Author Archives: Sylvia Masich

Canada’s two best tennis players withdraw from the Davis Cup

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It is considered the “World Cup of Tennis” and two of Canada’s best players just announced that they are withdrawing from the tournament.

The Davis Cup is set to start at the end of the month and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov have both pulled out, according to a statement from Tennis Canada released today (Sunday).

The Davis Cup is THE event for men’s tennis, and has countries compete against each other in a knockout form to determine the winner. The competition started in 1900, and only had two teams – Great Britain and the United States. Over the years, 135 countries have taken part.

During the last Davis Cup, Canada lost to Spain in the finals.

Auger-Aliassime said that he has been dealing with an injury for quite awhile and that by the recommendation of his doctor, he should rest. Shapovalov also said that needed rest was the reason why he pulled out.

This past tennis season, Shapovalov has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals and the Geneva Open finals. He has represented Canada at the Davis Cup 8 times throughout his career. Auger-Aliassime reached the semifinals at the US Open this past season, and found himself ranked 11th in the ATP Tour rankings, a career high for him. He was taken part in the Davis Cup 4 times.

It was a difficult decision for both players, but team captain Frank Dancevic understands.

“We know that Felix and Denis have always made the Davis Cup one of their top priorities, but it’s been a long and even more trying season due to the protocols and measures put in place to help combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and we completely understand their decision.”

Toronto’s Steven Diez will take the players spot, and join Vasek Pospisil, Brayden Schnur, and Peter Polansky.

This will be Diez’s second appearance at the Davis Cup.The last time he took part was in 2010. His is currently ranked 258th in the ATP rankings.

The Davis Cup will take place in three venu – the Madrid Arena, the Olympia-Halle in Innsbruck, and the pala Alpitour Arena in Turin. The tournament starts on November 25th and the finals will be held on December 5th in Madrid.

Canadian long trackers bring home 7 medals after a successful World Cup in Poland

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The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing are right around the corner and many Canadian athletes are starting to prepare for the big world class event.

This weekend, 22 of Canada’s best long track speed skaters were in Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Poland for the first World Cup of the season. They all competed in a variety of distances and some skaters brought some hardware home.

This was the first of four ISU World Cups that will help determine who Team Canada will be taking to Beijing.

Racing started on Friday with the 500m and 3000m being skated by the women, and the 500m and 5000m being skated by the men.

Laurent Dubreuil of Québec, skated his 500m with a time of 34,68 which landed him a bronze medal. Teammates Gilmore Junio and Alex Boisvert-Lacroix placed in 16th and 17th place respectively. World record holder Pavel Kulizhnikov of Russia was almost a second behind Dubreuil, and has last in the A Division.

Isabelle Weidemann powerfully skated to second place in the 3000m with a time of 4 minutes and 5 seconds.

Team Canada’s 5000m world record holder, Ted-Jan Bloemen skated to a silver medal with a time of 6 minutes and 20 seconds, 5 seconds behind first place. Teammates Graeme Fish finished 12th with a time of 6 minutes and 29 seconds and Jordan Belchos finished 16th, crossing the line with a time of 6 minutes and 35 seconds.

Heather McLean, Brooklyn McDougall, and Marsha Hudey all skated in the women’s 500m, but weren’t able to crack the top 10.

After day one, Canada already had 3 podium finishes, and they weren’t done yet.

Day 2 saw a large variety of distances competed.

The women were scheduled to race in the 500m, 1000m, and the six lap team pursuit. Team Canada didn’t have any top 10 finishes in the 500m or the 1000m, but Ivanie Blondin, Isabelle Weidemann, and Valerie Maltais were able to skate to the top of the podium for the team pursuit with a time of 3 minutes, beating Japan and the Netherlands.

Even though the women beat the Olympic Champions, Weidemann said that it wasn’t their best performance.

“We were a little bit scrambly. It was our first one in a long time. So it was just figuring it out again. But it was a really great first one and I think we’re excited to keep building off of it.” -Isabelle Weidemann

The men skated the 1500m and mass start.

Twenty-one year old, Connor Howe skated into 5th place with a time of 1 minute 46 seconds, with teammates Tyson Langelaar and Antoine Gélinas-Beaulieu finishing 15th and 19th respectively.

Unfortunately, there were no Canadians in the mass start final.

Today was the final day of action, and three more medals were brought home.

The women has the 1500m and the mass start.

Ivanie Blondin was the lone Canadian in the 1500m, and skated into eleventh place with a time of one minute 58 seconds. However, it is in the mass start where she dominated.

