My Running Bucket

Three Things Thursday - three goals for February

2012-02-02T09:56:00.000-05:00

January had come and gone. It is onto February now and I still have not posted my goals or resolutions for the year. ONE of these days!

For now I would like to post 3 goals for February, as part of Three Things Thursday:

1. 100 Push ups
Christine over at Big Dream Runner is hosting a 100x Challenge. Every month she has a new challenge for people to participate in. This month is PUSH UPS! Check out this post to get more info!
The goal is to do 100 push ups per week, for a total of 400 push ups!
To quote Christine, "honestly, im scared."
This challenge is great because it does not take a lot of time, but it will be painful and beneficial. Lets get to push up-ing!

2. Run a Marathon
No, I do not mean to run an actual marathon, but to run 26.2 miles this month. That should not be too hard, but it will motivate me to get my bootie into gear!

3. Floss, Stretch, and Dance
All the above always make me feel good. My goal to do these daily. Floss at night, stretch in the morning, laugh and dance in the afternoon! These are all stress relievers and exactly what I need in my life right now!

WISH ME LUCK!

What are your goals for the month?

Meal Planning 101

2012-01-27T09:31:00.000-05:00

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Meal planning is one of my favourite things. I love looking through blogs and website and discovering their recipes and then adopting and adapting them.
Sundays are usually the day that the bf and I talk about food for the upcoming week. We try to be healthy (er) on Monday, Tuesdsay, Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is usually a less healthy day. And we dont plan for the weekends. Weekends are a free-for-all. Usually we will have at least 1 meal at one of our parents house and then scrape together another meal and probably either go out or order in the last meal.
This works for us.

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Here are some advantages to meal planning:

Eat out less
Eat more healthy
Eat more of a variaty of food
Don't get bored with eating the same thing over and over
Save money
Always have the groceries that you need
Input from your family - means they will eat everything presented to the.
No questions on what is for dinner which night. Make a list and put it on the fridge
Spend less time at the grocery store bc you have a list of the items you need
No impulse buying - saves more money
Allows you to spend more time with the ppl you love
Less Stress.
YOu can plan your days around the meals you are going to eat. for example, if on a a tuesday, you have meal that only takes 20 minutes, that mean that you can spend more time at the gym, you can grab that coffee with a friend, you can stop by the mall on your way home from work.

The bf and I are on a budget and the weeks that we do have a proper meal plan, we spend less at the grocery store and will not have to make trips to the grocery store during the week.

2 weeks ago, I posted a meal plan for that week. This was the menu:

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SUNDAY - Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew - really good on a cold winter evening!
MONDAY - Healthy Fish and Parnip Fries - ABSOLUTELY loved this! The fries were on of my favourites!!!

TUESDAY - Chicken with Salt & Vinigar Chickpeas - the salt & vinigar chickpeas were a big hit. I will 100% be making these again.

WEDNESDAY - Chef's Salad - a regular in our house.

THURSDAY - Thai Jambalaya - this was a little bit disappointing. I wished it was more thai then jamabalaya. It actually tasted similar to the Chickecn and Sweet Potato Stew that i made that sunday

FRIDAY - Sandwich and Soup - cant go wrong with a soup and sandwich combo!

That week was very successful. We had all the ingrediants. We knew exactly what we will be eating each night. It was great.

This week, I actually did not make a meal plan. Sunday I was at my parents all day and did not go grocery shoppping or make a list. Big mistake. This is what we ate this week:

Monday - Turkey breast and ceasar salad
Tuesday - cereal for dinner
Wednesday - cheese, crackers and some sausage
Thursday - Shrimp and Avocado pasta
Friday - Butternut squash soup and bruchetta

As you see from the above that only Monday, Thursday and Friday (tonight) was successful. On Tuesday, we both worked late and just didnt feel like cooking at 9 pm. On Wednesday, the bf had a client appreciation event at work. I went there to support him and just ended up eat wayyyyy too many cheese and crackers and cut up sausages.
On Thursday, I made it a point to actually cook and made a favourire in our house, a play on Oh She Glow's 15 minute creamy avocado pasta. We love this pasta and always add either chicken or Shrimp.
And tonight, we are both feeling a little under the weather, so soup will be idea. And we have a bagguette, so i will make some bruchetta with it!

If you compare the 2 weeks, you can see the advantages of meal planning. You will not be eating any cereal for dinner. Unless that is what you really want. Sometimes a nice bowl of cereal for dinner is very comforting!

Now onto next week. I have made a meal plan already and want to share it with you. Here it is:

Monday - coconut mango chicken over couscous
Tuesday - fish with turnip fries
Wednesday - turkey breast with asparagus
Thursday - Burritos
Friday - going out with some friends.

What did you eat this week that you liked? What is your go-to quick fix meal after a long hard day's work?

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-26T09:16:00.000-05:00

Its Thursday! You know what that means.....date night! hahha..... and time for Three Things Thursday!

1. Running Instructor

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Starting on Feb 16, 2012, I will be the newest Running Room Clinic Instructor. I have been chatting with the manager from the running store that I trained with for my half marathon and an opportunity came up and bada bing bada boom...I am the 10k instructor! I am super excited about this opportunity. I have wanted to do this for a long time. I think it will be great. The clinic runs from Feb 16, 2012 until April and our goal race is the Yonge Street 10k, which I am already signed up for!

2. iPhone

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So yes, I gave in and got an iPhone. The first day I was very confused. I wanted to call my parents to tell them about my new phone and had no idea how! lol. But slowly, I am learning....and lovin it~
I am loving the apps. I have a fitness/food tracker on it and want to explore other fabulous fitness related apps. Also, i am addicted to Words with Friends! loooove it. if you do have an iphone and play Words with Friends, let me know and we can play together!

3. Australian Open

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The bf and I have a unusual tradition where we wake up at 3 a.m. every year and watch the Men's final match at the Australian Open. This is happening this weekend, Sunday morning at 3:00 am. We have about 4 or 5 people coming over. We have drinks (ceasars/bloody mary's) and BLTs. We watch the tennis match till about 7 or 8 am and then go back to bed for a few hours.
I am not a big tennis fan, but this is one of my favourite traditions.

11 Randoms

2012-01-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

Marlene from Mission to A(nother) Marathon tagged me in "11 Randoms".

here are the rules (I’m copying these verbatim; it’s a little strict – lol):

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

Here are my 11 Randoms:

I drink my coffee very fast. I dont like when the coffee is lukewarm....it has to be hot! So i have to chug it.
I love avocados.
I dont know how to skate
I rather have chips than chocolate
I love walking around barefoot
I have very messy handwritting
I only wash my hair 2 or 3 times a week and only brush it after I wash it
I love taking pictures and wish i could be a photographer
I can drink my coffee black with no sugar, but my tea has to be sweet
I hate the radio. I only listen to audiocds on my commute to work.
I love to dance

And now to answer Marlene's Questions
1. What is your favourite pair of non-running shoes?

Winter time - my fake uggs. Summer time - my birkenstocks

2. What are you wearing right now?

something very similar to this that i got at Joe Fresh yesterday for $9.94

3. What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?

scream and jump up and down....and then go on vacation.

4. Are you named after anyone/anything?

5. What is worse – being too cold, or being too hot?

both are not good. Tho at home, i love when my apartment is a little cold, and I can cuddle with a blanket.

6. What is hanging on your walls at home?

Not that much. I do have a collage of pictures of me and the bf that he made me.

7. What is the last thing that you took a picture of?

of the wedding in Cuba

8. Who is the last person you spoke to on the phone?

my mom

9. Where did you go on vacation as a child?

Nowhere. we never went on any vacations.

10. What is your favourite TV show?

I have so many! lol. Modern Family, The Office, Parks & Rec, Happy Endings..... and there are many more

11. How many pieces of jewelry do you wear regularly?

A heart shaped necklace that the bc gave me for our first anniversary

OK! And Now i get to create my own QUESTIONS!

What is your favourite song on the radio right now?
Brad Pitt or George Clooney?
What is the last movie that you saw in the theatres?
If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?
When was the last time you sent a real letter?
Blue or Black pen?
What is the last book that you have read?
running, biking or swimming?
coffee or tea?
cats or dogs?
What is your favourite colour?

You've been TAGGED:

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday: Blackberry VS iPhone

2012-01-19T08:29:00.000-05:00

I have an old blackberry and desperately need an upgrade. I am going this weekend to get a new phone. I dont know if i should stick with blackberry (i love bbm) or switch to an iPhone. What do you use? And why?

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For the love of French Fries

2012-01-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I hit the gym up for a 45 minute workout. I walked/ran 2.5 miles in 30 minutes. I followed this up with 2x10 push ups from my toes, 2x25 squats, 2x25 lunges on each leg and then some abs. After much needed stretching, i went home.

On Friday, I posted my Meal Plan for the week and yesterday it was Healthy Fish & Chips.

I love me some fish and chips.

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The batter, the crispiness, the tartar sauce- YUMMMM!!!

But these are not the Fish & Chips that I had. I had baked Tilapia with some pepper, paprika and lemon juice. The fish was good, but nothing to write home about.

Now the Fries......the Fries were to die for!!!

I got the recipe from OH She Glows. Let me tell you something....this girl knows her fries. She said that 'these fries will change your life".....and I think they did.

These were Parsnip Fries with a peanut butter batter!

I followed the directions that Angela posted on her blog:

Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries

Yield: 1-2 servings.
Ingredients:

3 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into thin fry-like strips
3 tbsp nut butter ( i actually used 2 tbsp of regular peanut butter)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
I added paprika and red chilli flakes

Directions: Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Peel and cut parsnips into fry-like strips. In a medium size bowl, mix together the nut butters, olive oil, and salt. Take parsnips and toss in bowl with your hands until fully coated. Line up on baking pan and cook at 400F for 30-50 minutes until crisp. I cooked mine for 40 minutes, but probably could have left them in another 5 minutes to crisp up even more. They were wonderful!
(recipe from Oh She Glows)

I did not take any pictures of them (and i regret it now) as we inhaled them wayyyyy too quick. But check out Angela's blog for the delicious pictures.

Now, when i thought about making these, i did not even know what a parsnip was. So I googled it. A parsnip is like a white carrot.

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Some health benefits of parsnips include:

excellent source of vitamin C and fiber and folic acid
less calories than potatoes
good source of vitamin B

What do they taste like:

have a creamy texture
sweet
delicious

So during my french fry frenzy, i started researching other 'root vegetables' that I can turn into french fries and found so many. Stay tuned for some rutabaga and turnip fries!!!

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PS. if you have never had a french fry with anything but a potato, you have to try it TODAY!!!

Meal Planning

2012-01-13T14:59:00.000-05:00

Every Sunday, the bf and I sit down and we talk about what we want to eat the following week. OKOK, lets face it...i do the talking and he just agrees with me! lol And then on Monday after work, I get to the grocery store and start our meals.

One of my goals (post to come) is to cook at least 4 healthy meals a week, the best way to do this is to document it on the blog.

Im still not 100%, so I am taking it easy today at work. I decided to make my meal plan today. I did a lot of research on different meal ideas and i think I got a good one for next week. Here is the meal plan:

(im starting early this week)
SUNDAY - Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew, using this recipe
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MONDAY - Healthy Fish and Chips

Baked Tilapia
Nutt Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries from Oh She Glows

TUESDAY - Chicken with Chickpeas

Baked Chicken Breast
Salt & Vinigar Chickpeas, from Oh She Glows using this recipe

WEDNESDAY - Chef's Salad
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chef's salad to include - turkey breast, hard boiled eggs, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, radish and cheese

THURSDAY - Thai Jambalaya
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Thai Jambalaya from (never home) Maker using this recipe

FRIDAY - Sandwich and Soup

Turkey breast sandwich
Carrot, Apple, Ginger Soup. from Oh She Glows using this recipe

And there you have it folks, my meal plan for the week! I am very excited about new and interesteding recipes. I am so sick of eating the same thing over and over!

Do you meal plan?

Or are you more of a

Spur of the Moment kind of person??

sick day

2012-01-12T12:17:00.000-05:00

taking a sick day.

yesterday was a very stressful day at work. There was a incident

that really took a toll on me and the stress

made me sick. literally.

taking it easy today after a sleepless night by watching tv and sleeping.

