Hi everyone! Looking forward to meet y'all! My name's Karina; I've been vegan for 8 years, and yesterday I celebrated 13 years of vegetarianism. I spend most of my time working toward my Master's degree in Gerontology (at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver BC), and I've got 3 jobs, including running a tiny vegan/organic bakery business out of my apartment (http://www.snailhousebakery.com). After completing this degree I intend to pursue a PhD in Gerontology, also at SFU. I have 3 main groups of interests/activities: Music - I play piano, didgeridoo, and oboe. Visual arts - Quilling (paper filigree), Origami flower arrangements, jewellery design and beading. Here's a gallery of some of my stuff. And, of course, being active! My main activities are triathlon training (swim, bike, run; I'm racing in my first tri in a week!) and weight training. I also love power yoga and rollerblading. I've been weight training for about 6 years, and started triathlon training about 6 months ago, but had been doing the 3 sports for many years beforehand. I'd love to concentrate more on weight training after the race, putting in 3 or 4 days a week instead of 2. I have a load of barriers to physical activity that I've learned to overcome, including serious seasonal allergies, asthma, and risk of exercise-induced anaphylaxis. I get weekly allergy shots for pollen and my potentially life-threatening allergy to raw fruit (I gotta cook it all!), and I'm not allowed to train for the rest of the day after getting the shots, for risk of anaphylaxis. I have some other, mostly unknown and totally random, food sensitivities that could turn into anaphylactic reactions with strenuous exercise. Thus, I can exercise only after eating foods I'm certain I'm not allergic to. My pre-workout choices are oatmeal and soymilk, and gatorade during workouts. I carry an epipen with me at all times, especially when training. So, my triathlon is meant to be a big, fat "screw you!" to all these ridiculous barriers, while quite possibly putting other people's barriers into perspective. Apologies for the long-winded intro, and I look forward to participating in discussions here!
