and then we did a marathon

Wow, I haven't done a decent post on this thing in a while. My apologies to our loyal readers - all 2 of you. But you're worthy, so here I go....

The marathon was, in a word, AWESOME! Here's some of my random memories:
1) Pausing very briefly at about 29 km to lube up Roz's armpit. Chaffing sucks. .... Boy, what kind of image does this evoke? No, Roz's armpits were not hairy at all actually.
2) Passing the scantly clad Italian lady with the hot body at about 30 km or so. See! Being all hot and chisled doesn't mean you can finish a marathon! I felt quite proud the instant my butt jiggled right past her!
3) looking at my shadow at approximately 20 km and realizing that I was in a slight pike position (picture an exaggerated lean forward - that was me!). I tried to straighten up at that point, but realized that that would be much too painful, and reverted back to the original stance. I blame the lack of a trainer!
4) watching the self-described "rude American" man in front of us while we were downtwon - he was throwing people out of his way as we meandered through downtown Rome as quickly as possible.
5) the pleasant burst of flavour of Skittles. An excellent snack choice, if I do say so myself! Roz and I munched on Skittles during the marathon. Forget the $20 pack of goo. Skittles and Mars bars are the way to go.
6) The ice bath after the marathon. You know, I bet that doesn't do anything! Sandy was probably laughing at us! She said it would help with the lactic acid in our legs - whatever.
7) me crying the instant we saw the colliseum. Of course. And then the paparazzi right in our faces the instant we finished! What was that about?
8) being wrapped in tinfoil as soon as we finished. It stuck to my body. Picture that.
9) Passing the soccer field filled with loud men. Bet they were hot.
10) seeing our adoring fans downtown right when it was starting to get tough! Awesome to have them there!

So it's been nearly a month since our marathon, and it still feels like yesterday (I still have proof on my feet).

Now I need another goal/adventure! Any ideas?
T

And then we went to Florence...

After the marathon, we trained to Firenze (Florence to us non-Italians).

When we left the hotel, we had to clown-car it to the train station, and poor Brad got folded into the trunk with the luggage. The train was very exciting, busy and confusing. But, once we boarded, the scenery was lovely. When we got to Florence, we walked to our little hotel down the street. Florence is beautiful! Our hotel was very cute and had a great view of the piazza, a park where locals walked their dogs.
We toured around and sampled the fair in Florence. On one outing, we walked all the way to the bronze replica of the David in Piazza Michelangelo. You can see an amazing view of the city from there. Then, we attempted to blend in and took the bus back to our hotel. We didn't even know how to buy bus tickets, and were quickly found out for tourists.
We also rode the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around the city to see some of the sites and the countryside. We visited the Duomo, a huge and beautiful cathedral, which is one of the tallest churches in Europe. Spectacular and mind boggling. We also stood in line on a tiny street, that looked like any other street in Florence, for a chance to see Michelangelo's David. The museum isn't particularly amazing, but the David is overwhelming. Fascinating. There are also some musical instruments in the museum, and even an extremely old natural horn! French horn players eat your heart out.
More on Florence later!
R

We are the champions!

Hello everybody, I'm home from Rome!
So, obviously this is Roz. I have returned to Canada, leaving Toni and Brad to continue on with their adventures in Italy. I'll start posting memories and pictures as soon as I can. (PS guys, don't forget to actually pick your bags up in Toronto and switch them to your next flight when you go through customs there, hehe... We barely made our plane back to Edmonton and some of our luggage had to go on the next flight. Oops!)

First, we would like to thank everybody again for all of the support, with training and fundraising. Because of your hands on our shoulders, we crossed the finish line with everything we had. And we had the strength because you gave it to us.

This is a picture of our crazy marathon start! There were 12,308 entrants in the Rome marathon, and 10,034 finished. To read more about the statistics and finishes, check out:
http://www.maratonadiroma.it/eng/home_en.asp
Our official finish time - 06:59:44

The Rome Team Diabetes Canada group fundraised $687,000. Good job everybody!

Okay, now on to the good stuff!
Day 1 - Arrival
So, Italy is far. And Toni had some adventures with the people who check your luggage for bombs and your person for weapons. Luckily, everyone arrived safely in Rome. Where it was warm, muggy, and the traffic was terrifying. Our first hotel was fancy pants, and close to some beautiful parks. The outdoor pool was closed, and they had to tell the Canadians there were harmful chemicals in the water to keep them out. We met lots of other runners and walkers, with varying levels of marathon experience. Everybody was a little bit nervous.