Love, Eat, Drink

2012-01-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

What I am loving:

Girl Meets Pearl by Benefit

This is a liquid, pearly highlighter for the face. It gives you a glowing
complexion without the shine! Read more here.
My first experience with Girl Meets Pearl was when i was getting my
make up done for the bf's sister's wedding. (not the one in cuba, she had a small
ceremony and reception in Canada a week before going to cuba).
The make up artist used it and I fell in love with it.
The next day, I ran to Sephora to buy it and now am addicted to it.
This is the only thing that I wore in Cuba (with a little bit of mascara) and it was sufficient.
LOVE IT!!

What I am drinking:

H2O by Mother Nature

I recently read this post by Cassie from Blogilates.
She said the following "Did you know that if you drink a 160z glass of water
right after waking you will speed up your metabolism by 24% for the next 90 minutes?"
So i am challenging myself (and you) to 10 days of 16oz every morning!
Are you in?

Kurig by Kurig

My parents got us a Kurig for Christmas.
For those of you who dont know what a Kurig is, it is a single cup
coffee machine. And it is awesome. All you do is fill it up with water,
chose one of the many varieties of single packaged coffees,
put it into the machine, place your mug underneath and press GO!
The coffee brews in under 2 minutes and it is delicious!

What I am eating:
Chobani Yogurt

I finally tried the Chobani yogurt and it is delicious.
It is a piece of heavely smoothness in your mouth!
I am so happy that Chobani finally came to Canada

So what are you
loving, eating or drinking
these days?

My Cuba Vacation

2012-01-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

CUBA 2011/2012

1. We had absolutely wonderful weather. Every day it was sunny, with a little bit of a breeze and just perfect beach weather.

2. I worked out 2 times in Cuba. Each workouts were under 40 minutes. I wanted to do 2 more but just became lazy and prefered laying out on the beach rather than workout

3. The resort we stayed at was called Salina la Sirenis. It was a good resort. It was big (we did a lot of walking), and lots to do. We chose to do nothing and just lay out in the sun!

4. The wedding itself was beautiful! There were a few mishaps, such as the bridesmaids and brides hair, the mother of the bride's dress broke, and a few other minor details which eventually got fixed. But the ceremony was short and sweet and very lovely, and the reception was so much fun.

5. The food at the resort was not the greatest. It was very hard to find healthy and good food. I ate like crap for most of the time. My fave was the japanese restaurant where they cooked right in front of you. that was really fun and the food was delicious.

6. There were 84 people in attendance. The groom had 8 groomsmen and the bride had 6 bridesmainds (myself included)

7. There was a lot of alcohol involved!

8. We had 3 activities planned for the whole group and about 75 people came out to each of them. We played flip cup one day, then we had beach volleyball and the last activity was beer pong. It was really fun.

9. We celebrated New Year's Ever there and had a blast. At least, I was told that I had a blast, as I was put to slee at like 12:30 am. We also celebrated my bday on the airplane coming back home. I am officially 29 year young.

10. Overall the vacation was awesome and I cannot wait for my next one. I am thinking maybe Boston for the bf's 30th in the summer and perhaps Dominican Republic or Jamaica in the winter! YAYA!

FIRSTS

2012-01-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone!!!
Its been a while since I posted. Half of that is because I was away on a wonderful holiday for the bf's sister's wedding in Cuba, half of it because I have been swarmed at work, half of it is because i was lazy, half is because i didnt know if i wanted to continue blogging and the last half is because my blog was down. Everytime i tried to sign in it said that the blog was 'under construction'. I dont know what happened, but i think its ok now! Hopefully!

There is a lot to catch up on. I will do a post on Cuba. I will do a post on my New Years resolutions and goals. And I will do a post on 2011. All in due time, my friends!

Today I want to talk about FIRST.

you know...the usual, you first kiss, your first date......just kidding, just kidding.

i want to tell you about my first 2 runs of 2012.

(old picture from my first Trail race)

My first run of 2012 was on January 3, 2012 at around 6 pm. at my condo gym on the treadmill. It was the day after we got back from Cuba. At this point, i have not ran in like 4 weeks and have not workouted out in over a week. It was tough. it was sweaty. There was a lot of huffin and puffin. I ran 2 miles in 24 minutes and just wanted the run to be over with.

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My first outdoor run was on Friday, January 6, 2012 at about 6 pm with the bf. We both had vacation blues, we both had a shitty day at work, we both had a headache. I wanted nothing but to crawl into bed and sleep for 14 hours straight. But instead, we decided to get fresh air and go for a run.

We ran a total of 2 miles in around 22 minutes and were both smiling at the end. It was beautiful!

This was one of my fave runs ever!

The whole time i was enjoying myself. The whole time I was smiling.

We both loved it. Our headaches were gone and our spirits were lifted.

Thank you running gods for making this run wonderful and reminding me why I love running.

Im back to LOVING RUNNING!!!!!

And ps. i love the winter running. i cannot wait to get out there again. Maybe tonite??? YAY

Last but not least.....

I signed up for 2 races!

1. Harry Spring Run off 8 k on April 7, 2012.

(I ran this race last year. read race recap here)

2. Toronto Yonge Street 10 K

(my first time running this race)

Anyone running either of these???

check check

2012-01-09T09:03:00.001-05:00

please let me know if you can see this post.

Ive been having problems with the blog for a while now.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2011-12-25T10:58:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

from me to you!

see you all in 2012!

Recent Workouts and Future

2011-12-20T16:43:00.001-05:00

As you may have noticed, I have been MIA recently.
This is partly due to being really busy at work, but its also because I dont have anything exciting to write about. This may be also because i am kinda getting over blogging.
Dont get me wrong, the last 2 years of blogging have been amazing. I have 'met' some really cool people, made a lot of friends and learned a lot about myself, my body and health and life in general.

Lately I have been thinking about stopping blogging in the new year. I still want to be part of this amazing community and read all your blogs and follow your journeys, but I just dont think that I want to document mine.

I dont know if i will be running or racing in 2012. I made a promise to the bf that I will take a year off long distance running. Before, I was trying to find loopholes in that promise and try to get out of it, but i dont really miss it.

I do miss writing about training and getting good feedback and lots of support from you guys. So I dont know what is going to happen. We shall see.

I do know that I will be thinking about this on my vacation ~~ with a drink, on the beach! (T MINUS 6 DAYS)

Even though I have not been blogging about it, I have been working out and sweating.

Here are my recent workouts:

Dec 19 - P90X - 30 minutes Plyometrics, 30 minutes Legs and Back
Dec 18 - P90X - Cardio
Dec 16 - 20 minutes walk/run on the treadmill + 30 minutes weights and strength
Dec 14 - 30 minutes upper body - Boot Camp Video
Dec 13 - 4x10 mins on the treadmills, 4x strenght training intervals
Dec 12 - Level 3 of the 30 Day Shred
Dec 8 - Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred
Dec 7 - 30 minutes on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the stair master + abs
Dec 6 - Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred
Dec 5 - Last day of Boot Camp
Dec 4- 45 minute session of weights with the bf
Dec 1 - 40 mins of the treadmill, 10 mins on the elliptical

And those are my workouts for December. Considering work has been busy, every weekend has been jam packed, i think i have put in a lot of sweat into December! After bootcamp, im really loving weight trainign and strength!

Friday Funny

2011-12-16T09:09:00.000-05:00

This post has nothing to do with running or health or working out. It has everything to do with laughing, laughing out loud, rolling on the floor laughing and then some giggling.
Please enjoy!

________________________________________________________

Clueless Secretary Prompts Hilarious Office Email Thread
By Sadie Stein, Jul 8, 2010 04:40 PM

Story goes :

Shannon (the secretary) has lost her cat and has asked David (the graphic designer) to help with a lost poster. This is their email correspondence...
Read from top to bottom….

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi
I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.
image1

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.
Thanks Shan.

Fromavid Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
That is shocking news.
Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
I never said I don't like cats. Attached poster as requested.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
It's a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am

To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,
Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don't come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,
I don't have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend's cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter. I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says "I haven't seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?" you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.
Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.
_____________________________________________________________________

(source)

The Before & The After

2011-12-15T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone.
You may have noticed that I have been MIA in the past few weeks. This is due to a combination of being sick, work being super busy and just a lot of things happening all at once. And for all the things, blogging is what got pushed to the back seat.
I am not sure how many more times I will blog this year, but I feel a little break coming up for me.

But I did want to get this post out. its long over due!

Most of you know that i registered for an 8 week boot camp to get me into shape for my big trip. This was one of the hardest things that i did but it was OH So Worth it! It kicked my booty every class!

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The first class, after 4 weeks and at the last class, we had a weigh in and measurements taken.

Here are my results:

Inches Measurements: start/week 4/ week 8

Left Upper Arm - 12/11.6/10.6
Right Upper Arm - 12/11.5/10.6
Chest - 31.6/31.5/31.3
Waist - 28.9/27.9/26.2
Hips - 34.6/32.9/32
Butt - 39.1/38.6/38
Left Upper Thigh - 21.5/21.2/21
Right Upper Thing - 21.5/21.2/21
Total inches - 201.2/196.46/190.8 = total inches lost = 10.4

Caliper Measurements :start/week 4/ week 8

Tricep - 26/19/17
Suprailium - 26/18/12
Thigh - 29/28/20

Weight - 129.4/127.6/125

Also in my Fitness Assessement, they ask us to go to the website to calculate our body fat using the Body Fat Calculator. This is what it looks like.

Enter data from your “fitness assessment”:

Age
Weight (lbs)
Tricep
Suprailium
Thigh

Filling this in, will give you results and then you can check your results using this chart:

Body Fat Percentage Categories²:

Classification	Women (% fat)
Essential Fat	10-12%
Athletes	14-20%
Fitness	21-24%
Acceptable	25-31%
Obese	32% plus

Usint the calculator, these are my results at the Start:
Your body fat percentage results:

Body Fat %

Lbs of body fat

Lbs of lean body weight

Here are my results at Week 4:
Your body fat percentage results:

Body Fat %
Lbs of body fat
Lbs of lean body weight

Here are my results at Week 8:
Your body fat percentage results:

Body Fat %
Lbs of body fat
Lbs of lean body weight

So according to the above, at the start I was very close to being in in the 'obese' category. At week 4, i dropped down to "acceptable" and after 8 weeks, i was almost in the 'athlete' category.

As you can see, this is all bullshit! Yes, its good to look at numbers and compare, but in the end, the only thing that should be important is how you feel.
8 weeks ago, i was never close to being 'obese'. That is ridiculous! And i am probably not in an athlete body fat percentage right now either.
You cant take only 1 number into consideration when looking at overall health. You need to take into consideration how you feel, how your clothes feel, how exercising feels, how you look and feel naked. Stepping on a scale is not the only answer. Yes, it may be a part of it. But its not the only thing. The same goes for taking measurements. Yes those are real and tangible numbers, but are only one of the thigns that should be taken into consideration.

So please, when weighing yourself and when looking at body fat percentages, look at other angles that will give you a fuller and better picture!

Dont get me wrong. This program was amazing. I would recomend it to anyone who is trying to lose weight or tone up, who needs a supplementary exercise to training for a marathon, or who is just trying to lose those last few pounds. This boot camp will kick your booty, will make you sweat, will make you hurt, might even make you cry! And it will help you lose weight, tone up and feel amazing!!!

Friday Fun: Multiple Choice Trivia

2011-12-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hey ALL! Happy December! I cannot believe how fast time is going.

Ive started many countdowns!

T minus 7 Days until my (early) bday and anniversary Niagara Falls trip with the bf
T minus 22 Days unit Christmas
T minus 24 Days unit vacation
T minus 29 Days unit 2012
T minus 1 month until my 29th Bday!

So....countdowns have begun and I am oh so excited about December!!!!

Before we get to the Friday Fun Trivia game, let me tell you about my run yesterday. YUP, thats right.....i went for a run....outside!!!!

On my way home from work, I kept thinking about running. I almost had myself convinced that I should go for a run when I get home. But when I got home, that feeling disappeared. Also, it was date night and the bf was on his way home from work as well and we had plans to hang out. So, I put on Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred and shredded my butt off. The workout finished, just as the bf got home. He then informed me that he had about an hour's worth of work to do. So i thought "maybe I will go for a run during that time". And i did! And it was wonderful!

