) to the office is twice that. I hobble as I use my legs to kick the bags in motion with my steps. Finally arriving in the office, my fingers are numb, my shoulders feel out of place and my arms seem frozen in a position where it looks like would be carrying large suitcases in each my hand. I'll count that as a work out.
Today my meeting in White Rock allows me to pit stop and visit my cousin Kendra Bauer at her mansion. I wish I was kidding when I say mansion but her boyfriend and her house is better then some I have seen on cribs. Seriously. Kendra is 8 and a half weeks pregnant and only 2 weeks away from the big day/expected day. She already has the whole baby room made and set up with a full wardrobe in the closet. Khali what they decided to name the baby girl had more shoes in her closet then I have with me here in Vancouver!! Always great to see family, congratulations Kendra and Tarek.
Wrapped up my day on another high note. Work is going well I am excited tonight to crush the gym. Lets are one of my stronger workouts so rush home and get my grunt on. I decide to do some really challenging cardio before I max out my legs. I run up a 3 incline for 25 minutes straight. Once that is done I line up 2 different 3 exercise super-sets and start givin'r. There is this MASSIVE dude in the gym which just encourages me to press until my whole body shakes. I better feel the burn in these legs tomorrow.
Before I leave BC and the first of three main cities I will visit through out this journey am going to try and really mix up my work out. A plyometrics day with Julian, and Super Saturday with Richard Joseph, swim and sauna session and even a Hot Yoga session on the 27th.
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