True food ....

After 18 months of a diet rich in MSG, white rice and beer, since I've been back in the western world, I've been trying to detox my body and get back on the healthy eating wagon.  Over the past few weeks, I've been reading a range of books on eating naturally and was happy to see that my diet is pretty good - my diet mainly consists of natural foods, including lots of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grain products, yoghurt, fetta cheese, meats and fish (and chocolate of course!).  My problem is that I probably eat too much of all of those things.  Based on what I read, I decided to make a few changes to my diet, mainly in how I prepare foods.  Last night, I took a trip to Community Natural Foods and made some purchases - coconut oil (safer to heat at a high temperature), agave syrup (as a sugar replacement in baking), brown rice flour and an organic fruit and vegetable wash (to remove pesticides).  I also found some great snack bars hiding amongst the other, chemical filled choices.  L'A'ABAR bars are filled with natural, yummy things.  I tried the chocolate coconut bar with the following ingredients - dates, almonds, dried coconut and cocoa powder - that's it.  No nasties at all!

Living on the ranch means that I have more time to cook at home and I'm really enjoying trying out new dinner recipes and baking some healthy but yummy treats to share with the kids.  One of my favourite foods at the moment is my homemade muesli, which contains rolled oats, brown rice flakes, unsweetened coconut flakes, walnut pieces, slivered almonds, cranberries, sultanas, chopped dried apricots, flax seeds, chia seeds, amaranth seeds and sunflower seeds.  Mix it with some plain yoghurt, eat with almond milk and hot berries or use it as a fruit crumble topping.  Delicious!

Wet weather motivation ....

After a whole weekend of stunning weather, the sun has disappeared behind a heavy layer of grey cloud and rain.  Finding motivation to exercise in the wet and cold weather is difficult and every evening, the excuses run through my mind, tempting me to stay indoors - "It's cold", "I'm tired", "I'll go tomorrow" - and I have to force myself to get out the door.  Enter the 'lazy run'.  I developed this term a few weeks ago when I was having the mental will I?/won't I? battle.  For me, the 'lazy run' is 'I'll just run to the end of the drive and back'.  It doesn't sound like much but it's actually nearly a 6 km run, all up hill on the way home.  And generally, once I get going, I feel so good that I normally run it in a decent time, despite the fact that it was meant to be a 'lazy run'.

Not every day can be as perfect as this ....

My second motivation tool for the wet weather is my recent purchase of a gymstick.  I first came across this nifty little invention a few years ago when participating in my brother's outdoor training sessions.  The gymstick is perfect for me for several reasons.  Firstly, I can do some strength work inside on wet days (does exercising in front of the open fire appeal to anyone?), it is small enough (I purchased the telescopic version) to pack into my bag for when I travel and lastly, it means that I don't have to purchase an expensive gym membership.  It really is true that the motivation is all in your mind, so for all you Australians who are lacking winter exercise motivation, get out there and do a 'lazy run' or purchase a gymstick.  No one ever regrets doing a work out once it's over!

Kananaskis Country .....

Now, is that pretty, or what?

Kananaskis is an Indian word meaning 'meeting of the waters' and it was to the Kananaskis River that I headed yesterday.  With a book and my running gear packed, I had no real plan as I set off in the general direction of Kananaskis.  There are just so many choices for walking and running in the areas surrounding the Canadian Rockies.  My only real limitation is the fact that I am by myself and therefore can't really do any of the trails where there is a high likelihood of encountering wildlife such as bears, cougars and coyotes.  But, there are plenty of other trails that are perfect.

Kananaskis River

Guess what is on my to-do list now?

I spent the late morning strolling along the banks of the Kananaskis River, stopping at various places to read for a bit in the sun and later enjoying my lunch next to one of the many rapids, watching the kayakers and rafters heading down the river.  The combination of the snow capped mountains, lush green forest and fast running river was just magical.

The river runs so fast

The mountains peek through the trees

Kayak slalom course

Perfect shady spot to read a book

In the late afternoon, I headed further down the highway to Barrier Lake where I went for an amazing 8 km run along the lake edge and through the forest.  Many running articles describe trail running as making you feel like a kid again and that is exactly how it feels.  You feel like a child, just running for pleasure and joy, rather than an adult undertaking a 'serious' run focussing on distance and speed.  It is a very free feeling to just run with no set plans, particularly through such beautiful scenery.  Just like hiking, you need to concentrate on where you place your feet because of the unstable footing but there is some excitement in not knowing what the terrain is going to be like (is that a little weird?!).  My only regret for the run was not taking some water with me.  After so much cold weather, running in the heat came as a shock to my system.  So, now that I am beginning to do some more trail running, it may be time to invest in a Camelbak and some trail running shoes.  

Barrier Lake

Perfect running location

I really need to learn the names of all these mountains

Barrier Lake is a hydro dam

The colour of the water is magnificent

Food, horses, nature .....

The 'real' polo

Yesterday provided the Calgary area with its first glimpse of summer - blue skies, the sun shining, 23 degrees and a gentle breeze.  Perfect weather for a girl to indulge in some of her favourite things - food, horses and nature.  The morning began with the first Millarville market of the year.  The market had quite some hype leading up to it and I wasn't disappointed.  I began by walking a lap to check out the vendor's wares, stopping along the way for tasty samples such as gluten free chocolate brownies, digestive tea, Thai curry and llama sausages.  Seeing that there were so many unusual products on offer, I made a decision to try something different every time.  Yesterday morning's purchases included some mini cucumbers, some hot llama salami, a tray of frozen Ukrainian cabbage rolls and a frozen wheat free pizza topped with local sausage and cranberries.  