I ran about 2(ish) miles. It was slow, but it was great! I took a few walking breaks but mostly I ran and just had a huge smile on my face. I really missed running!

It is now time for TRIVIA!!!!

How far is a Marathon? (in miles and kilometers)
According to legend, Philipedes was from what country? a. portugal. b. persia. c. italy. d. greece.
What sports are part of a triathlon?
Which month is the Boston Marathon? a. september. b. april. c. may. d. october
What is a fartlek? a.swedish word that means speed play. b. greek word that means hill training. c. kenyan word that means barefoot running. d. fartlek is not a real word.
Name 1 elite runner.
What is planter fasciitis? a. another word for runner's knee. b.inflammation in the IT band. c. inflammtion of the tissue on the bottom of your foot. d. another word for shin splints
What year did the marathon distance become standardized? a. 490 BC. b. 1921. c. 1896. d.there is no standardized distance. All marathons are a different distance.
When was the marathon opened to women at the Olympics? a. women are still not allowed to run a marathon. b. 1996. c. 1896. d. 1984

Enjoy and Happy Weekending!

Getting an Early Start

2011-11-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

This morning, I woke up at 5:20 am, in order to get Part 1 of my workout in. As soon as my alarm rang, my eyes sprung open and I was fully awake. I jumped out of bed, threw on some working out clothes, chugged some water and I was ready.
I completed Level 1 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred!

I have not done this workout in a while, and forgot how good it is. I noticed that I was much stronger than I used to be (before bootcamp) and had to use my heavier weights. It felt good.

I love getting an early start to the day.

Part 2 of my workout will be Bootcamp tonight. Im very sad to say that bootcamp is coming to an end. Wednesday is my final class and my final weigh in/measurements. I am excited to get measured again. My results after 4 weeks were fantastic, and I am hoping for more great results.

As for the weekend, it was nice and relaxing. Friday was spent at a friends house for dinner and drinks. Saturday day time was spent doing nothing...just relaxing on the couch. Saturday night a Christmas party was attended. And Sunday was spent visiting with my parents and shopping.

I did get 1 workout in on the weekend. The bf and I hit up the gym together and did a 40 minute circuit of weights together. It was great. I am soooo sore!

(source)

Three Great Workouts

2011-11-25T10:08:00.001-05:00

In a span of 24 hours, I had Three Great Workouts.

Wednesday at 6:45-8:15, our boot camp instructor kicked our behinds with squats, and lunges and pushups and tricep dips, followed by more squats and lunges and planks and push ups. Also, i have never done so many burpees in my life!
For those who do not know what a burpee is click here.(sometimes we do them with no push ups, if the instructor feels bad for us) Let me tell you that it is an exersice from HELL!!!

(source)

Totally hate it but its great! I have noticed major changes to my body. My jeans and work pants are all too big on me! :)

On Thursday morning, the bf and I both woke up at 5 am and hit up the gym for a sweat session. While the bf used the rowing machine and weights, I jumped on the stairmaster and climbed for 30 minutes.

(source)

The workout was a little bit tougher than what the picture is showing. I climbed and sweated so much. After the stairmaster, i fell down on my yoga mat and had a serious ab workout, followed by squats, lunges, calf raises and some pushups. I ended the workout by jumping on the treadmill and walking on a high incline.

Thursday after work, I decided to hit up a spin class.

(source)

The bf was having ppl over for football, so i wanted to stay out of their hair for a few more hours so I signed up for a 1 hour spin class. I did not realize that the spin class was a weight class with abs and yoga stretches at the end.

I huffed and puffed my way through the spin portion, I ached through the weights and almost cried during the ab portion.

This was a pretty good class, with a great instructor....but it also made my confirm my hatred for spin. I just dont like it. It hurts my wrists and my back, my butt and my lady parts. Its a great workout, but not for me!

Have a great weekend!
________________________________________________________________________

HBBC Week #1: Nov 19- Nov 25

Saturday - 15 mins rowing, 2 miles walked = 3
Sunday- 2 miles Run = 2
Monday- Bootcamp + F&V = 8
Tusday- nothing- 0
Wednesday - Bootcamp + F&V = 8
Thursday - am: 30 min stairclimb, abs+legs+ arms- 20 mins =3
pm: 1 hour Spin Class = 6
F&V = 1
Thursday total points=10
Friday - 0
Total Points: 34

Bring a Friend

2011-11-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

(source)

15 years ago, when i was 13, when I hung out with a friend, we would go to the mall and chill and hang out. We would walk around, gossip, drink pop, maybe buy ourselves something small.
10 years ago, when I was 18, when I hung out with a friend, we would drink in a park or go to parties, or to the movies or pick up boys. We would gossip, make fun of others and talk about clothes, boys and partying.
8 years ago, when I was 20, when I hung out with a friend, we would skip class, go drink at the University pub, or bitch about our roomates, complain about classes and homework and school assignments and exams. We would sleep in, eat junk food, be lazy, eat some more junk food and then go out to the bar.
5 years go, when I was 23, when I hung out with a friend, we would go to a Korean pub, eat Korean food, drink Korean beer (we were living in Korea at the time) and gossip about the other English teachers and gossip about our students. We would stay out all night (the bars are opened all night in Korea) and drink beer and eat lots of food and talk about traveling and life and boys.

OH how times have changed!

Now when I hang out with a friend, we go running, we go to the gym, we go to a yoga class, we go to a spinning class or we go for a walk. When we go out to dinner, we weigh our option between the burger and fries and a beer to a salad with chicken and a glass of wine. When we talk, we talk about work and grocery shopping and our meals and cooking and bills. We still gossip, but the gossip is to a minimum. We still drink beer and wine. But we also drink a lot of water. We still eat jumk food, but we sure eat a lot of veggies and fruits. We still stay out late. But we talk about wedding and kids and life.

I have been trying to hang out with one of my friends for a while. But with work, our own workout schedule and different group of friends, family time and everything else, it has been really hard to schedule something. But when I found out that we can bring a friend to bootcamp, I jumped at the chance to invite her and she jumped at the chance to attend. We had a great workout, a great talk and a great time.

This was also the case with my running friend on Sunday. SInce we are not training for any races, and we no longer live really close to each other, meeting up is hard. We used to run at least 1 time a week together, but before Sunday, I have not seen her in a few months. So when she asked me to run on Sunday, i knew that this was my last opportunity to see her before the holidays. We ran and chatted and caught up with what is happening in each other's lives...and it was great.

A few years ago, I would never have thought that the majority of the time that I hang out with my friends is when we are working out. And now, i cannot see it being any other way!

(source)

Run, Plan & HBBC

2011-11-21T12:46:00.002-05:00

hello everyone. thank you for participing in yet another Friday Fun game. I really like these, and it seems like the audience also likes them. So i think I will keep it going for a while.

here are my answers:
1. Usually Half Marathon, these days . 2. Trail for fun, road for races. 3. neither 4. Lift weights. 5. Zumba. 6. Hot yoga. 7. spin class. 8. push ups. 9. oatmeal. 10. quizes!____________________

On Sunday, I met up with a friend to go running. Please note that this is my first real run in 2 months. I have played around on the treadmill and ran for a few minutes here and there, but have not done a real run. Sunday was a real trail run. We completed a slow 2 mile trail run and I loved it. It felt good to be outside and enjoy the fresh air and nature! I will try to get out there a few more times before the SNOW comes.
___________________

In 45 days, I will be laying on the beach in my polka dot bikini sipping a pina colada!
I Cannot Wait!!!!
I have been working hard and eating healthy to look good for this trip. Bootcamp has been kicking my booty for the past 5 week. And im loving it. But now its crunch time. With 45 days to go, and lots of holiday parties coming up and the holidays themselves, I really have to step it up a notch. To do this, I have signed up for Amanda's Holiday Booty Buster Challange, which started this past weekend. I am ready to rack up my points and bust some booty.

These are the rules for the Challenge:
1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies

This is my plan for the week: (Nov 19- Nov 25)
Saturday - Cardio
Sunday- Run
Monday- Bootcamp
Tusday- 1 hour cardio (any kind)
Wednesday - morning: 20 minute ab workouts, evening: Bootcampt
Thursday - Spin Class or Yoga
Friday - 30 minutes cardio with 30 mins leg and arm workout

I really really hope that I can stick to this plan. I have been really slacking on any additional workouts other than bootcamp. Also, its going to be clean and healthy eating all weekend. And NO alcohol during the week.
Wish me LUCK!

(CLICK HERE to view my daily workout plan with the HBBC Points.)

Friday Fun: Would you Rather?

2011-11-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. Its great to read about how you all split the holidays between you and your husband/boyfriend, friends, kids, etc. My situation has not resolved yet. But we are heading in the right direction. We just scheduled a Christmas Tree Decorating Party (can it be a party if there is only 2 guests??? YES). So hopefully the rest will sort itself out!

(source)

Its Friday again!!! And its time for a game! This week, we are playing "Would you Rather?"

(source)

Would you rather run a 5k race or a Half Marathon?
Would you rather run on a trail or on the road?
Would you rather swim or bike?
Would you rather lift weights or do yoga?
Would you rather take a kickboxing class or a Zumba class?
Would you rather do hot yoga or regular yoga?
Would you rather take a spin class or ride your bike outside?
Would you rather be able to do 20 good push ups or hold a 2 minute plank?
Would you rather eat oatmeal or greek yogurt?
Would you rather read a blog post about my recent workouts(that are just the same like previous workouts) or do a fun quiz like this?

ENJOY!!

Polling the Audience: How to split up the Holidays?

2011-11-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

With the Holidays about a month away, holiday parties are being planned, family gatherings are being held and Christmas celebrations are being scheduled.

Last night the bf and I got into a conversation about the upcoming holidays and how we are going to split our time between his family and mine. Let's just say that the conversation did not go as planned. I wont get into the details but both of us had different ideas about what will happen on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

As our first Christmas together in our first house, I thougth we would perhaps start some of our own traditions and perhaps wake up on Christmas day in our own house.

But that was not what the both of us thought/ wanted.

So we decided to leave the conversation be, as we were not getting anywhere.

But now i am still stuck in a dillemma. And i have no idea how to fix it.

So I wanted to ask you how do you split the holidays between you and your husband/boyfriend/etc.family. Is it different when you live together or are married or have kids?

Tell me about your Christmas holiday and traditions.

Weekending

2011-11-14T11:24:00.000-05:00

Another weekend has come and gone, and I am not more relaxed, refreshed or well rested!

Thank you for those who played along with my True & False Game. Here are the answers:

I really like brussel sprouts. FALSE - i tried them for the first time a few weeks ago, and really disliked them
I have not missed a single boot camp class. FALSE - i missed one last wednesay because i was so sick
I can hold a 2 minute plank. TRUE
I am addicted to my iphone. FALSE - i am addicted to my blackberry
I am looking forward to December. TRUE
I am running a full marathon in 2012 - FALSE - i am actually taking a year off from long distance
I really like guacamole TRUE
I have a pet fish. TRUE - his name is Tony Danza
I am really excited for the new Twilight movie to come out TRUE
I woke up this morning to work out FALSE
I am an excellent swimmer FALSE - i am a horrible swimmer
I washed my car yesterday - FALSE- i have not washed my car in a loong looong time
I am going to a baby shower this weekend - FALSE - i went to a bridal shower
I prefer red wine over white TRUE
I prefer a sweet cocktail over beer FALSE - me like beer
I really like butternut squash soup TRUE
My dog's name is Lucky - TRUE
I have lived with my bf for 2 years FALSE- we have only lived together 1 year
I love to dance TRUE
I cannot wait to go skiing this winter - FALSE- i cannot skii or do any other winter sports.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this game and look forward to more!

My weekend was filled with working late, laudry, cleaning, working some more on Saturday morning, a bridal shower, some more working on Sunday morning and followed by my first blogger meet up! Sam from Health, Happiness and Skinny Jeans planned a great get together at a vegetarian restaurant in Toronto. I have met Sam a few times, and was excited to see her again and meet other Toronto bloggers. Morgan from Life after Bagels was one of the other bloggers. It was a great small get together. We chatted about running and biking, working out and weights, about weddings and babies....and just had a great time! I look forward to many more blogger meet ups!!!