After 16 laps with 16 other skaters on the oval, Ivanie placed second, scoring 40 points in the race.

The mass start is based on how many points you accumulate during the race. Specific laps are point laps, and the sooner you finish the lap, the more points you are awarded.

After having to race three races throughout the day, Blondin was pleased with her results.

“The mass start went really well. Today was a very tough day physically with three races, but I’m glad I pulled through and made it happen in the end. There was lots of action going on in the middle of the race and I had to fight to keep in a good position. But that’s where I’m at my best, so I was right in my element.”

The men competed in the 500m, 1000m, and the team pursuit to wrap up the day.

Dubreuil clinched his second podium finish in the 500m, gliding his way into second place with a time of 34,73, 4 hundredth behind Japan’s Tatsuya Shinhama.  Teammates Junio and Boisvert-Lacroix finished in 18th and 20th respectively,

 

“I am very happy with my day today and my first World Cup overall. To be on the podium two times in two 500 races is not easy with the depth of this field,” -Dubreuil

No one medalled in the 1000m, but Dubreuil and Gélina-Beaulieu both finished in the top ten and Summer and Winter Olympian, VIncent de Haître came in 14th.

Jordan Belchos, Ted-Jan Bloemen, and Connor Howe were able to clinch a silver medal in the team pursuit with a time of 3 minutes and 45 seconds, less than a second behind the Netherlands.

After seeing the results of this World Cup, I believe that Canada is going to do well in long track speed skating at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. I expect us to do well in both team pursuits, the women’s mass starts, the 3000m, 5000m for both men and women, the 500m for the men, and the 10000m. When the Olympics are occuring, expect to see me glued to a screen watching speed skating.

The next World Cup is taking place in Stavanger, Norway on Friday. Team Canada will be on home ice on December 9th for the World Cup in Calgary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost a decade later, high jumper Derek Drouin has been upgraded to silver

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There are now no bronze medalists from the men’s high jump event at 2012 Summer Olympics. Why? Because the three men all got upgraded to silver this past weekend.

Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, Great Britain’s Robert Grabarz, and Canada’s very own Derek Drouin are now the silver medalists for the event, and the United States’ Erik Kynard is now the Olympic Champion.

Russia’s Ivan Ukhov was stripped of his gold medal in February 2019 by the Court of Arbitration in Sport for doping. He is one of twelve Russian track and field who were found guilty of state-backed doping. Ukhov’s results were disqualified from competitions between July 2012 to July 2014, which includes the 2012 Olympics.

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The men’s high jump was one of five 2012 Olympic events to have their results re-written due to doping disqualifications on Friday.

“I am just pained for the athletes who were denied the opportunity to listen to their own national anthem while standing on top of the podium, as well as the athletes who will now receive their Olympic medal in the mail rather than having the medal ceremony experience they always dreamt of. ” -Derek Drouin

Drouin knows what it is like to be on top of the Olympic podium, hearing his nation’s anthem play in the stadium, because he was the 2016 Olympic Champion in Rio, with a leap of 2.38m.

“[A medal upgrade is] not the same. Speaking from experience, [standing atop the podium] is something that I’ll never forget, and it’s something that [Kynard] should have experienced, and he might never now.” -Drouin

Both Kynard and Drouin were absent from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, but Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim shared the top of the podium with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi. Ukhov has not competed since 2015.

According to Drouin, there is a bit of a brightside to the medal upgrade – no one is actually missing out on the podium experience. Because of the three way tie for bronze, there was no 4th place finisher, and now with the medal upgrade, there is no bronze medalist.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for the women’s high jump, where fourth place finisher Ruth Beitia from Spain was upgraded to bronze after Russian Svetlana Shkolina was stripped of hers. Beitia went on to win gold at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

This isn’t the first time a Canadian track and field athlete has been upgraded at the Olympics; Kamloops’ Dylan Armstrong was upgraded to bronze in 2015 after finishing fourth in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Belarus’ Andrei Mikhnevich originally won bronze, but was then disqualified for doping. 

 

 

 

 

Honouring the Canadian Armed Forces through sport

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Throughout this past week, many sporting events have had Armed Forces Appreciation Night in honour of Remembrance Day. On Tuesday, November 9th, the Vancouver Canucks hosted Armed Forces Night and on Friday, November 12th, the BC Lions hosted their Salute to Service Night.

Many military personnel were in attendance at both events.