Day 2 - Saturday we did a warm up walk in the parks across the street. The scenery was amazing, the warm up was hot! So, we learned we'd be walking in 20 degree weather in the Roman afternoon. We adjusted our outfit plans, took a trip to the Trevi fountain, and had a dinner the night before with the marathon trainers giving words of encouragement and warning. It was very exciting, and we got pretty nervous. Luckily, I slept great the night before, although many people were up wandering the streets of Rome into the wee hours.

Day 3 - Race morning was pretty scary. Mostly because of the toilets at the starting line. I will never recover, it's probably best not to ask about that part. We held it for the rest of the race. Toni and I pushed ourselved up into the pack of runners who planned to finish in under 4 hours, so we had to jog a bit at the start as they ploughed around us. We actually saw our cheer team, my mom, Uncle Ron, and Brad, standing up above the start line. It was awesome! And then, when the race started, all the men around us suddenly bolted over the barricades to pee on the ancient ruins. There were only 1912 women in the marathon, and 1546 finished. Some of them peed on the ruins too.

The first 15 km of our walk went fast. We saw beautiful downtown Rome, all along the river. Then we walked about 10 km in alternating heat and shade towards the outside of the city, some guys in cars hooted, I'm thinking we looked hot. And sweaty.

About half way we were feeling good and ran into some other members of Team Diabetes Canada, and unfortunately one of our team had to quit. Luckily, Sandy (one of the trainers) was around to run to the next station for help. We continued on, and met an Italian woman running low on water. The water stations started running out and they cleaned up lots of the sponge stations outside of downtown.

When we got about 30 km in, pedestrians started taking over the course. We followed an older Italian man who had the smart idea to bring a horn. He honked us most of the way through the busy, beautiful Roman streets around the Trevi fountain.

Then, when you get to about 35 km, you can almost see the finish line. But you have to loop out and come back! Brutal! We walked to 37 km, and turned the corner to the homestretch. Some Italian police waved us on and cheered. At 41 km we started to run, and managed to jog all the way the finish line. A young Italian guy ran with us close to the descent into the finish area around the Colosseum. I will never forget the feeling of finishing the marathon, and the excitement of seeing our family.

They wrapped us up in gold foil capes and put our medals around our necks. It was amazing. Then we slowly walked to our bus and got a ride back to the hotel. The trainers had recommended an ice bath to help recover. We went for dinner that night with our team, the feeling of accomplishment and success was all around us. The meal was fabulous. Just like our first marathon.

MARATHON!!!

We fINISHED!

approx 7 hours, 2 min....

will post more soon :)

T

And We're Off

Wow, this is it. Thank you to absolutely everyone for all of your support and encouragement.

Why did Roz let me talk her into this??? I dawned on me that, really, if I can talk Roz into this, I can talk her into pretty much anything...... muhahahaha (*insert evil laugh*)

Looking forward to updating you all with our stories of fun and excitement, over some drinks perferrably.

Toni

Blow your Mind

There are now only three sleeps to departure.
I just about hyperventilated a little bit when I typed that.
Yesterday I started two piles: things to wear in Rome and clothes that suck to wear here in Edmonton for the few days before we leave.
Excitement!
R

Alarmity!

The countdown is in full swing, and we are almost two weeks from departure!
Some things to think about, considering we are about to walk 42 km around one of the most beautiful cities in the world...


One side of the Great Pyramid of Giza is 229 m long, so we could walk around the 2560 BC monument 46 times, and that would be the equivalent of our marathon in Rome.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, if they truly existed as described by Greek poets and historians, would be approximately a marathon's distance away from Baghdad, Iraq. Just walk south to the East bank of the River Euphrates until your legs give out (about 50 km).

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia honoured the god and the Olympic games. When the first modern Olympic marathon was held, Spiridon Louis ran the 40 km distance in 2 hours, 58 minutes and 50 seconds to win. In 1924, the marathon was standardized to an official distance of 42 km.

The ancient Temple of Artemis could also be reached by travelling a marathon distance. Leave from Izmir, Turkey and travel 50 km south to the ancient city of Ephesus, near the modern town of Selcuk.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was built as a spectacular tomb for a king who's life was certainly less exciting than his death. The rectangular base of the mausoleum is 40 m by 30 m. So, while we walked around it 300 times, we could admire all of the life-sized statues of people, lions, horses and maybe Simons.

