What a weekend!

Showy Lady's Slipper, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

Whewww - I would say that I am glad it is almost over but I am really not. If the weekend is almost over, it means I only have two days left at the RCMP and that makes me sad :-(.

But... the weekend was jam packed full of things I love to do.

It started Friday evening with 50 minute - 6K run with my running friend Cheryl. Yup, you read that right. My training program is primarily about running slow so even though I could technically run 6K much quicker, it is all about keeping it in Zone 1 and training those slow twitch muscles.

Saturday morning, I met Cheryl at Ray Friel and we did about 40 minutes of strength training. I am definitely stronger than I was 3 weeks ago - I was able to do the lunges and step ups with relative ease and increased the weights on my chest presses and seated row sets. I even did three sets of the dreaded plank. After the strength training, we did two sets of two minutes each on the treadmill in Zone 5. The idea is to go at your maximum running speed to build up the lactic acid and then go for a slow 40 minute Zone 1 run to train the body to deal with it. We did the 40 minute run outside.

After the workout, I made my way to Purdon Conservation Area near Lanark. After seeing the beautiful Showy Lady Slipper orchid picture that my good friend Karen took, I was determined to find these babies. I heard about Purdon Conservation Area through a garden book I bought the week previous at Balderson. It was a bit of a drive to get there but it was so worth it. Purdon is home to the largest colony of Showy Lady Slippers in Canada!

Taken from the Purdon Conservation area website:
"The colony exists today thanks to the care and cultivation of Mr. Joe Purdon. Mr. Purdon was an pioneer of land stewardship and a great asset to our community. The wetland was originally part of Mr. Purdon's farm. Through careful management of the few dozen orchid plants he discovered on this property in the 1930s, Mr. Purdon grew the colony to over 16,000 blooms. Mississippi Valley Conservation acquired the site in 1984 and pledged to preserve if for the enjoyment and enrichment of future generations."

Both the plant and the bloom are quite large standing 35 to 90 cm (1 to 3 feet) high. They can live for 50 years, which they pretty well have to because their reproduction relies so much on chance: they can't self-pollinate and have no nectar to attract syrup-sucking bugs, so they have to live in the hope that wandering insects will blunder into them. Very few flowers get pollinated, but when they do, a single flower can produce up to 35,000 seeds. This sounds like a good start, but the wind can't blow all of them to the soggy, shady habitat they like. Then it can take up to seven years for their root systems and first leaves to develop.

Saturday evening - Dan & I went for ice cream at Dairy Queen (I say it is justified since I put in so much activity during the day LOL) and a nice drive on the parkway. This is generally how we manage to spend time together since life is so busy.

Sunday morning - 10K LSD (Long Slow Distance) run with The Running Room 1/2 Marathon Group. Again, I am training at a much slower pace so Cheryl and I ran together. Our goal was to run for 75 minutes. Our training program is focused on Zone running and time as opposed to distance. It is a great concept - otherwise human nature tends to want to go faster and get the run over with. We did a new route which always makes things a bit more interesting - especially since we normally manage to take a wrong turn somewhere ;-).

Sunday afternoon - Dan & I planned to take the bikes out for an inaugural cycle. He got a new bike last week for Father's Day and my poor bike hadn't been out for a spin in two years! We ended up going much farther than we should have for a first time out. We took advantage of the Rockcliffe Parkway - Sunday Bike Ride and made our way along the river path system down town. We had lunch across from Confederation Park at Starbucks listening to the bands in the Jazz Festival before turning around and heading back. Another stop at Dairy Queen for a Root Beer float and some much needed energy before we finally made it home. It was a tough ride - I was totally exhausted. Total distance was over 44k!!! yup - that was just crazy.

So, I have refueled and had a nap and am thinking about the awesome weekend we had. I didn't do any house cleaning or laundry (perhaps I will get to that tonight). That is just how I like it. Life is too short to be worrying about all the little things in life. My motto is to live life to its fullest. Those orchids wouldn't have waited for me to spend the weekend doing housework.

Hope you all had a great weekend too - thanks for stopping by.

Comments

[Katie Squires]

Good Lord Marlene what do you eat for breaky to have all that energy :)

Here's to literally taking the time to stop and smell the flowers (or take pictures of them) :)

[Rachel Tops]

AMEN TO THAT MAR! Man, I loved reading that entry! It exhausted me! LOL

Hugs and do enjoy what summer has to offer ... it'll be cold soon enough!

Hugs
R
XOOX

[Barb]

Wow Marlene, you are incredibly busy! I love your training philosophy... and the whole "run faster to get it over with" comment made me giggle. Yesterday, when I ran on the treadmill (it was humid and rainy out), I felt that way, but when I run outside, I have a real "enjoy the experience" feeling.

I hope you're having a great time in-between jobs, and I wanted to wish you good luck for next week!