16 months after the knee injury

With FB it's hard to remember to blog regularly. 16 months after my hockey (knee) injury, I'm still in recovery mode. It took a year to get the surgery and frankly, I had more freedom when I was running injured. Now I do all my exercices and the knee is still very tender. I should be able to start running again in a few weeks. I can't wait.

Great weekend in Minneapolis.

I had planned a weekend in Minneapolis based on a 10k race we could do as a family. The race is called Get in Gear and it is the right of spring celebration. We ran and it was great, even in the cold and rain. The weekend also included some...actually alot, of shopping at the Mall of America and the Albertville outlets. We had a great time as a family and I got to test my new ride on the highway for a long ride. The Chevy Suburban is the best out there in my opinion. Whoohaa! Very smooth and comfortable ride. Chuck.

Running season started...sort of.

I ran my first half marathon of the season this past Sunday. It was the Hypothermic Half organised through the Running Room stores across the country. Very good first run of the year because you don't expect much of a result but it also kicks you in gear for the spring and summer races. Anyway, it was a slow 2:14 but that's what I was expecting with very little long distance running over the winter and a longest run of 8K. What came after was a little troubling. On Monday I traded my recovery run for one of my two weekly hockey games. With 2-3 mins left on the clock, as I was standing in front of the opposing net waiting for a pass, some guy fell on my left leg and bent my knee to the side. Needless to say that this was the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my life. Luckily the knee is not broken and amazingly enough, no major damage to ligaments or tendons from what the doc can tell. Some inflammation and stiffness with the odd pain from twisting it while walking in the snow or on ice.

So this is it for my hockey season I believe. I don't want to jeopardize my running season with Nath and the girls any more than it is. I'm hoping to recover from this within a week or two and be back putting miles on my legs so I can complete my other races for this spring. I have a 10k in Minneapolis end of April, the Winnipeg Police Services Half on May 6 followed by the RCAF Half Marathon run May 27 and finally the Manitoba Marathon on Father's Day in June. After that it will be a summer of golfing, cottaging and beer drinking by the fire pit. What a way to live!

See ya next time.
Chuck

A quarter century!

Yep! I made it to 25 years in the CF this past Jan 15th. It seems like not so long ago I was with my army buds or graduating Moose Jaw with my Pilot wings. Time flies when you are having fun... or you are too busy to notice. I plan on sticking around for another 5 years at least and then Nath and I will re-evaluate what we want or where we want to be. I like Winnipeg and I have some good friends here so 5 years is not very long. Also, my contract ends in Dec 2014 so I have to get another offer for a 5-year if I want to make it to 30. We'll start working on that in a year or so.

For now, I get to fly once in a while, play hockey twice a week and golf in the summer so what more can I want? Maybe 50 Million at Loto Max but that's beside the point. Cheers!

Just checking in...

It's been a while since I've Blogged. I've been flying regularly and enjoying every minute of it. Fall is upon us and the Xmas season so we are getting ready for multiple parties and some well deserved holidays including a 10-day golf trip to Florida in January. Looking forward to golfing again and I will be practicing on virtual golf before I leave.

Anyway, that's it for now. Salut

This is the life!

I have now discovered the great benefits of finishing a military career as a transport aircraft pilot. I fly the Dash 8 "Gonzo" in support of the Navigator training school. We typically fly 3 hour missions or longer. We get two meals and sometime the second meal is a hot meal that we heat up in the airplane's oven. If we have a long cross country flight and the crew in the back are switched on, we even get oven baked pizza and baked cookies. I can get up from the cockpit and walk back to stretch and even go to the bathroom if I need to. We carry hot coffee and the guys and gals in the back are really nice to us and usually serve us our food. They know we can make them sick I think;-7

Anyway, I just wanted to say the I am happy to be doing this right now and I think I will do this for a few years until I'm ready to golf full time.