Then it was my turn

On the move

After the market, which just happens to be across the road from the family's second ranch, we headed across to the ranch for the 'New Players' day at the polo club.  As I watched the 'slow' warm up game, I began to get a little nervous about my turn, which was fast approaching.  The game is so fast (despite this being a 'slow' game) and so frantic.  There were horses going in all directions, mallets swinging around their heads, the ball was flying through the air.  My time came and I nervously mounted Tara, who I rode in the cattle drive, so at least I was a little familiar with the horse. The riding is so different to what I am used to and it will take some time before my mind is able to comfortably ride in a way that for so many years, I was taught not to - grip with your knees, swing your leg back, neck rein your horse.  My dressage schooled mind cringed at these instructions but I soon got into the swing of it and was able to connect (mostly) with the ball, both forwards and backwards.  It took some time to get used to the feeling of the polo pony, who is trained to go, go, go and then stop quickly to change direction.  My experiences of 'go, go, go' horses is that yes, they will go, go, go and quite often they won't stop.  Once I learnt to trust the horse, it was fun letting her open up a little more.  Thankfully, Tara was an incredibly patient horse who tolerated me hitting her under the chin, around the legs and on the rump as I attempted to control the mallet.  So, after my first attempt at polo, I can easily see how it can become an addictive sport and I will definitely be giving it another go very soon.

Practising my swing

My coach, Hugo, explains how it is done

Polo took up most of the day, so it was late afternoon before I arrived home, but due to a combination of a successful first attempt at polo and the fact that the days here are so long, I was feeling on a natural high, so decided to keep going and enjoy an evening hike.  Since the ranch is just filled with girls at the moment, we decided to head off on a girls hike in an area just bordering Kananaskis country, about 45 minutes from here.  We chose the Fullerton Loop, a lovely 7 km walk through the beautiful forest, crossing over countless creeks before finally arriving on top of the hill with spectacular early evening views of the Rockies.

Creek running into Elbow River

A creek still filled with huge chunks of dirty ice

Arriving home at 9 pm, still with over an hour of sunlight left, I was too exhausted to sit outside and enjoy it.  Instead, I popped my pizza from the market into the oven, jumped in the shower and then sat down to watch an old Australian favourite film that I found at the library, 'Muriel's Wedding'.  Right now, the sun is shining (with the rain forecast to make a return tomorrow), so I am off to indulge in more of my favourites - nature, reading and running.

A glimpse of the mountains through the trees

A lovely combination of sun and shade on the trail

On the cliff edge with the mountains in the background

Looking back down towards where we came from

Allen Bill pond

Spruce Meadows ....

The International Ring

What a perfect way to spend a Friday evening - blue skies (which was a welcome relief after a week of rain), a new friend, a picnic and every little girl's dream .... beautiful horses and big jumps!  Spruce Meadows is a world class show jumping facility located just a 30 minute drive from the ranch.  This week, Spruce Meadows has been host to the 'Nationals', featuring riders from all over the Americas, including many Olympians.  For over four hours, we watched the horses and riders compete over two different 1.50 metre and 1.60 metre courses (winning round and then jump offs).  I had never seen a pure show jumping competition at this level before and continually marvelled at the height of the jumps and the agility of the horses and their 'bounciness' - it truly seemed like they had springs in their hooves.  The competition ended at around 9 pm, when there is still at least another hour and a half of daylight left.  When I woke up this morning, I realised that I had been dreaming of show jumping .... perhaps it's time to get back into it?  But first, today is the day of my polo debut.  Wish me luck!

Very clean jumping

Tall and wide jumps

Check out the girl standing at the yellow and black jump - big jumps!

Ah, the good old dazzle boards - memories of pony club!

One .......

Two .......

Three .......

In the middle of the competition, they had a 'Name the foal' competition - just too cute

Eric Lamaze, a Canadian Olympian, wins the event

That's Jessica Springsteen in the middle, Bruce's daughter

More Canadian quirks ....

The confusing 4-way stop sign

Several things cause me confusion here in Canada.  Whilst I have adjusted to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, I am still puzzled by road rules.  The most baffling road rules relates to the odd intersection rules.  Firstly, you can turn right on a red light.  I'm onto that rule.  The second is slightly more confusing and it relates to the 4-way stop signs that pop up frequently.  When I first arrived, I didn't know who to give way to, so I just waited until the entire intersection was clear before continuing on my way.  I finally asked someone about it and was given the response, "The first person to stop has right of way".  This seems logical but in reality it is likely to cause some confusion, accidents and possibly a few cases of road rage.  Why not just put traffic lights in?  The actual Canadian road rules (yes, I am a nerd, I looked them up) seem set out to confuse drivers as well.  You can read their ruling on 4-way stop signs here.

Who goes first?

The second puzzling thing is the size of the paper.  Since I have been here, I have been throughly annoyed each time I print a document and it comes out with the top chopped off.  For a while, I thought my computer's settings were wrong, but no, it's just another Canadian quirk .... A4 paper is not actually A4 paper at all, it's a couple of centimetres shorter (US letter size).  Now that I have figured this out, I have to go through the incredibly frustrating process of adjusting the printing settings each time I want to print.  Thank you Canada for your mystifying quirks.

That extra couple of centimetres is incredibly frustrating!

Helicopter ride ....

This morning began as most mornings do, with a helicopter landing on the front lawn ready to take us all for a quick spin around the property.  R. and R. are planning to purchase the next property next to their current place (all 5000 acres of it), so a helicopter was bought in so that they could look at the land from above.  After the serious stuff had happened, the kids and I got to go for a ride.  What a great way to start the day!

Helicopter on the front lawn

The creek where I normally go walking

Flying back towards home - you can see the house in the top right hand corner

Greenery - I was on the look out for bears, but they all seemed to be sheltering from the rain

There is a grin behind that microphone!