Oh my God, what an awesome weekend! Started Friday night with a sprint race (250m) where we finished second. That was not a bad start but the team was a little all over the place... Then the races started really early Saturday morning (we had to wake up at 6.30!), we were first on the water and then again finished second with a time of 3'32" on a full length race (400m upstream)... then again it could have been worse. The team started to behave more like a team and we were more focused on the task at hand. Then the afternoon came by and we started to really work together... it just clicked... we were first at the second race of the day with a time of 3'15"! We were super happy to have shaved 17'' off... We just had to celebrate and what better place to do that than the Sugar Bowl... not to mention that everyone was starving too :) Same scenario Sunday morning, got up really early to be ready for the first race of the day. We went for it in the morning and finished first then again with a time of 3'13" which was really awesome... We were told then that by winning this race we would compete for 4th, 5th or 6th place in the Edmonton A Division. Because we did so well the day before we ended up competing in 2 divisions higher than the one we were registered for! that was impressive but we knew that we wouldn't get a medal... so we went for it, we reached further and we digged deeper and our timing was perfect and before we knew it, we crossed the finish line in:    DRUUUUUUUMMM ROOOOOOLLLL  

 

                           2'44"31 !!! 

 

Yes that's right... 2'44"31 We could not believe our ears, we sure were trying to get close to the 3 minutes mark but that was a totally awesome surprise... in fact it was the best feeling ever... Oh and I forgot to mention that not only we were first in that race but we beat the competition by 11". That alone was worth the effort! So everyody is really happy and celebrates and finally goes home except for a few of us lagging behind (blame the beer garden). The medal ceremony comes up and we stick around to cheer for our coach that we knew got a couple medals... The speeches are quite long and we're a little bored... when they call the team that we beat that same afternoon to get a silver medal... The few of us that stayed behind were already thinking WTF!?! we beat them by 11 seconds and they get a medal????? There must be something wrong, we must speak to the organizers, there is a misunderstanding, blah blah blah... And then, The BioWare BioWarriors are being called on stage for the GOLD MEDALS... We went from astonishment to uncontrollable cheering and jumping around... We could not believe it!!! We thought we were 4th... what the heck happened? Well, the computers went down that day and everything had to be tracked manually... so when we were told that we were racing for 4th, we were in fact racing for the top three positions in that division. As simple as that.. a little mistake that created a huge surprise!!! Oh WOW... I can't even describe how good it felt, we were so proud of ourselves, of our team and Dennis, our coach... We just couldn't stop talking about it :) now we have two gold medals at home that are waiting to be framed :)

What a weekend! In fact, we liked it so much that we might be registering in the races happening in Leduc on September 6th... We'll see.

 

Here is a link to some of the videos of our races (on Jeff's Facebook page)

 

Jeff and I have enrolled into the Bioware Biowarriors team for the dragon boat... For those of you who don't know what it's about... Basically there are at least 20 of us in a boat (that's when everyone actually turns up - which is not a given) all paddling in unison to win the race... Not need to tell you that the training is pretty demanding but rewarding too! I am having a great time and I guess I am getting a bit fitter too!!! Photos/Videos to come.

 

Spamalot, the Broadway Musical inspired by the Monty Python's "Life of Brian" was in town last week and I made a point to go and watch it! we had so much fun... english humour is really difficult to beat If you have the opportunity and are looking for a fun night out, this is the show to go to... I had a grin on my face the whole time... And always remember to "look on the bright side of life :)"

 

These days, our schedule is busier than a prime minister's... I used to be able to remember everything that was going on in our lives... but I must admit that it became a little too much lately! Jeff is sharing a photography studio with other photographers and he is booked for a lot of shooting... which also involves a lot of editing!!! It's great but it takes a lot of time. Also, it is summer and there are parties all over the place... The best ones are the last minute kind of deal, kind of: hey you guys, do you wanna come to our place and have a pizza and play rock band? The kind of party you can't say no to because you know you will have a fantastic time no matter what... Well that's what happened last Friday and man was it ever a good party!!! Thanks Mike and Mel :)