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May 22, 2020 Gratitude. It helps us through trying times when we can pause and think about how our needs are being met over our wants. We are better when we choose to appreciate all that we do have and that which we are just fine to live without. At the beginning of the pandemic, I posted a daily story …

Like millions in Canada, my family and I are now learning how we can make the most of a reduced income because of the pandemic. During these times, it is beneficial to know how wholesome foods like eggs, butter, and milk help us get the most from our nutrient dollar when adhering to a budget. In our home, milk is …

Let me start by saying how different my day must look compared to those of our front-line workers who are bravely and selflessly protecting and helping our community amidst this battle. To the grocery store employees, health care professionals and staff, first responders, delivery drivers, and everyone else who is doing their part to get us through this pandemic, we …

Some say it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit. After a quick Google search I learned that it takes more than two months, 66 days on average, before a new behaviour becomes automatic. We are into our third week of this pause on life due to this terrible COVID-19 pandemic. For those of us at …

Homeschooling So after the “COVID-19 Daily Schedules” came the links to websites and apps for homeschooling. I didn’t have big expectations, but did want the kids to spend some time doing some sort of learning. After lunch we’d sit at our island in the kitchen with our iPad and two laptops, ready to do something productive. But much of our …

Ok, for those of us with kids at home, let’s be honest. Those “COVID-19 Daily Schedules” with perfectly planned stay-at-home activities were never going to work. I’m not saying it wasn’t worth the attempt, but it was never realistic. My youngest and oldest are 5 years apart. My 9-year-old daughter loved the idea, but once my 14-year-old son saw a …

Our Time. It’s only been eight days since writing, but it seems like months. Like Marnie McBean, Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 2020 -2021 Olympic Games said when explaining the difficulty in making the (right) decision to not send Canada if the games were not postponed, “COVID-19 time is not the same as normal time.” I couldn’t agree more. It …

  March 15, 2020 I hardly know where to start.  So I’ll go back to my last post, which I wrote shortly after racing the Robbie Burns 8 km in 28:12 on January 19 when I was just getting into a new rhythm with Reid Coolsaet as my new coach. Life included a good balance of training, coaching my daughter’s …

Around the time of my last few birthdays, I’ve enjoyed sharing the news about my upcoming training and racing plans. After the Christmas season, it’s a fun and motivational start to a new season, a new year, and a new age.   In 2017 when I turned 40 I had recently joined Speed River with Dave Scott-Thomas in Guelph, and booked …

In A Decade, 2009-2019 2009  My last marathon before having our first child was the 2005 Boston Marathon where I ran a nine minute personal best of 3:00:46. When asked if I was disappointed about just missing the 3 hour mark, I hadn’t really thought about it; I somehow knew that it would happen. Four years later after the birth …