Hydro Rider - Worth a Try?

For those of you who have never heard of Hydro Rider (like me), it is basically spin class in the shallow end of the pool.  The great thing about it is that it is easier on the joints.  As soon as I found out Hydro Rider was a real life exercise and that the Canada Games Centre in Halifax offered it (thanks Chatelaine!), I could not stop thinking about it.  I was so excited at the combination of two of my fave things - swimming/water and spin class - that I became obsessed.

Before I could go I had to answer the age-old question - what do I wear?!  I figured a bathing suit was a given, but what else?  I promptly launched a full-on Google search, complete with YouTube video analysis. I was not satisfied with the lack of coverage on this very important issue.  So, I finally settled on a bathing suit and wetsuit booties.  I must apologize if you were at the pool that day - it was perhaps the least fashionable hour of my life.  The booties go halfway up my calves and I was in my Nike racer-back one piece.  It is also winter and I am one pale redhead  - hope you were wearing sunglasses!  This was not all - ever prepared, I brought biker shorts - would I have to contend with a case of the plumber butt?

Finally, the day arrives, I enter the pool area in all my glory, and instead of the serious athlete-types I have come to expect in spin class, I was greeted with smiles likely from your gran.  And the outfit of choice? Generally floral in nature and non-racer back suits with water shoes.

The instructor threw a bike in the pool upon my arrival.  I dragged it into the remaining spot right up front.  It rocked on the bottom of the pool - which was to become my cross to bear for the next 60 minutes.  With the bikes all set-up - cue the Euro-pop.  Think Mr. Saxobeat, but not quite as catchy.  I have spent too much time listening to RPM tracks and become accustomed to the well-thought out tunes from our Tuesday/Thursday instructor, Cynthia, over at Spinning Music.

Perhaps my legs are strong from two to three spin classes a week, but I found the class less than challenging. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am not their target demographic.  This was further confirmed when we suddenly stopped pedaling to do odd arm movements for a whole song.  I believe this was the arm toning segment (completely unanticipated).  Honestly, the hardest part of the class was lifting the bikes out of the pool.  And the 20 laps I swam afterwards.  And trying to rein in my rogue water bottle that was determined to float away.

Needless to say, I will stick to spinning or swimming in the future!

Monday Musings: Week 9

Over the weekend I ran my first 5k - the Run or Dye event in Halifax, Nova Scotia at Ski Martock. It was a great first race as the focus was fun and no one was worrying about time.  I ran the whole thing, stopped a few times to stretch out my shin splints thanks to some of those hills, but aside from that I did great.  Of course, being me, I managed to twist my ankle within 30 seconds of our heat because of a pothole, but kept on running.

Pre-race dye-fun (I cannot take credit for this photo - thanks to my running buddy!)

The highlight was the little boy dressed up as Spider Man just cruising past everyone. He couldn't have been more than six years old, but was clearly loving life and bringing a smile to everyone he passed on the trail! The other highlight was a successful run free of IBS intervention - which was enough for a celebratory happy dance for me!

Hope you had a great weekend, here are this week's links ...

The Unworldly Travelers - 5 Reasons I Will Make Travel a Priority for My Kids

I absolutely love this post and agree with her wholeheartedly.  Thanks to my parents, I have been lucky enough to travel in Canada and the United States throughout my childhood.  In addition to our family trips, my parents also encouraged me to learn a second language - being Canadian I obviously learned French.   Because of this recommendation I completed two degrees in French and had the opportunity to study abroad in France where I met my American husband.  The decision to learn another language has impacted my life in so many positive ways and has instilled in me a desire to travel, to understand other cultures and to learn about culture through another language.  For this reason, I think number three on her list is my favourite and I know that these will be words to live by as I continue through life.

Everything A La Mode - Chocolate Covered Almonds

So, if I were to have an addiction, it would be chocolate (this may already be the case).  One of my favourite spots in Halifax is the Choco-Café - they carry a ton of beautiful chocolates in addition to their café menu. My favourites are the Almondos and the Rasberry Cheesecake - but honestly, I love them all.  They also have a discount for those who work in the area - score!  My most recent discovery there is their chocolate covered almonds - with cocoa dusting!  Absolutely delicious.  My only problem is that I go there far too often, so, the link I have for you today is something that you can do at home that may compare (minimally) to the wonders of the Choco-Café (if you are ever in Halifax - you must go).

A Well Traveled Woman - If Tomorrow Women Woke Up...

This is not necessarily a post, but rather, a nugget of wisdom.  I hope you enjoy.

Happy reading!

Lyndin

Déjà vu or nostalgia?

Déjà vu is this week’s prompt for GBE2 (group blogging experience) … to be completely honest I had no idea how I was going to tackle this topic.  I was hesitant to share a moment where I can recall experiencing déjà vu; in fact, I am having trouble recalling a specific incident.  Instead, all I could think about was the word nostalgia, which is not quite the same as déjà vu.  Déjà vu expresses the sense of having seen or experienced something already – this can be related to either a positive or negative experience.  Nostalgia, however, is always associated with a positive recollection, perhaps a happier time.  

Nostalgia is often a sensory experience, triggered by smells, sounds, touch, taste or feel.  For example, the smell of someone’s home.  On a few rare occasions I have caught a fleeting whiff of something akin to the scent of my home in Angers, France with my dear French (host) mother Janine.  When I encounter this familiar scent I have a moment of pleasure and longing for that time, one of the happiest in my life.  

The smell of sunscreen is also a trigger for me, prompting memories of both my childhood and adolescence, spent, for the most part, on a beach swimming, lifeguarding, coaching and generally having a blast.  

People often associate music with certain moments or time periods in their lives.  When you hear a song on the radio that you used to listen to in high school, it generates memories from what feels like a lifetime ago.  In high school we used to listen to a lot of Dave Matthew’s Band while hanging out, participating in underage drinking and shuffleboard tournaments.  

Tonight I am headed to Citadel Hill in Halifax to catch Ben Harper in concert.  Ben Harper has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember.  I have no idea who introduced me to his music, but it was likely during a summer of lifeguarding.  I have carried his music with me for the last 10 years and await his latest albums with eager anticipation.  I am lucky enough to be taking in this concert with a dear friend from my junior high and high school days, someone who has indulged my Benny obsession for as long as I can remember, my partner in crime from my time at the beach, or maybe just my partner in crime for life.  

Nostalgia can also be the feeling you get when you return to a place from your past.  My return to Angers during my honeymoon made me nostalgic for my carefree days of pastry eating, wine drinking, French speaking and new love.  Walking through the streets of Angers with my new husband (whom I met and fell in love with in Angers) was pleasurable, eerie and regretful.  Eerie because the people we once knew were, for the most part, no longer there.  It was the exact same and at the same time very different.  It was regretful because it made us yearn for that life, where we had no responsibilities, where everything was new and exciting, where food tasted so damn good, where the lifestyle is so unlike our life in North America.  

As a final thought on nostalgia, or déjà vu, or however you would like to term it, we are having a rocking good dinner tonight of roast chicken with vegetables.  As my husband and I debated over how to prepare it, we thought of the many times Janine made roast chicken for us in France.  She had a way of injecting flavour by putting cloves of garlic, butter and thyme under the skin of the chicken. 

We briefly reminisced and engaged in friendly debate as to how to prepare it.  My final thought is on that wonderful smell, which brings back so many memories of dinners shared with loved ones.  If only I could share that with you tonight!