The Colossus, a giant statue of the sun god Helios, probably never spanned the harbor entrance to Rhodes like so often pictured. However, it was 33 m tall when constructed. Almost a millenium after it was toppled by an earthquake, the ruins of the Colussus were sold to a man who had the fragments brought to Syria. Apparently, 900 camels were used. Thank goodness we don't have to carry much for our marathon! And hopefully we get more water.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria was built on the ancient island of Pharos. It had a mysterious mirror that fascinated scientists, and the reflection could be seen for more than a marathon distance, almost 50 km off-shore. Today, only the pyramid remains, but the lighthouse was the last of the fallen wonders of the world to disappear.

See you in Rome!
R

Fallen Four

Lest We Forget.

T.

Countdown!

There are now 29 more sleeps before we leave Canada. We will fly to Rome on March 23rd and the marathon is a short 2 sleeps later in Rome.
Fantastico!
R

Kung-Fu Mermal

Heehee, I drew this in 1997 for my sister.

It reads... "From another time, for some greater purpose... Kung-Fu Mermal was created. By some bizarre accident (it just always is, isn't it?) the great mermal has come to be of this world - Earth 1997. Here he fights awesomely, using his advanced Kung-Fu techniques to defeat evil."

R

Good times...

Hey guys! Remember some good times,
camping, field trips, parties... These pictures were all taken before we were married, old farts. Now, we mix a scoop of real coffee in with the decaf for a wild night. Heehee.
I miss the Bradley pad. We should decorate your house like the BradPad for your bday...
R

Darn stinking cold...

So, if you are not in Edmonton, it's cold here.
I kinda like it, reminds me of home...
Roz's tips for the -30somethings:
1. Just because it's cold out, you don't have a licence to drink all the hot chocolate you want. Try some nice herbal teas, add some honey for comfort. Save the hot chocolate for a treat, and it will taste that much better with peanut butter crackers... Mmmm...
2. Scarf. Wear it. People need to take care of their necks, or you'll end up looking like a 30something with an 80something nape. In fact, just make sure you bundle up appropriately all round.
3. Get out the lotion. You are probably going to have hot baths and showers when you get in from the stinking cold. Make sure to apply lots of body lotion after, or you'll dry right out. Again, Demi Moore looks great, everywhere but her neck. Don't miss that spot.
4. Keep a positive attitude. Sure it's cold out, sure your nostrils have frozen together, sure the tips of your ears have mild frostbite and you're going to lose most of your eyelashes the next time you blink, but at least, umm, well, I'm sure there's something good about it.
5. Fuzzy socks. Nothing says warm like a pair of Maxwell's on your feet.

If you have some good tips, bring 'em on!
R

Happy Valematines!

Hey everybody,
Welcome to the day of commercial love. Show someone you care by purchasing them something they don't need. Unless you are planning to get your lady "The Notebook", and then in that case, she will love you forever.
We have been suffering in unsilence after our dodgeball tournament last Saturday. Did you know that running around for 5 hours chasing bouncy, red balls, and then fleeing from those same projectiles of pain, is an enormous amount of work. Because I didn't. Not even a little bit. A picnic, that's what I thought. With little cucumber sandwiches that have no crust. And lemonade.

So, what's new everybody? What did you do for Valematines day?
R

On distance

So, I've discovered some things about walking long distances.
We have walked almost 30 km in one day now, and the marathon will be 42 km.
Here's my breakdown of travelling long distances on foot, broken into 5 parts (or for our current distance walking, about 6 km chunks):
Leg 1 - The beginning
In the first part of your journey, you realize a bit of your left sock is bunched up funny by your third toe. You're a bit nervous that you might get a blister there later, but hey, things feel good and you keep going. You feel like you can accomplish any distance. Anything that hurt a bit at the start is stretched out by now. This is awesome!
Leg 2 - Less awesome
You still feel good, nothing hurts yet really. Maybe you're getting a bit thirsty. You've gotten over the initial excitement, but you feel okay so the groove sets in. This leg seems to go really fast.
Leg 3 - Half way
This leg is both exciting, because you are half way, and terrifying, because you are only half way. You have dawning comprehension of how far there is left to go. Something might be hurting just a little bit, and you are thirsty and hungry. You push on, after all, you're half way! Yay!
Leg 4 - Hopefully this is as bad as it gets
Sometimes this one is the easiest, because you are more than half way and your brain really pushes you. You have the initial pain of what's going to hurt really bad later, but you think this might be the worst it will feel like. And it's not that bad, so you can keep going. You feel like you might be doing this forever.
Leg 5.1 - Forever
I'm splitting this last one up because they are completely different races. This first bit is like the homestretch feeling, you know that you're close. You have dull pain but it feels better to keep moving. Getting to the next step seems to take millions of years.
Leg 5.2 - This is the end
This last part is the worst, and the best. Coming out of 5.1 you are hurting, cranky, tired, hungry, thirsty and would stop if you could. You don't feel like you are getting any closer to the end no matter how many steps you take. Infinity feels closer. And then, all of a sudden, you can see it. The end, and you want to laugh and cry. It is really hard to get there, you are numb from the pain. But when you finish, oh man, you want to do this again next week.

