Well I managed to get a few short walks in today and 5 minutes on the outdoor exercise machines. I feel like I'm having an affair- I'm having to be content with stolen moments of exercise. Still that's my choice, isn't it? I am definitely considering taking some aquafit classes, though, at the Sportsplex. Unfortunately they won't take my swim pass for aquafit, so I'll have to pay for them...

Dad cooked a wonderful meal of watercress soup and pork with chi gu, a root vegetable that I ate for the first time. Apparently it is only available around Chinese New Year. Dad said it was a bit bitter but I actually found it a bit sweet and of the consistency of Taro root. A delicacy I look forward to tasting again next year...

I watched Clara Hughes skate the 5000 m speedskate today. She broke the Richmond oval record, which was then broken again by a German skater and then by a Czech. Clara ended up with bronze, a fine way to bow out of an Olympic career.I heard Clara on the radio a few days back talking about the pain of speed skating, the burning sensation in the legs and how the skater has to push through it. It made me realize that pain isn't something to resent, as i always have tended to, but a challenge to the spirit, and champions push on through it to see what things look like on the other side. I am not that interested in sports, but am fascinated by how an elite athlete's mind must work in order to win. The Czech skater seemed to have total focus and concentration, and her technique looked pretty flawless. SHe was almost in a world of her own... and she ended up in a league of her own.

Off to bed to dream of ice and snow.... and knife sharp blades to skate on.