Sunday, February 26, 2012

"When in Rome"

The past 6 weeks have been very busy trying to balance work, training, life, planning a wedding etc etc.
I started a new job last fall with a very reputable company (Able Tree Service) in the Arboriculture industry. I have thought about getting into the field of Arboriculture for the past 5 or 6 years and I had never taken the leap to seriously get in the world of trees. With my fairly extensive climbing background and my love of the outdoors I was almost certain it was a great fit for me. The past 6 weeks I have been climbing BIG red and white oak trees at the Toronto Hunt Club golf course almost 5 days a week and it has been very taxing on my evening energy that is left for any training. It is hands down the best job I have ever had and I am very excited to where it takes me in the Arboriculture industry.

On a kinda funny side note, I have been eating a small container of chocolate covered almonds after I finish work en route home. I have been buying them in bulk and usually would eat a couple handfuls daily. I knew that they would be fairly high in calories but since I had been buying them in bulk I didn't know their exact calorie content, or didn't want to know. Well the other day Eden bought me a big bag of the delicious chocolate covered almonds from costco which did have a nutrition label on the back.... 220cals for 8 almonds!!!!!!!! I quickly grabbed the container that I had been using to store the oh so delicious post work snack and tallied up my average total that I had been eating daily.... I had been eating between 40-50 which means I had been eating 1100-1350cals everyday after work. No wonder I would get home and be able to do 90-120mins of exercise without getting hungry! Gah!

3 weeks ago I also slipped 2 ribs while either trail running and slipping on ice, or rock climbing a ridiculously hard route that I hope I never do again, or maybe it was the combination of both of the events...? Either way it was extremely painful and I am glad that I am on the mend.
I had to take 2 weeks off of running because I simply couldn't run with the associated pain from the ribs. I was however able to ride my bike and given the spring like weather and increase in daylight I was riding outside 3 or 4 nights a week after work. Last week while almost home I stretched my back while still riding and I felt both of the ribs slip back into place! It was a very weird feeling, kinda hurt but I was almost immediately able to take a deeper breaths. Weekends have been usually pretty good, as I am able to get in a couple 3hr days to make up for the lack of hours in the week. Right now I am averaging 11-12hrs a week and I think that is my balance point for training stress considering that my day consists of climbing big trees.

Here is a pick of a coyote leg Rambo found me yesterday... Mmmmmm coyote leg....