We are crazy! I can't believe we are so close to Rome,
R

Haiku #3.14159

We like to eat pie
We also like to eat cake
Walking is good too

Intelligence quotient

Hey roz!

Let's chat on our blog. That's always fun. Never liked the phone anyway.

We got our flight itinerary today! Did you? It always amazes me (** like I have so much traveling experience and expertise that I could ever get away with starting a sentence about traveling with 'it always amazes me'. Anyway, continuing on...**) how the longest layover is in Canada. 14 hours of flying with a 3.5 hour layover in Toronto both ways. We're stopping in Munich/Frankfurt and apparently they're much more efficient than $!*!&#%& Air Canada since the layover Germany is a measly 40 min!

Here's to crossing an ocean.

BTW! everyone should come over and drink beer and noname pop. We have a bit left over. Just a bit. Well, a living room full.

Hey, you know what I miss? Nerds. No, not that kind - I already have a tall elbowy one of those. The candy nerds. You know, you'd eat the large chunks and get that blast of nerdy flavour. But, the small pieces were just small enough that they would fit in your teeth crevices in such a way that you're tongue couldn't jar it out. So then you'd taste nerdy goodness off and on throughout the day.... he he.

Simon is so large, he can't quite clean his bum. Poor guy. Must be tough.

I'm worried that my intelligence quotient is slipping lower and lower everyday....

T

Say what?

Thanks to everybody who came out and supported our Italian dinner and dance. You rock our socks!

I would like to rant a little bit, if I may, about people who suck. These people are smokers who toss their lit, unfinished cigarettes out their car windows. You know, if you don't want to have smelly butts in your car sticking up your air, the rest of us might not like it either. I dislike litterers, but I detest the smoke flingers. The other week I spotted a drunken tart cast aside her beer can, and thought loudly to Nelson about how she's a terrible person and should get the plague. But, luckily, her man friend must have received my brainwave and doubled back to pick up her refuse. I say thank you to skinny boy with tartish girlfriend, you will be well rewarded when I rule the Earth.
However! All smokers who throw butts out of windows to smolder away, fuming about the indignation of it all, will not be rewarded at all. Karma police buddy. Karma police.
R

Vote for fun!

Maybe you voted in the election, maybe you didn't. Maybe your party won, probably they didn't. Now it's time to kick up your heels and party!
This Saturday night come out and be social, or socialist. Come for confabulation, or wax conservative.
It's our Italian dinner and dance for diabetes!
Contact us for more details, there will be fun, prizes, and everbody who comes has to walk 20 km. No, wait, that's us on Sunday...
R

We walked forever, and then some!

Hi peeps!
Guess what? We walked almost 26 km for our long walk on Sunday. That's right we're awesome.
For those of you who have any idea what our city is like, that means we walked from Toni's house to Kingsway Mall and back, and not a direct path but a nice big circle with the mall at the bottom. We laughed, we cried, we saw people with machine guns, and some lady tried to race us (punk!).
You know, when we went to the Running Room to get our route, the girl there was all, "Good luck," and made a face like it was going to suck and she was glad it was us and not her. Luckily, we accomplished our goal so we can show our faces in there next week.
Props to Brad for making us dinner that night. Or umm, what do the young people say these days, we'd like to make a "shout out" to Brad. And umm, Toni think he's really hot and if he'd like to, you know, take her out sometime, she'd probably think that was ok.
We need more pictures on our blog, I'm on it this weekend. What would everyone like to see? Pictures of us? Our cats?
R

Hey everybody!
Back to blogging after a great Christmas break.
This week we start planning to leave for Rome!!
Last night I had a dream about being in Rome, but it's really embarrasing so I don't feel like sharing too much.
Okay, maybe another fill in the blank... I ran into _____________ in Rome and was rescued by Toni after I __________ and he __________. And then I mistook Brad for ____________ and got very confused. Luckily, after I lost my ___________, I was yet again saved by Toni when she helped ________________. You will not believe this. What is wrong with my sleeping self?

So, anyways, we plan to walk tonight and hash out travel plans and party details.
R