One of the things that i mentioned above in the answers to the True and False game is that I plan on taking a year off from long distance.

This is something that the bf and I discussed at length after my failed attempt at the half marathon back in October. We talked and agreed that I will take 1 year off from doing any long distance races. We did not talk about what 'long distance' means! hahahah Nor did we discuss if 1 year means, 365 days after my half marathon or the whole 2012. So there are loop holes.

I know a few things:

I am not running a full marathon
I am not running a spring half marathon.
I may (or may not) run a half marathon in the fall time (maybe if Marlene is a pace bunny....)
I will concentrate on speed next year. I want to beat my 5k and 10k PR.
is 15k considered long distance?
I want to do a few more mudruns

Like I said, there are loop holes. Right now, i have no intention to running anything fast or for a long time. I am kinda 'over running' for the time being. I dont mean that i hate it, or that i will never run again, i just dont 'feel like it' right now.

That being said, yesterday evening, i hit up the gym in my condo for some cardio. The plan was 45 mins on the elliptical, followed by push ups and abs.

What was planned and waht actually happened are really different.
I jumped on the elliptical with great enthusiasm. After about 5 mins, i was really bored. I could not wait to get off the machine. At 10 mins, i allowed myself to get off and head over to the weight machines. I did 3 sets on all of them and then decided to switch up the elliptical for the rowing machine. The rowing machine was not doing it for me. I decided to call it quits.
BUT....
as i was walking by the treadmills, i heard one of the treadmills call my name. I decided to do a quick walk on an incline. 2 miles later, the walk, with a few runs included, felt great! i actually enjoyed the treadmill. Weird eh!

Friday Fun: True or False

2011-11-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

TGIF!!! YAY its Friday.

And I thought why not play a little game! Let's play.....True or False!

Here are a few random statements about me and you tell me if they are TRUE or FALSE:

I really like brussel sprouts.
I have not missed a single boot camp class.
I can hold a 2 minute plank.
I am addicted to my iphone.
I am looking forward to December.
I am running a full marathon in 2012
I really like guacamole
I have a pet fish.
I am really excited for the new Twilight movie to come out
I woke up this morning to work out
I am an excellent swimmer
I washed my car yesterday
I am going to a baby shower this weekend
I prefer red wine over white
I prefer a sweet cocktail over beer
I really like butternut squash soup
My dog's name is Lucky
I have lived with my bf for 2 years
I love to dance
I cannot wait to go skiing this winter

So now its your turn to have some fun. Tell me whether (some or all) these statements are TRUE or FALSE. Looking for something blog about today.....make up your own True or False questions! ENJOY!

ps. Happy Remembrance Day & Happy 11-11-11

Four Weeks Later

2011-11-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my Four Week check in at bootcamp.
After 8 classes of getting my ass kicked, I was looking for some results.

My goals for the first four weeks were:

20 real push ups - CHECK
2 min plank - CHECK
1 lbs lost - CHECK
see my bicep - CHECK
be stronger - CHECK

So all my goals have been met and it feels so good. I feel so much stronger and so much fitter. I can see a difference in my jeans. They are loose on me. I also see definition in my arms and my abs (or at least starting to.)

Lets see my actual loss in inches:

upper arm - 0.4 inches on both arms
waist - 1 inch
hips - 1.7 inch
butt - 0.5 inch

And for the caliper measurements (The Skinfold caliper is a device which measures the thickness of a fold of your skin with its underlying layer of fat. By doing this at the key locations can be a quite accurate representative of the total amount of fat that is on your body, it is also possible to estimate the total percent of bodyfat on your body.- source)

Tricep - Start: 26, Week #4: 19
Suprailium (stomach) - Start: 26, Week #4: 19
Thigh - Start: 29, Week #4: 28

So overall, a LOSS everywhere. And I am totally loving the workouts, seeing an improvement and seeing muscles!

(source)

So I have another 4 weeks of bootcamp and I am ready to kick its ass. Here are my goals:

30 real push ups
5 min plank
more definition in my abs
3 lbs loss
see more muscles

High Intensity Interval Training Workout

2011-11-03T13:44:00.002-04:00

This morning, I was not as upbeat and enthusiastic to get my booty out of bed. But i knew that IF i do not work out before work, i will have to work out after work. And since the bf is going away to Pittsburg for the weekend, leaving on Friday, tonight is our last night to hang out before I see him Monday night. So i wanted to make a nice dinner, have a glass of wine, watch our Date Night Shows (Community, Parks & Rec and The Office).

from Pinterest (which i am totally loving)

I hit up the gym for some HIIT.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprint interval training is an exercise strategy that is intended to improve performance with short training sessions. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise which is beneficial to burning fat in a short and intense workout. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 9–20 minutes.(wikipedia)

This is my workout. And if you are looking for a good, short but intense workout, TRY THIS!

Warm up - 5 min walking on treadmill

Interval #1

1 minute of sprinting on treadmill
20 jumping squats
20 push ups
20 tricep dips

Interval #2

2 minutes of sprinting on treadmill
10 pulse lunges on each leg x10
1 minute plank
20 jumping jacks

Interval #3

3 minutes of sprinting on treadmill
20 push ups from toes
1 minute side plank (each side = 1 min)
30 high knees (2 knees=1 rep)
30 butt kicks (2 kicks = 1 rep)
30 jumping squats

Interval #4

2 mins of sprinting
20 static lunges on each leg
20 wide leg squats, with 20 pulses on last squat
1 min plank
20 tricep dips

Interval #5

1 minute of sprinting
20 push ups from toes
20 crunches, 20 frog crunches, 20 reverse crunches
20 bicycle crunches (2 legs = 1 rep)
2 min plank

Cool down - 5 min walking on treadmill, followed by stretching

Trust me, print this out, hit up the gym and you will be sweating buckets and hoping that the pain stops soon. Just make sure that you do not give yourself breaks in between, just power through the whole workout. The whole workout, with warm up an cool down, took me about 20 minutes. Nice and quick!!

from Pineterst

Two-a-Day & Pumped up Oats

2011-11-02T08:44:00.000-04:00

This morning, I woke up at 5:08 a.m. No alarm clock, no wake up call. Just me waking up and being ready for the day. (I was very surprised at this bc the night before I had nightmares that ppl from my worked turned into zombies and were trying to kill me. and then i woke up at 4 am bc my toilet was leaking/flooding- not a great sleep and day - weird i know. ive been pschyco-analyzing myself all day yesterday!). So this morning, when i woke up very bright and early, I tried to go back to sleep (i still had 1 full hour of sleep time) but my body was awake. I decided to take advantage of this and work out.

My workout started with a warm up. I did 20 jumping jacks, followed by stretching, a few downward dogs, 20 more jumping jacks....and I was ready to go.
I threw on my P90X Shoulders and Arms Workout and did about 25 minutes of the workout. I then turned to the P90X Ab Ripper and sweated through that workout. By the end of the 40 minute workout, I was out of breath and sore. But feeling good.
I chugged 2 big glasses of water, jumped in the shower and then watched a good 20 minutes of Biggest Loser (which I had PVRed).

My 2nd workout of the day will be tonight at Boot Camp. I am still sore from Monday's class. We did even more tricep dips and push ups then the week before. And we held a 3 minute plank! YAY for Rock Hard ABS!!! yay. My body will be beach-bikini ready in no time. T Minus 57 Days! wooohoooooo

Now onto my Pumped Up Oats!

I officially switched to oatmeal from cereal and am loving every minute of it. I seriously cannot remember the last time I actually oatmeal before this Monday. Its something with the weather and the dark and cold morning that make me crave oatmeal.
My Pumped Up Oats consisted of:

1 package of Apples & Cinammon oats
1 banana
1 big scoop of peanut butter
1 scoop of protein powder
almond milk

This was a delcious start to the morning. This meal woke me up and gave me lots of energy and fuel! I think this will become a staple for my mornings! Love it! (and yes, i know that the packaged oatmeal is not as good as the 'real' oatmeal, but this is so much faster and more convenient!)
_______________________________________________________________________________

Now onto some Inspiration for Hump Day!

from Pinterest!

from Pinterest

Have a great day every....and if you are having a shitty day...

find one good thing in the day!

Avocado Chickpea Salad

2011-11-01T14:17:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I made the most delicious meal.
I baked some telapia with lemon juice, paprika, , onion powder, pepper and some fresh oregano! It was absolutely delicious.

On the side, i made an Avocado Chickpea Salad which was to die for.

Ingredients:

1 avocado
1 can of chickpeas
1/4 of a red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tomato
lemon juice
2 teaspoons of olive oil
spices - paprika, cumin, red chili flakes, pepper

Directions:
Open a can of chickpeas and rinse. Cut up the avocado, tomato, onion and garlic. Mix with veggies. Add the olive oil and lemon juice. Lastly, add the spices. (use your discretion according to what you like). Let sit for 1 hour.
ENJOY!

if you like beans and guacamole, you will LOVE this!

New Month, New Start

2011-10-31T14:26:00.000-04:00

Happy November! Or in my world Happy No-beer-vember!

(source) (source)

YUP thats right. I am declaring November a NO-BEER kinda month. To some of you, that might seem like a joke or an easy task, but for me....its tough.
To update you, I have not had a beer since October 16th. And I want to continue this streak. The bf is also starting this! YAY for a beer free household!

I posted my November Month goals last week. here is a reminder:

Run/Walk 20 miles
Attend ALL bootcamp classes
5 before work workouts
3 'two a day' workouts
Run outside at least once
Floss everyday
No beer
Try a vegetable that I have never tried before
Meal plan every week
Attend 2 Spin Classes
At least 2 hours of Yoga (in class or dvd)

And now to make this all happen, I decided to make week goals to help me out. Here are my November Week #1 goals:

Run 12 k (7.46 miles)
Attend all my boot camp classes
1 two a day workouts
Floss and no beer
1 p90x workout
vegetable: brussel spouts

And here is my meal plan for the week:
Monday - Talapia with a Avocado Chickpea Salad
Tuesday - Chicken with a Spinach Salad with goat cheese, cranberries and almods
Wednesday - Salmon with roasted veggies
Thursday - Brocoli soup with ham and cheese wraps
Friday - Chicken with roasted brussel sprouts

As you see, I am cutting back on running but increasing my cross training and my strength training!
Ill be back tomorrow with my delicious Avocado Chickpea Salad recipe!

and ps. Happy Halloween!!!

source

Three Things Thursday

2011-10-27T09:23:00.001-04:00

1. Boot Camp Kicked my Booty
Yesterday was my 5th class of boot camp and I am feeling it today. The classes are getting harder and harder. Yesterday was a killer class: 16 tricep dips, 1 minute plank, 1 minute of push ups - repeated 4 times. This was followed up by a mix of cardio which involved jump squats, burpees, mountain climbers and leap frogs across the gym, mixed in with 5 minute wall squats, 10 pulse lunges across the gym- repeated many times. The class was finished up with walking push ups, stationary lunges, dead leg lifts, a killer ab routine and then finally (aaahhhhhhh......) stretching. I left the class a sweaty mess! And today my glutes and legs and abs are hurting oh so much!

(source)

2. Rainy Weather
We have had very gloomy and rainy weather in Toronto for the past week or so. The weather is making me so sleepy. This morning while driving to work, I almost fell asleep. Ive been sleepy all week and cannot shake this gloomy feeling. I have also been a little under the weather. But not fully. Just enough to make me sniffle a little and sneeze and make me feel shitt...but not enough to make me actually sick so that I can take meds and sleep it off to get better.

(source)

3. Shout Outs
For some reason or other, I have not been able to comment on some of the blogs. My work computer is strange. For this reason, I want to say hello and shut out a few people:

a. Cynthia from Cynthia's Adventure: Thank you so much for dedicating a mile

of your marathon to me! You did amazing and I am so proud of you!

b. Sam from Health, Happiness and Skinny Jeans: Sam, you are a marathoner....and dont

you forget it! You did awesome and deserve to be

proud of you huge accomplishment.

c. Bella from Its Life Max it Out: I am so sorry that you did not get to

run in the Niagara Marathon. But your health is more important.

