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Autumn Stroll Through Sunridge Park

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 Crisp Air, Golden Leaves, and Tail Wags We took advantage of a beautiful autumn afternoon on September 20th for a walking adventure with our black lab in Sunridge Park, Lethbridge. We logged 2.45 km over 55 minutes, burning 302 calories with an average heart rate of 109 bpm. The golden foliage made a stunning backdrop, especially along the paved path and near the pond. The map from Google Fit showed a vibrant track in Sunridge Park, highlighting the different speeds we maintained on our pleasant walk. For more fitness tips and trail suggestions, be sure to check out our latest guide to active living in our city The first hints of autumn always seem to change the whole mood of a walk, and today you really felt it. The leaves at Sunridge Park are just starting to turn, those early splashes of gold and orange that make certain corners look like a little wonderland. Dixie was in her element — tongue out, happy, practically laughing her way down the path. By the time you all got home s...
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The Quiet Path Forward

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The streets are quiet, the air is cool, and the path forward is simple: just keep moving. Tonight brought another "Maintaining" status on my watch screen. It’s easy to look at a colored bar on a wearable display and feel like you're stuck in neutral. Since quitting smoking, the old rhythm has felt missing. The peak training statuses and high-productivity runs that used to come naturally seem trapped on the other side of last year's back injury and a heavy season of loss. When you lose an uncle, a grandparent, and a friend all in a single week, the weight doesn't just rest on your mind—it settles deep into your physical body. Lately, my training log looks more like a cycle of recovery and retraining, occasionally landing on a strain or a hold pattern every time I try to push the pace again. But looking at the numbers only tells a fraction of the story. The real metric isn't written in algorithm zones—it's written in momentum. The year before last was a cycl...
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Chasing Streetlights

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    The Rhythm of Late-Night Walks There is a quiet clarity that only comes when the rest of the world has gone to sleep and it’s just the hum of the streetlights guiding the way. Stepping out into the cool night air with a loyal companion on the leash turns an ordinary stroll into a grounding ritual, where the empty asphalt stretches out ahead and the sharp glow of the overhead lamps cuts through the dark. Whether we're pacing along familiar neighborhood curbs or taking a long breather under the night sky, these peaceful evening walks offer a welcome chance to clear the mind, stretch our legs, and soak in the stillness before another busy day begins . Looking at the stats afterward adds its own satisfaction to the night. Covering a quick 1.09 km loop over about 10 minutes, the session ended up being a surprisingly lively interval workout—balancing 4:12 of running with 4:36 of walking, alongside a few brief pauses. Pushing into Zone 3 Aerobic for nearly half the outing and spe...
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Modern Realities at 40: Back Strains, VO₂ Max, and Finding a Way Forward

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There is a distinct, uncompromising reality check that comes with turning 40. For years, your body tends to forgive minor mistakes. You can lift a bit awkwardly, skimp on warm-ups, or pull a long shift, and a good night’s sleep usually resets the system. But eventually, the bill comes due. When a lower back injury hits properly, it doesn't just slow you down—it brings everything to an absolute standstill. The "Sock Test" and the Reality of Severe Back Pain You don't truly realize how crucial your lower back is until bending down 45 degrees feels like an impossible task. Anyone who has dealt with acute back pain knows the ultimate metric of disability isn't how much you can lift at the gym—it’s the Sock Test. When an alarm doesn't go off and you need to get moving, but you literally cannot reach your feet to put on your socks or tie your shoes without severe, sharp pain locking up your spine, reality hits hard. Sitting on the edge of the bed waiting an hour for...
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Night Walks, Caffeine, and a Returned Mac Mini

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  Night Walk Under the Dark Sky Caffeine, Big Dogs, and a Returned Mac Mini Tonight’s walk had that quiet, late‑evening vibe where everything feels a bit slowed down but still alive. Dixie and I met up with Nick around 8:20 PM , stepping out into the dark with just enough light from the street lamps to guide us. I didn’t start the watch right away, so the tracking came in just over 1 km , but the distance wasn’t really the point — it was the company and the night itself. Nick handed me back my Mac mini , the one he tried turning into an online server. It didn’t quite pan out, so now it’s back in my hands, ready for a fresh format and a clean Linux install. Honestly, I don’t mind. There’s something satisfying about wiping a machine and giving it a new purpose. I grabbed Nick an iced coffee as a thank‑you for coming out. We both laughed about drinking caffeine this late — something we normally avoid — but when you’re on time off, the rules bend a little. A bit of cold coffee in the d...
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Tackling the Sick Day

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  Tackling the Sick Day: Laundry, River Walks, and Small Victories There is a specific kind of magic that happens when a high dose of Motrin kicks in right when you're dealing with a nasty cold. One minute you're completely flattened by a brutal virus, and the next, you're somehow conquering the household chores like a productivity machine. Today was supposed to be a total write-off. This cold has been taking absolutely everything out of me—I’ve even been sleeping in the spare room the last couple of nights just to make sure Kim doesn't catch this lingering bug. But between the cough syrup every six hours and taking a few scalding hot, steamy showers just so I can actually breathe, I somehow found a second wind. Instead of rotting in bed, I managed to string together a surprisingly productive morning: Dog Duty: Got out for a quick, brisk loop around the block to get the dog moving. The Big Reset: Picked up all the stray clothes, cleared out the garbage, and vacuumed the...
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Copies, Originals, and the Quiet Ways We Hold Each Other Together

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 Every one Has a Mom and Dad A reflection on walking through hard days, finding comfort in books and prayer, cooking rice you don’t like for someone you love, and the strange, beautiful journey of art — how originals stay rooted while copies travel out into the world, carrying pieces of us wherever they go. Walking, Reading, Praying, and the Quiet Work of Staying Human Blog Post – by Nigel There are stretches of life where everything feels braided together — the walks, the books, the prayers, the conversations with neighbours, the hospital scares, the small kindnesses, the art we carry home. Lately my days have felt like that: threads crossing, tightening, loosening, making a pattern I’m only just beginning to see. I’ve been walking more — with Mom, with Dixie, with whoever crosses my path. On one of those walks my neighbour and I got talking about storytelling. He said all stories come from fiction. I told him I’m a non‑fiction guy through and through. I rehearse my grade‑nine ...
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