On Tuesday, the Canucks organization donated over 700 tickets to the Armed Forces. During warmup, players wore limited edition camo jerseys. They will be auctioned off on Vanbase.

Before the game started, the emblems for each branch of the armed forces in Canada danced across the ice, as people had their flashlights on.

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Sergeant Cindy Scott beautifully sang both national anthems, and was accompanied by the Canadian Armed Forces Flag party. Sergeant Scott’s voice literally gave me goosebumps.

During intermission, they brought out a military G-Wagon to giveaway prizes.

It was really cool to see the Canadian Armed Forces honoured like this. It’s something I’ve never seen before. However, it was a little disappointing seeing the lack of poppies that Canucks fans were wearing and I don’t think there was a place at Rogers Arena for people to get one either.

Overall, the entire atmosphere was very thrilling at the game. It was an intense game that kept everyone on the edge of their seats, and I don’t think I have ever passionately yelled “Ref you suck” as much as I did in that game.

Unfortunately, the Canucks fell to the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in overtime.

On Friday, the BC Lions had their Salute to Service Night where hundreds of BC/Yukon Command Royal Canadian Legion and Canadian Armed Forces were in attendance.

Before kickoff, Sergeant Cindy Scott once again sang the national anthem beautifully and then at halftime the White Spot Pipe Band performed their 4/4 March Set, which also gave me goosebumps.

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The BC Lions were playing the Calgary Stampeders and they were both fighting for a playoff spot. The Stampeders won that fight.

Overall, it was really cool seeing these two major Vancouver sports organizations honour the Canadian Armed Forces and how many members were in attendance at both games. Personally, I think the Canucks did a better job at recognizing the Armed Forces throughout the night, whereas the main focus for the BC Lions was trying to win the game to clinch a playoff spot.

Looking forward to more appreciation nights in Vancouver throughout the season.

 

With his bike, a British man drew a man with a moustache

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Yes, you read that correctly. A man drew a moustached man with his bike.

How is that even possible?

Well, there is this amazing fitness app (I have no bias at all) called Strava, where you can record your fitness activities. It has the option to track where you ran, walked, cycled, etc. on a map, and you can see the route you took. It also tells you if you’ve gotten any personal bests, what your heart rate was throughout your workout, and many more cool features that go on for at least a mile. You can even plan out your own route, which is where some people get creative.

Britain’s Anthony Hoyte has earned the nickname “Pedalling Picasso” because he creates drawings for some of his bike routes. In the past, he has done reindeer, Santa Clause, and even wrote out “Merry Christmas.”

But this November, he drew a man with moustache, and for a good cause. Movember.

“[The portrait is] all about challenging the stigma around mental health” -Hoyte

The route was just over 120km and took him throughout London for almost eight and a half hours.

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Alongside of raising awareness for men’s mental health and suicide preventions, prostate and testicular cancer, and to go get tested, Hoyte is also hoping to raise £3925 for Movember; a pound for every man who took his life in 2020.

“If I can raise awareness and some cash for Movember doing something like this, then fantastic” -Hoyte

Hoyte said that he himself has had his own struggles with mental health throughout his lifetime and doesn’t find it easy to open up about his personal struggles.

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According to Hoyte, it took about three months to plan and when he went out for his 120km ride, a few modifications occurred due to road closures. And by the end, he had completely gassed, stating that he isn’t as fit as he could be.

You can donate to Hoyte’s fundraiser here: https://uk.movember.com/story/pedalling-picasso-drawing-artwork-with-a-bicycle-and-gps

Movember occurs every year in the month of November across the world where people raise funds for men’s health. Men who take part don’t shave their mustaches off for the month.

It was do or die – and the BC Lions got Stamped

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Friday night was do or die for the BC Lions – they had to win their game against the Calgary Stampeders to still have a hope for a playoff spot.

They got stamped.

Before Friday night’s match up at BC Place, it was a known fact that the Lions needed to win their final two games of the season to secure a spot in the playoffs for the Grey Cup.  But, they weren’t the only team hungry to secure a playoff spot, and everyone knew that.

Fans were nervous about what the outcome of the game was going to be, knowing that the Lions still hadn’t broken their losing streak, which was up to 6 at that point. I ran into a Lions superfan just before the game, who has had season tickets for the past 25 seasons, and he said that this is most definitely one of the worst seasons he’s seen from the team.

But it ultimately came down to who was hungrier for that playoff spot because the Calgary Stampeders also needed to win  to clinch a spot in the playoffs.