There will be other races and other marathons! You made the

right decision. ps. when are we running together?

d. Christina from Lace it Up and Run: Good luck on our half marathon

this weekend. You will do amazing!

(source)

11 Goals for the 11th Month

2011-10-25T12:52:00.000-04:00

I know that we still have a few days left in October, but I am already preparing for November. November is one of the worst month but I am ready to tackle it head on.

Here are my goals:

Run/Walk 20 miles
Attend ALL bootcamp classes
5 before work workouts
3 'two a day' workouts
Run outside at least once
Floss everyday
No beer
Try a vegetable that I have never tried before
Meal plan every week
Attend 2 Spin Classes
At least 2 hours of Yoga (in class or dvd)

So those are my goals and I am ready to kick some booty in November. What are your goals for November? Share your goals (11 or whatever number with me) and Ill share them on my blog with everyone!

Speaking of Booty, Amanda over at Run to the Finish is hosting another Holiday Booty Buster Challange 2011! Check out her blog to join and bust your booty over the holiday season!

Pre & Post

2011-10-21T10:45:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful comments and thank you for giving me an outlet to vent. There is nothing worse than keeping everything in. This is why i love blogging and the blogging community. It gives me a place to vent without being judged or people thinking that I am talking about myself too much!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

Despite having a horrible race, let's talk about the pre and post of the race.

The Saturday was just like any other Saturday before a Sunday race. I woke up early, had a nice breakfast, drank a lot of water, went out for lunch with a friend, drank some more water, had an nice early pasta dinner with the bf and then relaxed. Saturday night was the most I have ever been before a race. I was very well hydrated and fueled. I was well rested and just felt ready to go. I went to bed early and had a wonderful sleep.

I woke up at 6ish, had 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter, a cup of coffee and some more water. I got dressed in my race outfit, snapped a few pictures, and was ready to go by 7:15ish.

Last year before my full marathon, one of my friends gave me

charm necklace that had 3 charms: a running girl, a charm that said RUN and

my birthstone: a garmet.

I have never wore this necklace, but decided to put 2 of the charms on my shoe...

...for good luck

it was a cold morning, so I bundled up.

I could not find any throwaway gloves, so i wore socks!

Also note: that I decided not to bring any music for the race.

I left the house by 7:15ish, picked up one of the girls that I run with from the running room and OFF we went. We arrived at the race site around 8ish and walked around to try to take it all in. Finally we decided to line up for the porta-potties. We waited and waited and waited. By 8:55 a.m. we were still in the line and the race was scheduled to start at 9:00 a.m. Both very nervous and anxious, we decided to forgo the bathroom and make our way to the start.

There being over 20, 000 people, it was very hard to get into the chute where all the runners were. And it was even more hard to find the 2 hour bunny. And once we did, it turned out to be the bunny from hell (more on that later) and off we were.

I will skip the part of the actual race. You all know what happened from kilometers 8-16. I will leave kilometers 0-8 for another post.

Right now, lets skip to Monday.

On Monday, I woke up at 6:00 am, like I do every morning. I had my bowl of cereal, my cup of coffee. I got dressed, went to work, came home from work and went to bootcamp. YUP, thats right. I was not very sore after the race. My knee ached and was tight, as were my hips, but overall, I was not very sore. I needed something to boost my energy and my spirits and Bootcamp was exactly it.

I got to the class a few minutes early to talk to my instructor. I explained to her what happened and she was very understanding and told me to do what I can. And I did. Aside from some of the jumping and the walking lunges, I was able to do everything the class did. I really concentrated on the push ups and tricep dips and abs. But I was able to do all the squats and all the leg lifts and even most of the cardio.

And I have been feeling fine ever since. Wednesday was another Bootcamp class and I felt no pain anywhere. Not even my knee.

To tell you the truth, ive been itching for a run. Just a slow run around the neighbourhood to breathe in the fresh air and just enjoy myself. Maybe this weekend!!! Wish me luck!!

Speaking of LUCK, I want to wish all my fave Canadian girls who are running the Niagara Falls Half or Full Marathon this weekend. Good Luck, have fun and run your own race!

*big hugs*

_________________________________________________________________________

Before I go on, I want to say that I have 2 more posts about this race and then I will be done with it. I dont want to dwell too much on it. I want to put this behind me and look towards the future. But there are 2 more issues that I want to talk about: 1. Running your own race and 2. My races and running in 2012.

The One where I decided not to finish the race

2011-10-18T15:51:00.000-04:00

The last two days have been a rollercoaster of emotions. I have gone from angry to happy to embarrassed to sad to disappointed to ….(you name it, I experienced it….)

I ate some McDonalds, I drank some wine, I had some ice scream. I took a long bath, I iced my knee. I slept. I watched TV, I talked to people, I cried. I made people tell me how great I am. I read some of my old blog posts. I read some of your old blog posts. I cried some more, drank some more wine. I talked to a lot of people and let them talk to me.

Here is the story of how things happen:
When my knee started hurting around the 7k mark, I was so surprised that I didn’t even think about it. I mean, I ran over 7k about 20-30 times in the past few months. I did some hard core hill training and some speedy speed work. I even ran a 30k race with absolutely no pain. I haven’t thought about knee pain in the last few months.

When my knee started really hurting me about 12.5k, I told my running partner, that I may not be able to keep up the fast pace and encouraged her to go on (she did and ran a 2:00:08 half marathon).
When I reached 14k at a much slower pace, I was in really serious pain. I got off the course to stretch and send a panicky text to the bf, I was so upset and in tears, that I just wanted to lay on the side of the road and wait for someone to notice me and pick me up and bring me home (or at least to where I was meeting the bf).

After my freaked out text msg to the bf, who was very worried, yet supportive, I thought that maybe after some stretching and a longer than usual walking break, I could continue and still finish in 2:10.

And so I got back on the course and started running. I was half in pain, half too proud to stop, in full tears, with my cell phone in my hand, trying to decide what to do.

On the other side of the road, I saw Fuaja Singh and his whole family running. (full story here)

Fuaja is a 100 year old man who ran the marathon is 8:11:xx and set a world record. As everyone was clapping and cheering him on, I thought to myself “I wanna run a marathon when im 100”. (or whatever age that is older 28, what I am now). And this actually made me swallow my pride and step off the course and go to a medic. This was just past the 16k mark.

And so that is the story of how I decided not to finish the half marathon. The truth is, I probably could have continued on and finished at a decent time of 2:15ish, or something, but I know that would have caused more injury to my knee. I did not want to be in rehab and not able to run for the next 6 months, as I was after my full marathon.

After I found a medic, I was put in the back of a police car to keep warm while i wait for a shuttle to take me back to the finish line. As this was not an emergency, I had to wait for a shuttle not the ambulance. It took the shuttle about 20 minutes to get there, in it being a few other injured runners. As the drove us back, I started to regret my decision. By the time I met the bf, I didn’t know what I was feeling anymore. I was pretty much silent (which is a rarity for me) and didn’t really wanna talk about it.

On the way home, I stopped by McDonalds and picked up what was supposed be a celebration meal, but what really was a depression meal. I came home, ate my fast food, drank wine and felt sorry for myself. I took a nap, I relaxed my sore bones in a Epson salt filled bath, and drank more wine. I texted back with a few girlfriends and encouraged them to say nice things about me. (not my proudest moment.)

After a while of this depressing attitude, I came to this conclusion: I was more upset about not finishing the racebecause I was afraid that I no longer belonged in the running/blogging world and I could no longer call myself a runner.

I have never really been good at sports or any physical activity. I never really had a hobby before running. When I discovered running, I quickly fell in love it with. I quickly fell in love with saying ‘I am a runner’. I really liked that label. I liked that it signifies that you are a strong and dedicated person. I liked telling people of my accomplishments. I also very quickly fell in love with the blogging world and I felt like I belonged there. I made friends, I learned a lot, I became more healthy and stronger, I learned to cook and basically how to be a better and healthier person.

After not finishing the race, I felt like all of that is being taken away from me. I felt like I was no longer a runner. I felt like I could no longer have a ‘running’ blog. I felt like the running community will just tell me that I am not good enough or that I cant be a part of it anymore. (I know this is not true bc u guys have been nothing but supportive and wonderful – but those were my thoughts at the time).
So here I was, on the couch, after my 2, or 3 or 4th glass of wine and it just plain sucked. I friggin sucked.

And that is when I shared with the blog world that I DNFed. I really did not want to write that post (or this one). I was very embarrassed, sad, depressed and even a little tipsy. But as soon as I clicked publish, I felt better. I felt even better after I read the first few comments. And as the comments kept coming, I knew that I have nothing to be ashamed of. I have nothing to be pissed off at or sad or depressed. I knew that I made the right decision and even that I had the balls to do it.

From the bottom of my heart, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who took and takes the time to stop by my little blog and to say nice and truthful and supportive words to me. Without you, I don’t know where I would be. This is why I blog!

DNF

2011-10-16T19:00:00.000-04:00

This was not the post I wanted to write today.

The post I wanted to write was all about my pre-race activities, my wonderful night of sleep, fun filled photos of me before the race and how everything came together and how I ran an awesome race and finished it in 1:59:59.

UNFORTUNATELY, this is not the case.

What happened was that from the start of this race, I was not running my own race. I felt like I was chasing something and fighting something. I was not running like I have trained. I tried to push and tried to stay positive, but around 7K my knee started acting up and my 14K i wanted to quit and by 16k I did quit.

I am sorry to announce that I did not finish the race today.

I am sad and disappointed and pissed of, amongst other things.

I will take a few days to sort this out in my head and wait for the anger to subside and will post the whole story.

6th Time's the Charm: 1:59:59 or BUST

2011-10-14T10:39:00.001-04:00

You know how the old saying goes.....If at first you don't succeed....

(source)

But they also say...

If at first you don't succeed....u MUST MUST MUST try again. And to me.....6th time might just be the CHARM!!!

On Sunday, October 16, 2011, I will be running my 6th Half Marathon.

Let's look at my previous accomplishments.....shall we:

1. Toronto Half Marathon - 2:06:43 - October 19, 2008

2. Bob Hartwell Half Marathon Challenge - 2:08:33 - April 26, 2009

3. Angus Glen Half Marathon - 2:05:26 - November 1, 2009

4. Mississauga Half Marathon (walking)- 3:25:47 - May 16, 2010

5. Scotiabank Waterfront Half Marathon -2:00:09 - September 26, 2010

6. Mississauga Half Marathon - 2:11:59 - May 15, 2011

As you can see that my times vary from 2:11:xx (my slowest) to 2:00:09 (my fastest)

Each of those times, my goal was SUB 2 Hour (except for the first race). And at times I was close, like last year at the same race as I am running on Sunday, and other times, i was slower and much slower.

Reflections on this training cycle:

this training cycle, i joined the Running Room and trained with them.
lots of Hill training - more than I did during previous training
speed work - more times, faster and longer distances than done previous
tempo runs - did a few tempo runs at varying distances
long runs - (almost) every Sunday was dedicated to a long run. I did more long runs this time around than usual
10 & 1 - i have never tried using the 10&1 method. i usually just took breaks when I wanted/needed them. I used this method (or a variation of this) during my 30K race and beat my goal time!
Running with a group slowed down my pace - i noticed that during some of the longer runs, i did not pay attention to my pace, but just ran with people and enjoyed myself. I ran all the longer runs about 30 seconds -1 minute slower than my Half Marathon pace for a sub 2 race.
I feel stronger, yet a bit slower than usual. But i am hoping that this strength will outweigh everything and kick in when i need to pick up the pace
I really enjoyed running with people and this training cycle

Do you think 6th Time is the CHARM!???!

i think so!

I feel strong and confident and well prepared for this race! (positive thinking helps!)

GOALS:

C Goal - Under 2:06:43 (my first half) - I will be ok with this time

B Goal - Under 2:00:09 - (my fastest) - I will be happy with this time

A Goal - 1:59:59 - i will be ecstatic about this!

Question for you:

This training cycle, i have not listened to music while running. And I really

like this. I liked hearing myself breath and getting

lost in my surroundings. I also enjoyed chatting

with people while I ran. BUT i have never raced with no music.

