shootstories

After 122 years, the Super Ex is saying goodbye to its Lansdowne Park location.  I have mixed feelings about the change in locale.  On one level, it has outgrown its current venue.  I can’t say I will miss the parking chaos and extra litter it brings to the Glebe.  Ottawa’s transit system is not a great people-mover which exacerbates the situation.

On the other hand, there is something nostalgic about the sights and sounds it brings those 10 days in August. Admittedly, my nostalgia is more for the Canadian National Exhibition which I grew up with in TO.  Every summer it signified the transition from summer break and cottage life, to getting back together with friends before the start of school.  In my 19 years of living in Ottawa I only went to the Super Ex once.  It never quite lived up to my memories of the CNE and always felt like the poor cousin.

That said, I will miss the influx of the transient visitors to the ‘hood.   From families frequenting it for generations and now bringing their grandkids, to teens, and even adult lovers (strolling hand n’ hand with a winning stuffy for the date of course!).

After its long history at Lansdowne Park, indeed it may be time for the Super Ex to reinvent itself.  Signals suggest it may find a home in greener pastures and perhaps return to its more agrarian routes.  And so I bid the Ex… adieu.

I

transition area at the start of the day

lots of energy

I can’t speak from the experience of actually completing the 3.8K swim • 180K bike • 42.2K run distance, but I certainly can from being an enthusiastic and committed front-row spectator.  Not only at this year’s Ironman Lake Placid but through hubby’s training to get to the start line.  The adventure began mid-July 2009 when hubby registered for the 2010 race.  Over the course of the year he logged 277K swimming, 3,463K biking and 1,915K of running.  He went through 4 pairs of running shoes.  Training was interrupted by a broken arm for 2.5 months.   A nighstick break on the Ulna prevented any swimming or biking during the period.  Instead the Ironman-in-training focused on the run and did a marathon, qualifying for Boston.

swim start at Mirror Lake

close to 3,000 swimmers thrashing at the mass start

So, after the many hours of juggling schedules and supporting all the mileage through the year….the 11 hours of spectating on race day was nothing.  The Lake Placid venue is ideal for spectators as there are many opportunities to see the athletes in the 3 legs of the race.  The children and I hung out for the whole day and it’s remarkable how quickly it went by (for us!?).  It’s hard not to get caught up in the excitement and the energy the race emanates.   There is such a broad range of athletes.  They come in all shapes and sizes and are aged from 18 to 70+.  There are athletes with prosthetics, some are blind, others have battled through cancer or withstood other big losses in their lives.  Very inspiring.  Congrats on a race well done!

bikes & spectators behind the finish

everyone competes for a reason

“What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other travel. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and you remain basically a bourgeois; paddle a hundred in a canoe and you are already a child of nature.”          ~Pierre Elliott Trudeau

One of the iconic symbols of Canada is the canoe.  Appropriately so.  A vast history from Aboriginal Canadians to the first voyageurs to Aboriginal Canadians to modern day adventurers of our great Canadian wilderness.

How can a good Canadian summer pass without mention of the canoe?

Have been distracting me and keeping me away from the keyboard.  Busy out shooting though, so hope to post more soon.  Aaahhh, sweet summer!