Disclaimer. I’m not going to give you the entire rundown of the game because that would be brutal for you – my knowledge of football is limited and I am one to just sit down and enjoy the game, you know?

I walked into the stadium a few minutes before the end of the second quarter (I had to finish my work shift before going into the game) and I thought to myself “This is going to be a good game.” 

The score was 13-13. It seemed that the Lions were hungry for that win.

https://twitter.com/CFL/status/1459385507905953801

Just before the start of halftime, the Stampeders started to break away and once the third quarter started, the Lions couldn’t keep up, but they kept fighting hard.

https://twitter.com/CFL/status/1459395418501128198

As the clock was ticking down to the final minutes, fans were still hopeful that the Lions would pull a Saskatchewan and get 13 points with a minute left in the game, but knowing how the Lions have played this season, a miracle really needed to happen for that to play out. When fans realized that that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, many left, and BC Place became a lot less full with minutes still left in the game.

As predicted and after putting up quite the fight, the Lions fell 33-23 to the Stampeders and lost their chance to be in the playoffs. This is the second consecutive season that the team hasn’t made it to playoffs. For the Stampeders, they have extended their playoff streak to 16 years after their win on Friday.

But I must say, the atmosphere at the game was good. Fans were kept at the edge of their seats the entire time, and there was definitely a high after Lucky Whitehead broke away and scored a 86-yard touchdown. But unfortunately, that high couldn’t help the Lions win.

The highlight for me personally, was meeting Lions superfan, Crazy P.

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The Stampeders will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their final regular season game on Saturday. Then, they will face the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Sunday, November 28th, for the CFL Division Semi-Finals in Regina.

The Lions have one more game of the season at BC Place, against the Edmonton Elks. The Elks are currently last in the West Division and are 2-10 this season.

Friday is also Fan Appreciation Night, where they will have lots of fun features, players messages, and giveaways for fans.

Kickoff is at 7:30.

Imagine Picasso – an immersive must see

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If you were like me and absolutely loved being surrounded in Vincent van Gogh’s paintings at the Vancouver Convention Centre, you are in luck.

Imagine Picasso has been open at the Vancouver Convention Centre for the past three weeks and from the pictures, it looks absolutely amazing.

From the creators of Imagine van Gogh, this immersive exhibits projects more than 200 pieces of his work that dance across the room and numerous different screens. Similar to Imagine van Gogh, before you enter the main gallery, you can read about Picasso’s life and the different periods of his work. They even have a full wall with all of the pieces of art that will be projected in the main gallery.

Scattered throughout the gallery are massive objects that art is projected on, to replicate how Picasso used unexpected shapes in his paintings. Paintings from his Blue, Rose, cubism, and surrealism periods are all shown.

This immersive experience is also the first time that such a large number of Picasso’s art pieces will be displayed all at once.

For creator Annabelle Mauger, the biggest difference between Imagine van Gogh and Imagine Picasso is that Picasso’s art career spans over 80 years and there were tens of thousands of art pieces to choose from, whereas van Gogh painted less than one thousand during is painting career.

“For Van Gogh, it was really different because Van Gogh is a myth, you know? I think Picasso’s art is the genius of the 20th century but most people know his name — not his paintings. What was really important for me was to show those paintings between the blue paintings, the pink paintings, cubism, and surrealism.” -Mauger

Ticket prices vary by age and day, but average between $40-$50. If you would like to purchase them, visit www.imagine-picasso.com/

Tickets are also timed, so you can enjoy the exhibit without it being too crowded. Masks are required and guests who are 12+ must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19

The Immersive Exhibition will be in Vancouver until January 8th, 2022. But who knows; it might pull an Imagine van Gogh and extend its stay five times…

If you’ve gone, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

A life changing organization – why you should volunteer with Special Olympics

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I can easily say that being a Special Olympics coach and volunteer has changed my life. I have been coaching with the organization since I was 15, and it has played a huge roll in my teenage years and my early adult years.

I have met some of the most determined and dedicated athletes while volunteering with Special Olympics, who bring the biggest smile to my face every single day. I get to share my passion for sport in a fun environment, challenge myself, challenge athletes, and make countless friends.

Nothing is more exciting than seeing an athlete you’ve worked with coming home with a gold medal from the World Games.

Special Olympics is an organization I think everyone should volunteer with at least once in their life. It is one of the most rewarding things ever. I’m going to share with you on how I got involved with Special Olympics, and why it is so important to me.