SHOULD I or SHOULD I NOT

listen to music on Sunday during my race?

do you like to run/race with music?

Booty Camp Time

2011-10-13T08:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my first class of booty boot camp....and OMG it was hard!

As mentioned before, I signed up for an 8 week class of Booty Camp Fitness, 2 times a week (Mon & Wed @ 6:45).

Booty Camp Fitness welcomes women of all ages and levels of fitness, and provides a total-body workout(each session is 1 hour) that combines:

Circuit training
Hand-to-hand cardio combat (no contact)
Core strengthening
Body sculpting
Yoga

(source)

I was not sure what to except from this class at all. I did some research and read some reviews and found nothing but positive outcomes, lots of lbs and inches lost. I was pumped but nervous as I arrived to the location of the boot camp. Usually this class is held outside, but to accomodate the Canadian winters and all the interested women, the instructor was holding the class in a elementary school gym.

As all the women gathered, we were told to take a book and a dvd and then it was time to take measurements. As soon as the measurements were taken, and the instructor introduced herself, the class was quickly split up between 'veterans' (those who have taken the class before) and 'virgins' (first timers), and it was GO TIME!

We were first asked to jog around the gym to warm up. During this time, I found myself thinking to myself "ok this is not that bad. i thought it would hurt more". But soon after we were being told to do jump squats, followed by football drills, followed by jump squats, then plank, pushups, planks, more football drills and more jump squats. And that was only the first 10 minutes. And the sweat my pouring off of me!

(source)

The class pretty much followed this routine. It was a mix of cardio, followed by some planks and lots of regular pushups, tricep push ups and then more cardio, and squats and lunges. Near the end, we worked on glutes, abs and then a cool down and stretching.

The class went a little bit over an hour and I was DONE!!! I was sweating and out of breath and just overall exhausted. My muscles were trembling and shaking and screaming at me! And let me tell you....there is a lot of this screaming today as well!

After one class, i am absolutely loving it and looking forward to more!

During our measurements and assessment, we were asked to think about our 4 week and 8 week goals, during which, we will get re-measured and weighted to see our progress.

These are my 4 week goals:

20 real push ups
2 min plank
2-3 lbs lost
definition in my arms
be and feel stronger

These are my 8 week goals:

30 real push ups
5 min plank
5-7 lbs lost
definition on my biceps, triceps, back and shoulders
definition in my abs
be 'bikini ready' for my trip to Cuba at the end of December

My Very First Thanksgiving

2011-10-10T09:51:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, I hosted my very first Thanksgiving. The small and intimate dinner party went off without a hitch....and without soup!

The MENU

~The Appetizer~

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

...with sourdough bread and pita chips

~The Starter~

Crockpot French Onion Soup

~The Main Course~

*Beer Basted Turkey

*Garlic Mashed Potoes

...with paprika and nutmeg

*Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

...with apple sauce and brown sugar

*Wax Bean Salad

...with caramalized onion and mushrooms

*Cranberry Sauce

...made with fresh cranberries

...served hot

*Stuffing

...from a box

...with added onions and mushrooms

*Gravy

...from a package

~The Dessert~

*Pecan Pie

...courtesy of Just K

The menu was set, as was the table, the beer and wine was flowing and as we sat at the table to eat, I realized that I forgot to serve the soup! YUP, totally forgot about it. Oh well. We decided to forgo the soup and jumped right into the turkey, stuffing and potatoes galore.

A few things to point out:

The store ran out of green beans, so i had to alter my menu and use wax beans. Oh well.
I served the cranberry sauce hot. I did not know that it was supposed to be cold. Oh well.
Stuffing and Gravy were made from the box. Oh well.

Other than a few mishaps, the dinner was delicious. The turkey was moist and falling off the bone. The potatoes were smooth and creamy. The salad was a perfect mixture of crunchiness and softness. The sweet potatoes were a perfect blend of sweet and tart. It was perfect. I am very happy with my first Thanksgiving Dinner!

The wine was also delicious...which helps out a lot!

Next up, Christmas Eve Dinner.....a melting pot of sorts...a combination of Polish Canadian Non Meat Dinner! Stay tuned. December will be an interesting meal planning month! haha

here are some other pictures from the weekend.

What should I do with this raw turkey?

BAKE IT!

my spinach and artichoke dip! sooo delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian Friends!

Race Recap: Run for the Cure 5k

2011-10-06T14:08:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, alongside with my dear friend Just K, and millions of other people, I ran Run for the Cure 5k in support of Breast Cancer.

Organized by one of the major banks in Canada, with numerous locations across Canada, this was one of those races that you run because it means something. Running alongside millions of people was so moving and so inspirational, i got choked up a few times during it.

Just K was one of my guest for my Very First Thanksgiving dinner (post coming soon!) and slept over at my house, as she was running the race with me, and the race was very close to my house.

We woke up around 8:00 am, had a coffee, some cereal, bundled up as it was freezing that morning, and took off just after 9:00 am. We parked our car in one of the designated parking locations and jumped in the shuttle, to bring us to the race site.

Once we got to the race site, we saw soooo many people. I was not expecting this many people, as there was another race location in Toronto. I figured most people would head out to that one, instead of the small race in Richmond Hill. But I was wrong. There were so many runners and even more walkers.

Old and yonge, with fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers, with strollers or dogs...everyone was there for one reason...and running/walking for Women and Breasts Everywhere!!

A few minutes before the race started, a man in a pink wig jumped on the stage and sang "I Will Survive". Everyone sang along, and I even had a few tears in my eyes.

After the song, we thought the race was starting, but there were a few more songs being sung. This was great and all, but it was so cold and it started raining, that the crowd started chanting 'we wanna run.'. I dont know if we/them were heard, but soon after the race begun.

0-1 kilometers - it was a slow start with lots of stops because of the big crowds.

1-3 kilometers - running out and back on one of the closed down streets was great. Just K who has been sick for a few weeks, had some problems with breathing. The cold air was not helping her, and we took a few walking breaks. But overall, we were keeping a good pace when we were running.

3-5 kilometers - this part of the race brought us into a park and it was great running through it. We kept a good pace, stopping a few time to catch our breath, blow our noses or tie our shoes, or simply to take a break. With the finish line in sight, I encouraged Just K to speed up and sprint to the end. Which she did! And finished the race in 37:11.

The goal for the race was to either get under 35 minutes or to beat our previous time of 36:xx minutes. Considering Just K was sick and sniffling the whole way, I think we did a great job. I also think that if she was able to breath normally and did not have to blow her nose numerous times during the race, we would have CRUSHED her PR!!! Looking forward to the next one when we will crush it!

ps. I ran for BOOBIES!

11 Things & 11 Days

2011-10-05T09:44:00.001-04:00

With the BIG RACE coming up in 11 days, I am trying to do everything I can not to: get sick, get injured, stay positive and determined!

Here is 11 things that I plan on doing for the next 11 days before the race:

4 More scheduled runs: I only have 4 more scheduled runs in the next 11 days. I plan on running today, 2 trails runs over the weekend at the cottage and a final run with the Running Room next Thursday. These runs will be easy but focused.
Hydration: Water is my friend. I plan on increasing my water intake. Lately, I have been slacking on drinking water and staying property hydrated. But this will change. 8+ glasses of water a day is a MUST.
Nutrition: I have been super good with my food intake in the past few weeks. Lots of veggies, lots of protein, an appropriate amount of carbs, with little snacking. This trend will continue over the next 11 days, with slight increase in carbs.
Stretching: I have not been properly stretching before and after my runs. To prevent injuries during taper, I want to increase my stretching. Maybe even throw in some yoga!
Rolling: I have not used my foam roller in a long time. I need to find that sucker, dust it off and use it.
Not Get Sick: In the last week or so, I have started sneezing and sniffling. I feel a cold or something looming over my head. I need to kill this before it gets to me. The plan is to drink lots of Green Tea and kill any and all bacteria with hand sanitizer.
Sleep: Since I started the new job, I have been getting an average of 6 hours of sleep a night. That is not enough. I need more. Every morning, I wake up groggy and exhausted. I need to go to sleep early and get at least 7 or more hours of sleep. 6 hours is just not enough.
Rest: Stress and anxiety are a big factor these days. I need to rest and relax so that I dont get sick, or so that I get enough sleep. I need to REST my body and my mind!
Believing in my Training: July and August were awesome months of training. Hills, intervals, tempo, speed and long runs were in my daily vocabulary. September was not as good. Work was a big factor. Late meetings, early morning, exhaustion dominated the month of September. And I let my running slip by me. But I have worked hard. I put in the work and the distance and my blood, sweat and tears. This has been my hardest training cycle. I have to believe in my hard work. I have to believe that I have done enough to attain my goal.
Secreting it: Have you ever read the book The Secret? I have. And I believe that if you think positive and good things, good things will happen. And since then, I use the word 'secret' as a verb. I need to 'secret' a good race. I will 'secret' a good race, thus I will run a good race. I am 'secreting' a sub 2 hour race and WILL run a sub 2 hour race.
Have Fun: I cannot sit and stress about this race. I cannot run this race and be sad or angry if I dont achieve my goal. I have to remember that I love to run, that I enjoy it and that its fun! The next 11 days will be good and fun day. The race will be a good race and I will have fun running it. The post race activities and celebrations will be fun!

These are pictures from last year.

1:59:59 was my goal.

Unfortunately, I did not achieve it.

I ran a 2:00:09 race. CLICK HERE to read the full race recap!

2011-10-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

All I really need to know (about marathons), I learned in kindergarten:

Share everything - start a blog. share your know, experience, your ups and your downs, your successes and failures, trials and tribulations with other people with the same interets and goals and objectves.
Play fair - Be fair to yourself. We are all unique, yes special. Dont try to compare yourself, your race times or distance to other runners, bloggers, etc. Dont be bummed out that you cannot run 11 miles and then go to work, do yoga and lunch and then hit up a spin class on the way back from work. Life is not like that for everyone. You know what you can do, when you can fit it in, how much, how far and how fast you can go.
Don't hit people - don't kick people while they are down. Everyone has a bad race. Everyone has a bad run or an injury. Be supportive!
Put things back where you found them. - If you eat all the peanut butter and pasta and _____(insert your fave pre/post running food/snack), replenish the stock. Yes, you are marathon training, but just beacause you are a peanut butter addict, that does not mean other people in you household are not allowed to have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if they want.
Clean up your own mess. - Only you can improve your own speed and distance, your fitness and your weight. If you have a fall back week, or a week that you fell off the wagon, only you can pick yourself up and get back on track. We are all there to supprt you, but only you can put on those running shoes and head out the door.
Don't take things that aren't yours. - Every once in a while, using your boyfriend's, husband's, roomate's, etc deodorant, or wearing their socks or hat is ok.....but return it. Restock their deodorant suppy or wash those sweaty socks after you run. Yes you may borrow, but you have your own things....and if you must wear their new nike hat or use that fresh stick of Old Spice...on your feet or under you boobs.......wash it or return it!
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody. - it's ok when you are sad or pissed off or just feeling exhausted. Don't take you anger out on the people that love and support you. And if you do.....say sorry.
Wash your hands before you eat. - germs are everywhere. You must not get sick before a big race. Wash your hands to prevent this. WIth all the distances and runs and workouts that we put in, it is easy for our immune systems to be worn down. Dont let other things wear you down!
Flush. - Bathroom time is important for runners. Either prior to a run or during or after, pay close attention to what is in the toilet. This can either make or break you run.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. - Milk does the body good, as do cookies. Make sure that you hydrate and fuel your body properly!
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. - Running is great, but we need some cross training in there, too. Cross training is a great way to prevent injury and be a strong runner!
Take a nap every afternoon. - Sleep is very important. Your body is tired from the running and from the cross training. Rest and sleep are very good for the body.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. - Whether running in a group, or alone, becareful. The mornings are now dark and it gets darker earlier. Please wear proper clothing and ID. Just in case!
Be aware of wonder. - Goal setting and dreaming of getting faster and stronger are essential to making you a better running. If you have a goal, you will train hard to attain it. Dont be afraid to dream of that sub 2 hour half marathon, that BQ or finishing that first 5k or marathon.
Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. - We are all different, yet we are all similar. We all hurt and cry. We all get sick. We all get hungry and tired. But we all get happy and excited. We all have goals.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we. - Even pro athletes get injured or have bad runs. Take the time to be pissed off and sad, but then reflect on it, think of a new plan, heal and go out to do it again.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK. - Look at yourself and be proud! You are a runner, a mother, a sister, a husband, a yoga enthusiast, a daughter, a son.......see that and smile!!! You are a GREAT _____________ (fill in the blank yourself)

(source)

Photo Friday

2011-09-30T02:52:00.003-04:00

From now on, you can call me:

MARATHON MISTRESS

(this is from last weekend's bachelorette party

for one of the bf's sisters.

we all had tshirts and nicknames

for friday night!)