It was November 12th, 2016. The Edmonton Speed Skating Association was hosting their annual Fall Classic at Clareview Arena, and looking back now, that competition changed my life forever.

My family and I had made the drive from Prince George to Edmonton for the competition. My sister and I were competing, my mom was coaching, and my dad was the cheerleader and skate sharpener. It was a usual speed skating competition for the Masich Family.

The overall competition was good. I raced well, placed decently, but my biggest takeaway was the relay event. And not even my category’s relay event – the Special Olympics relay.

I was in the oldest category at the competition, and at the end of the meet, we had to do relays. Speed skating relays are often called organized chaos, because that is what they really are. Once my category was done with ours, organizers asked a few of us to help and skate in the Special Olympic relay as well. I, and a few other girls obviously said yes.

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My friends and I took part and we all had a blast. We got to slow down and enjoy our race. There wasn’t any stress about trying to win the race.

I think the smile on my face says it all on how I felt about the relay. I was having a blast. The Special Olympic athletes also had a blast.

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After the competition and when we were driving back home, I looked at my mom and told her that I had SO much fun doing the relay that I want to volunteer with Special Olympics.

So I did. I started the following spring and helped coach ClubFit and track and field, and then when the winter came, I started coaching snowshoeing.

I have watched countless athletes break their personal bests, cross the finish line with the BIGGEST smile on their v\face, and I have made so many friendships these past 5 years with the organization.

There are days when I am super down and just want to lie in bed, but I have to go coach. And when I arrive, I am greeted by smiles, waves, and “hi Sylvia!”

Everyone is welcomed and celebrated.

In my last year of high school in 2019, my mom and I started a program with the Prince George Track and Field Club to have high school aged Special Olympic athletes train with the club in preparation for the Zone Championships.

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We had four athletes join, and at the end of zones, three athletes qualified for provincials. Two of favourite memories from doing that was when one of my athletes could do the shot put all by himself without me giving him cues on what to do next. It was a big deal that he could do that. My other favourite memory was seeing how welcoming the other track athletes were during practice. They would cheer on my athletes and interact with them; often times when they were at school, they would be made fun of or bullied, so seeing that they were welcomed was great.

Unfortunately due to COVID, my mom and I haven’t been able to run the program, but we are hoping it’ll be back this coming Spring.

When I asked my friend Marinka why she loves Special Olympics so much, she told me that she loves making new friends, competing, and getting to travel all over. Which honestly, same.

Knowing that you are a positive impact in the lives of countless athletes, and helping make a positive impact in their life is such a special feeling. Special Olympians live in the moment and that has taught me to embrace what is happening right then and there, to enjoy life, and to be a friend to everyone.

Special Olympics is truly a life changing organization for volunteers and athletes. If you want to get involved with Special Olympics, click here.

Concerts are finally making a return and it is the best thing ever

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Okay obviously it is the best thing ever. I feel like you would be crazy if you DIDN’T like concerts and thought that this wasn’t the best thing ever!

For the past almost two years, we have been deprived of concerts thanks to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But, because of the vaccine and masks, concerts are slowly starting to make their return, and like I said in the title, it is the best thing ever.

There are those special feelings that come with concerts – the anticipation to the event, experiencing the feeling of losing 5 years of hearing because the music is so loud, screaming fans, wanting to be taken away by the music, and that high on life feeling has been dearly missed, at least by me.

The last concert I went to was in 2018. It was 5 Seconds of Summer in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre. So it has been a hot minute since I was last at one.

On Saturday, I finally went to my first concert in three years, and my first concert in Vancouver!

It was LANY for the gg bb xx tour and was held in the Pacific Coliseum, a venu I had never been in before. My aunt filled me in that that was the venu where all the concerts were held in Vancouver before Rogers Arena was built.

It is a super cool venue and I love how open it is in terms of the seats and the concourse.

The concert itself was phenomenal – Paul Klein’s stage presence is out of this world and he really connects with his fans. Everyone there has having a great time.

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For me, this concert was a great reintroduction to concerts and a great first concert in Vancouver.

That concert was the first concert to be held in the Pacific Coliseum since the start of the pandemic, and it is only the beginning.

Many concerts have been happening over the past couple of weeks. Rogers Arena had its first concert since March 2020 with country music star, Eric Church. The Vogue Theatre, The Orpheum, and the Commodore Ballroom have also held live concerts for the first time in almost two years.

Concerts of note that are still to come in 2021 are Mother Mother at The Commodore from December 2nd-5th, Milky Chance at the Civic Theatres on November 22nd, and Bryan Adams New Year’s Eve Party with special guests 54-40 and Mother Mother on New Years Eve.

Don’t miss out on the return to in person concerts – it is a very exciting time!

Movement really is medicine

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I didn’t realize how important it was to move and do physical activity until I stopped. Years after I stopped consistently training and pushing my body, I started to realize how much not moving has impacted me negatively.

Movement is medicine.

During the time of having to stay home, many people filled their free time with working out. At home workouts, walks, runs, were just a few things people were doing to keep busy. My TikTok feed was filled with “daily routines” of people doing workouts – the Chloe Ting Ab workout, eating healthy, and having fairly productive days.

During that time, I was fortunate to be working full time. But I was working reception full time, so I was sitting at a desk for 8 hours staring at a computer screen. My legs would be tired after a long day of sitting, and my eyes would be sore after staring at a screen for so long. I couldn’t do at home workouts. I was so tired every day that all I did was go home and sit on the couch after work and get more tired.

I continued that throughout all of 2020 and part of 2021. I focused more on everything else that was going on in my life and didn’t put my health first. At all. I forgot about something so important –

Movement is medicine.

“Yeah obviously.”

That would have been my mentality if someone said that to me when I was 15. I was speed skating up to 5 times a week, going to the gym, and was overall, in really good shape.

Obviously, movement is medicine.

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I would have thought it was silly that someone would say something SO obvious.

I took that mentality for granted.

Just before I turned 16, I quit speed skating competitively. I was done with the sport. I hated it. I wanted nothing to do with it. I was mad at so many people and things. I no longer wanted to be known as Sylvia the girl who does speed skating. I wanted to be known as just Sylvia. I was so angry at the sport that I donated a bunch of my shirts from competitions.

I regret that a lot now.

By quitting speed skating, all the time I would have spent at the rink was spent doing homework. Hours and hours and hours of it. I stopped going to the gym. I stopped training. And I got out of shape fast.

And that continued.

I sort of went to the gym in grade 12. But not a lot.

I sort of went to the gym 1st year university. But not a lot.

Then I dropped out of school, a global pandemic hit everyone unexpectedly, and I was working full time so there was absolutely no way that I was going to get back into shape then.

I was barely moving. Often, I would hit 1000 steps a day. Maybe a little more. I wasn’t putting any time aside for me. My legs would be tired from sitting all day, my brain was drained from staring at a computer screen all day, I had absolutely no energy when I left work every day. Taking care of my body was the least of my worries.

And I continued doing that. I was putting everything first, except for myself. School, work, coaching, you name it. I was exhausted. I wasn’t feeling great. I wasn’t liking what was happening.

I forgot that movement is medicine. I forgot how important it is to get out and move.

Until recently.

The Prince George Hospice Society in hosting their 3rd Annual Colour Walk. It’s the second year of doing it virtually, so they’re encouraging people to walk 100km in the month of May and raise money for Hospice. It’s pretty awesome seeing people share all of their walks on the local Facebook page. Over 300 people are participating this year.

This year, I challenged myself to take time out of my day every day, to go for a walk and get kilometres in for the Colour Walk. And that’s what I did. Every day, I started going out for a walk and felt GREAT. Getting out and enjoying the weather was putting me in a better mood.

Movement is medicine.

And then I sprained my ankle. I went for a run and hit a pothole in the middle of the sidewalk. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SIDEWALK! It is the most Prince George injury ever.

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Unfortunately for 10 days, I could not move. It hurt to move. I was on crutches and I was couch bound.

I started to realize how much movement was medicine.

When my ankle was more stable and I could walk on it, I took full of advantage of it. I started walking at least 5km every day, and if I didn’t walk, I was riding my bike. I started to feel better. My body was tired because I was using it, not because it was immobile for hours. My legs were sore because they were moving and being used for long periods of time, not sitting down for long periods of time.

And mentally? I am feeling so much better than I did a month ago. I am now regretting not putting my health first and taking time out of my day to workout. I think if I would have done that throughout high school, I would have felt so much better and I think I would have done so much better in school too.

Movement really is medicine. Not only is it good for you physically, but it does wonders mentally. You are putting yourself first and taking care of yourself, something that many of us forget to do in such a busy world. Heck, I forgot to do it for four years of my life, and I watched my life start to kind of fall apart around me.

Putting yourself isn’t selfish. Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish. You are important and so is your physical and mental well being.

Don’t forget. Movement is medicine.

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