My First Thanksgiving: The Menu

2011-09-27T18:21:00.001-04:00

This coming weekend, I am hosting my very first Thanksgiving. This means I am in charge of food, drinks, entertainment and making sure that people have a good time!

The Thanksgiving party will be very small. The guest list consists of me, the bf, my parents and a childhood friend, Just K.

I was very excited to put together a delicious, nutritious and healthy menu for the special occasion.

I am also looking for some help. I have yet to pick my appetizer and do not have a stuffing recipe. Any ideas, suggestions or advice would be great!

Thank you.

_________________________________________

Here is the Menu:

~ Appetizer~

I have yet to pick an appetizer, but these are my thoughts:

*Butternut squash Soup

*Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

*Roasted Shrimp with cocktail sauce

*Deviled Eggs

*Some kind of salad

~The Main Course~

*Turkey*

For as long as I can remember, my dad has always been making our turkey.

So to follow tradition, I will be using his special turkey recipe which includes BEER!

*Stuffing*

This will be my first time ever making stuffing. I have yet to find a recipe.

Please forward me your fave stuffing recipes.

*Cranberry Sauce*

I loooove me some cranberry sauce.

I will be using this recipe to make this delicious sauce.

*Garlic Mashed Potatoes*

One of my all time favourite potatoes are the garlic mashed potatoes from The Keg (a steakhouse).

I totally love these potatoes

and will try to recreate them using the following ingredients:

-potatoes

-milk

-butter and creme cheese

-salt and pepper

-garlic garlic and garlic powder

*Sweet Potatoes in the Slow Cooker*

I love sweet potatoes and would not pass an opportunity

to make them for a special occasion.

I have not yet found a recipe but will use:

-sweet potatoes

-butter

-brown sugar and cinnamon

-apples or apple sauce

-and other ingredients (if you have any suggestions, please don't be shy!)

*Green Bean Casserole*

I will be making this delicious side dish;

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds

*Gravy*

~Dessert~

I was told not to worry about dessert,

but there are rumours that someone is making apple pie and bringing ice cream!

(source)

Fall Racing Plan

2011-09-26T08:20:00.001-04:00

The summer is gone and fall is here to stay.
And as I look at my calendar, look past all the meetings and work events, i browse through all the weddings and wedding related things i have coming up for family and friends, I see one thing missing.....RACES.

Usually the fall time is my favourite time to run. Its not too hot, not too cold....but perfection. Yet, this year, I did not plan many races.
I dont know why.

I do have my goal race coming up in less than 3 weeks. The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon is coming up in 19 days on Sunday, October 16, 2011.

I am also running Run for the Cure next weekend on Sunday, October 2, 2011 with my friends Just K. Really excited for this race, as Just K will try to beat her 5k time from our race 2 years ago. Click here for the race recap.

So that is 2 races this fall. But I feel like I need more.

RESEARCH TIME!

Here are some races that I found that fit my schedule:

Howl on the Hill 5 or 10 kilometers - October 23, 2011 in Aurora
Toronto Women's 5 or 8k - October 29, 2011 in Toronto
Tom Taylor Trail 10 Miler - October 30, 2011 in Newmarket
Angus Glen 5 or 10 k - November 6, 2011 in Richmond Hill

These races all look and sound good. Except:

Will I be ready to run a 5 or 10 k a week after my Half marathon?
The races on October 29 and 30th - might not be doable bc I have a wedding on the evening of October 29
The Angus Glen race might be the one that I run. Anyone else running it?________________________________________________________________________

What are you Fall Racing Plans?

Three Things Thursday - Stress & Destress

2011-09-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

Life is stressful. Whether it be with your job, your school, your relationships, training......its stressful. We live in a fast paced world full of stresses.

(source)

Here are Three of my stresses for this week:

1. Traffic.
I spend over 15 hours a week stuck in traffic.
Yesterday, it took me 2 hours to get home and this morning it took me 1h and 40 mins to get to work. Ya it effin sucks (sorry for the swearing). I spend almost 2 work days stuck on the traffic. I

2. Meetings.
I feel like half of the tiem that I am at work, I am in a meeting. So far this week, I have been in 3 meetings and I have another one tomorrow. Plus next week, I have 2 evening meetings, plus 2 meetings during regular work hours. And its not just the meetings that stress me out…it’s the preparation before hand and then all the work afterwards. Its insane. The ppl at my work looove meetings.

3. Lack of time.
I have blogged about this before HERE. And as I said in that post, the lack of time is to do anything for myself, my bf or for our house, is absolutely killing me.

Now, I know you guys are all wondering how I distress after all this.

Here is how:

1. Swearing, venting, crying, bitching
This is my favourite. Since I started this new job on September 1st, my swearing has increased by at least 200%. I have become quite the potty mouth! But it feels good! I also bitch and vent and cry to the bf. He hates it but listens and bears with me. Letting it all out is a good outlet. I tried holding it in but that just lets it stew inside of me….until it erupts.

(source)

2. Alcohol.
A glass of wine has never tasted so good as it does after a 2 hour commute home. Lets just say that our alcohol cabinet is fully stocked and restocked on a regular basis. Beer is also good!

3. Sweating
Getting your Sweat is a great outlet for stress. This may be in a form of running, yoga, elliptical, Zumba, any other form or exercise or in intimate ways with a partner. These ways are the only way that my mind gets clear. I do not think about the b*tch that cut me off, that meeting that lasted 3 hours and how I have not done laundry in over 2 weeks.

________________________________________________

So what is 1 thing that is stressing you out this week?

What is one thing that helps you cope with that stress?

Wordless Wednesday: BOOTY

2011-09-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

Signed up and ready to work my BOOTY!!!
click here to find out more about this boot camp

Start Date: Wednesday, October 12, 2011

End Date: Monday, December 5, 2011

GOAL: Lose 5 lbs and be beach bikini ready

Remembering: My First Race Ever

2011-09-20T14:26:00.000-04:00

Recap of my recenet workout:
Sunday, Sept 18 - 19 k (11.8 miles)
Saturday, Sept 17 - 100 floors on the stairmaster - 18:11 mins, upper body workout + 45 minute squash game with the bf
Thursday, Sept 15 - Speed work - 1k warm up, 5x1 k sprints, 1k cooldown
Wednesday, Sept 14 - 20 minute on the stairmaster + 2 miles run on the treadmill
Tuesday, Sept 13 - 7.5 k (4.66 mile) tempo run
_________________________________

With my upcoming half marathon in 25 days and all the preparation for it, i started thinking back on my previous races. Especially my very first race. You can click here to see all my races.

My very first race was not an official race. It was a race put together by a Running Room (different store/location than the one i run with now) in conjunction with the Human Nike Race. It as a 10k race on August 31, 2008.

I just started running in June 2008 and was training for my first 'real' race - a half marathon! 

I was mainly training alone, but sometime stopping by the Running Room to join in one of their free run on Wednesday or Sunday morning. I didnt know about dri fit clothing, garmins, speed work, hill training, paces or any other fancy things. I just put on pants, a shirt, running shoes and ran.

The race started at 8:30 am, just like a regular training run, except there was a makeshift starting line, a water station at the halfway mark and then a finish line.

At 8:30 am, about 25 (around 15 males and 10 females) were lined up at the start line. There was a count down.....5....4....3.....2....1......GO!

And we were off.

I dont remember much from the race. But I do remember that there was one BIG hill, which was about 1 kilometer long...and on the top of the hill, there was the water station. I remember running and running and breathing sooo hard, and then stopping to walk. I remember getting on top of that hill and not wanting any water and then just turning around and sprinting down that hill.

I also remember that I was told that I have to eat during the run. This was very foreign to me, but someone introduced me to energy candies called Sharkies.

I remember sprinting down that one hill and eating those sharkies. But i did not have any water, so i started choking on them. hahhaha.

I ran and I ran. I have no idea of my pace, nor did I care at the time.

But as I was approaching the finish line, I noticed that the put up another finish line for someone to cross. It was not untill i ran and broke through that finish line, that I realized that they put it up for me, as I was the FIRST female finisher!!!

I finished the race in 58:00 (someone else told me) and got a medal. I was SUPER HAPPY! I never knew that I could ever run, let alone run 10k and be the first female!

It was great!

________________________________________

What was your first race?

What do you remember most from it?

Guest Post: Vibram (not Barefoot) Runner

2011-09-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, after a hectic work day (arent they all hectic these days), all i wanted to do was come home and run! I also wanted a glass of wine...but thats another story. So i got home, threw on my Vibrams and headed down to the condo gym. I ran 2 hard miles in my vibrams, then jumped over to the stairmaster and climbed 50 floors, then hit the mat for abs and push up. I left the gym with a clear head and a super sweaty mess. As i was going back home, I remembered that before all my craziness at work, I was recruiting bloggers to do a guest post on barefoot running for me. I asked a few lovely ladies (and one husband of a lovely lady - you know who you are), but never followed through with the posting.

So here it is. My first guest post on ~~barefoot running~~ running in Vibrams. Please welcome: CYNTHIA from Cynthia's Adventures.

Why did you switch to barefoot running?

- Just to make things clear, I run in Vibrams! Not barefoot :) I started using my Vibrams as I was having all kinds on knee pain and hearing from others that this helped them. It didn't hurt that they are the cutest ever :)

How long have you been barefoot running?

- I started using my Vibrams in January on the treadmill and in April outside.

Which shoes do you have?

- I am currently running in Saucony Kinvara 2; A very light shoe midway between minimalist and regular cushioned shoes

What is the longest distance that you have run in them?

- 21K was my longest distance and I paid for it by going too far too fast! Be careful when you use Vibrams :)

What is your speed/pace in them? Faster or slower than regular running shoes?

- When I first started using them, my pace was a little slower and now I mostly run the same pace.

Do you do any other activities/sports in them?

- Sometimes! I did play grass volleyball during a 24hr relay and they were perfect! I love using them on soft surfaces where it might hurt my feet to be barefoot!

What do you like most about the minimalist/barefoot shoes?

- I love spring running in wet grass and feeling the water/mud through your toes! It makes running a whole new experience! I also love them for trail running!

What do you like least about the minimalist/barefoot shoes?

- The adaptation period! You have to be so careful :)

What is your future with the minimalist/barefoot shoes? Run all your runs in them OR switch back and forth between them and regular running shoes?

- Right now, I am switching back in forth as I am training for my first marathon. I cannot run that far in them yet so I keep them for short runs. I am using them as I go and have no set plans for them.

What is the weirdest question that someone has ever asked you about them?

- Its not weird, but the most common one: Doesn't it hurt your feet to run in them? I can now tell who is really interested in hearing more about them or just curious!

What does your family or friends think about them?

- My family is interested and think they are cool but only my running friends know what they are meant to do!

Tell me a funny/weird/interesting story about running in the minimalist/barefoot shoes.

- The first time I went running in the Spring, we were running in the ski hills and the ground was still very mushy from the melting snow and water went through the sole of my Vibrams. It felt so funny, like if I was truly running barefoot. It was cool and wet and I felt like a kid in a water puddle :) Since then, running on grass has become a favorite of mine!!
_____________________________________________________________________________

Thank you Cynthia!

If you have a Vibram or Barefoot running story that you want to share and would like to do a guest appearance on my blog, let me know.

Running before Work

2011-09-13T12:58:00.000-04:00

On Tuesdays I work 11 am - 7 pm. Its not the greatest day, but it does give me the opportunity to sleep in AND work out..
This morning, I woke up at 7:30 and got ready for a run. After reading some inspirational posts by a few lovely ladies yesterday, I was motivated to run a 'long-ish' run. I wanted to do double digits. That did not get accomplished, but i did get 7.5 kilometers (4.66 miles) done in under 45 minutes. I was really trying to push and run at a faster pace than usual. And i guess I did it!

At the start of my run, i guess my legs were still asleep because no matter how much I pushed, i could not break 10 minute/miles. But after 10 or so minutes, I was flying. I even sprinted up some hills. Which was super hard, but felt good!

All throughout my run, i was planning my breakfast in my head. On days that I work out in the mornings, I love to reward myself with a real breakfast. My usual breakfast of cereal or cottage cheese with fruit would not suffice. I wanted eggs. And eggs i got!

I made myself 2 soft boiled eggs, i slice of the wheat thin bread, and half a banana (i ate the other half before the run). Paired with a glass of water and a cup of coffee, this was a delicious and nutritious breakfast!

Isnt it weird how sometimes you wake up and you are ready to go for that run, or do that workout or go to that yoga class, while other times even if people offered you money or had a gun to you head, it would be hard to get out of bed.

I find that my body goes through this rollercoaster ride all the time! Today, i was ready to rock. WHile other times, i cannot get up for the life of me. Also, sometimes I find it easier to wake up and just do P90x as opposed to running or hitting the gym.

I am so glad that I got that run in. I feel energized and am knocking lots of items off of my To Do list!

Running with People

2011-09-10T11:15:00.000-04:00

Since I started running with the Running Room in June, all of my long and hard runs have been ran with the group.

There is a few people that I always run with. I run with them because we are similar pace and just run well together. I have ran all of my long and hard runs with these few people.

But there are many others in our clinic that I have not really bonded with or ran with....and that mostly is because of pace.

This weekend, I had to switch my long run from the Sunday to the Saturday because I am going to a wedding and did not want to be running a long run hungover. lol. So during our last group run on Thursday, I asked if anyone was interested in running on Saturday. A few people were interested. And I was excited. I was also pretty bummed out because my pace people, were sticking to the Sunday run.

Saturday morning came and I was a little apprehensive, as i have never ran with the ladies that were coming out. But I got myself ready and headed over to the meeting spot.

Two ladies came out. We ran a total of 13K (8 miles) and had a really good time. We ran it at a slower pace than I usually run at, but it was ok. We talked about their kids and job and commuting in Toronto, about running and other forms of working out. I found out that one lady is an avid hiker and hikes 20, 30 50 kilometers almost every weekend...on top of running with the running room! I told her that I will 100% hike with her and her hiking group one day this fall!

I had a blast! It was a beautiful crisp morning which ended up being a beautiful hot early afternoon....but we got our run in. I actually left a little early, as I have to get ready for the wedding, but they continued for another 7 or so kilometers.

Question to you:

Have you ever ran with someone you don't know?
Do you ever run to accommodate someone else's pace?

My workouts for the week:

Monday - nothing

Tuesday - P90X - legs and back

Wednesday - P90x - shoulders, chest and tris

Thursday - Speed work - 1k warm up, 4x1 kilometer @ 5:00, 1k cool down

Friday - nothing

Saturday - 13 k

Sunday - ???? maybe yoga, maybe spin, maybe a recovery run.....or maybe nothing. we shall see!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

90 IN 111

2011-09-06T16:47:00.000-04:00

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful words. You guys are the best!
Ive been MIA for far too long. Its time to get back into the saddle!

~Its 40 days till my Half Marathon

its time to kick some butt~

After my 30 K race (race report here), I took a long break. Longer than I wanted to. Since August 20, I have only ran 5 times. This includes: a 19 k run, 1 speed work run, 2 easy 5ks and one trail run. Aside from this, I have worked out a little at the gym using the stair master and the rowing machine. I have really found a love for these 2 machines.

(source)

My favourite workout recently has been: 100 floors on the stairmaster (took about 18 minutes) and 30 minutes on the rowing machine. This was followed by 100 squats, 25x2 push ups and then lots of deserved stretching. I totally loved that workout and cant wait to do it again.

So now with 40 days left, I need to get back into it. In our running group, we have started speed work. I hope that the speed work will help with achieving my goal: a sub 2 hour half marathon!

Alongside with speed work, I want to do more temo runs. And LONGER runs. I need to start running at my half marathon pace...for longer than just a kilometer or 2. This is my new challenge!

In addition to all this, I am starting another challenge. In September/October, I wanted to join a 8 week bootcamp to shape up my booty for a wedding in Cuba that I am going to (in 111 days). But unfortunately, they are not running it. Soooooooo, I decided to run my own bootcamp challenge which will involve P90x.

My plan is to do P90X 90 times in the next 111 days!

P90x is a great source of Cross Train, so it will add a lot to my running. It will also help me lose those extra few pounds that I found lately and help me tone up before hitting the beach.

I dont have a schedule as to which exercise I will be doing and when; but i will figure it out and keep track. AND of course, update you!

I started today and day #1 is done and done with Legs and Back!

Ok guys, thnx for not forgetting me and sticking by me!

Guess Who?

2011-09-06T06:48:00.000-04:00

just in case you forgot...

IT'S ME!

*its a new week; a new month; a new season

*enough of the slacking off, eating what I want,

drinking what and when I want

*its time to get back into the game

*its time to workout, run, eat properly and train hard

*its 39 days until my Half Marathon

*the new season started out with P90X Legs & Back

*Let's do this $hit!

Trying to fit it all in

2011-08-29T07:05:00.000-04:00

Lately, Ive been really struggling with fitting it all in.

I feel like im giving everything a half assed job. I feel like im failing a lot of people. I feel like my running is suffering because while running, im thinking of the dishes that need to be done, the laundy that need to be washed, the dinner that needs to be cook, the emails that need to be answered, the family and friends that I have not seen in a while. I feel like my duty to run our household has been put on the back burned. I feel like my meals have suffered and are not as healthy and nutritios as they used to be.
This all stresses me out. I get very anxious about these things and its hard to bring me back down to reality.

source

Its been really hard to fit in working, working out, running, running a household, spending quality time with the bf, visiting with my parents and seeing friends.

This is what my regular day consists of:

Wake up 6:30 ish( or 5ish, if I am working out)
Get ready for work - shower, breakfast, pack both lunches, get dressed, make up, etc
Leave the house at 7:30ish (let me explain that i am working at a different place than i used to be and traffic is insane. I rather leave at 7:30ish and be at work just after 8 am, than leave the house by 7:50 and be stuck in traffic for over an hour. its a slippery slope, that Toronto traffic)
Work - 9:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Lunch time - run errands OR go for a walk
Evening commute - 5:00 -6:15 ish
Mondays - I go grocery shopping - I get home by 7 pm
Wednesday and Thursday - Running Room, I get home by 8:30
Get home (at whatever time), Wed & Thurs - the bf usually puts together some sort of meal that I cooked the night before or a few nights before
Eat 7:30 pm or 8:30 pm
Watch tv, relax, etc
Sleep 11ish

All in All, I am out of the house, either at work or stuck in friggin traffic for almost 12 hours out of the day. Throw in my Wednesday and Thursday runs with the Running Room, and I am out of the house for 13 or 14 hours.
That does not leave a lot of room for visiting, going out or having fun! haha

My only days 'free' are Tuesdays. And those are the days, that I hope that the bf does not have to work late. Those are also the days that I cook an actual hot meal and prepare for food/meals for Wednesday and Thursday for the bf to throw together. This day is usually a clean up and laundry day.

Summers are also tough, because, every other weekend, we try to go to the cottage. Im not complaining over here. Dont worry. I LOVE that cottage and cherish all the time I spend up there. But this just means that on the weekends that we have free, its visiting time. We visit my parents, the bf's parents, and friends. Its usually a GO-GO-GO time with not much relaxation.

Basically the question that I ask myself ALL the time is, how to:

(source)

So lets go back to the question of how to actually fit it all in?

Schedule in advance the days that I will be running - DONE - Wednesday and Thursday are already booked at running days and I ( and the bf) knows that I wont be home till late
Cross train and get my strength training in in the AM. Cross training before work, is easier for me to do in the mornings than in the evenings. I can stumble out of bed at 5ish, crawl to my living room, pop in a Jillian dvd or p90x and just do it.
Plan out all your meals. Every Sunday, I sit down and plan meals for the week. This includes meals that I can prepare and/or cook up on Tuesday, that we can eat on Wednesday or Thursday
Have a list when going grocery shopping. My list gets written up on Sunday when I do the meal plan for the week. I strickly adhere to this list while in the store. I will stray from the list, ONLY if there is something on sale
Let your loved ones know of your schedule ahead of time. I let the bf know of my exact weekly plan and he puts it in his blackberry. This helps him out when arranging meetings for work or to see his friends or to golf.
Be creative. For example. a great way to see my parents is when we are on the way back from the cottage. Their house is on the way, and what a perfect time to pop in than on a Sunday for a late lunch/early dinner bbq. Or sneak in a 45 minute power walk on your lunch hour.
Schedule your fun time - whenever possible, whenever I see my friends, I try to incorprate our outing into a Sweaty Date (loove this term that Emily coined). Whether it be a walk in the park, a squash game, a friendly jog, or an after dinner stroll, if it can turn sweaty, why not let it!
Be Flexible - this is the most important thing. Sometimes, I need to go to my parents house after a 12 hour day to help them with some admin work for their company. To do this, i always hope that they do not need me on a Wednesay or Thursday. But if they do, I need to move everythign around for the week. This may mean doing a morning run, hoooking up with another clinic to get my Hill training or tempo run with. This may even mean, no grocery shoopping or missing one of my fave shows (thank god for PVR). But sometimes it happens. WHat you need is a coping mechanism: here are 2 of mine:

a. alcohol and b. a loving and supportive bf

Before I wrote this post, I actually read a good post from a new blog that I came across, Nurse on the Run, and Susan, who is a nurse, talks about how to fit it all in while being a nurse. Her conclusions are: taht if you love something, you will make time for it!

I loved reading this and it totally makes sense. Go check out that post and then let me know how YOU fit it all in!

if you liked this post, stay tuned for these future great posts:

Meal Planning for a 9-5er
Grocery Shopping for a 9-5er
How to stay sane while commuting for 2.5+ hours per day
How to have a social life while working long hours and training

Photo Friday

2011-08-26T10:11:00.000-04:00

for those who do not know what Big Feet are:

check out their website: click HERE

My legs keep no pace with my Desire - 30K Race Recap

2011-08-25T13:35:00.002-04:00

ACT I - The Pre Race - "I am that merry wanderer of the night" (act 2, scene 1)

To find out how I got ready for this race, check out these two posts:

My biggest worry about this race was fueling properly.
On Friday night, I carb loaded with french fries and a home made pizza. The pizza was delicious. This is what I used:

Spinach tortilla wrap
left over Alfredo sauce
shrimp
tomatoes
onion
goat mozzarella cheese

IT was friggin delicious.
Also, i hydrated like a mad women. At work on Friday, i kept drinking and running to the bathroom to pee every few minutes. People were looking at me funny. haha

Saturday started out great. I knew that I had to eat, but when? I also knew that I had to stop drinking water because I did not want to have to pee 10 times during the race, but when?
So this is how it all went down:

Breakfast #1 @ 9:30 am - toast with peanut butter and banana, with a coffee and a glass of water
Breakfast #2 @ 11:00 am - bagel with cream cheese and a cup of tea
Late Lunch @ 2:15ish - tuna sandwich and pasta with tomato, spinach, onions over whole wheat noodles

I was well hydrated. I had enough, but not too much food in me. I was ready to go!

ACT II - Fun and Festive - "Lord what fools these mortals be?" (act 3, scene 3)

It was hot. It was humid. It was not idea running weather. Especially not running 30 damn kilometers.

We arrived at the race site at about 4:45, with 45 minutes till GO TIME. We walked around, chatted, stretched and took some pictures.

me in Full Gear and me and my running buddy K

the 3:15 Pace Fairy, that I had my eye out the whole time

And soon it was time to go over to the start line.

As I lined up, between the 3:15 and 3:30 pace fairy, i ran into these lovely ladies:

And soon we were off!

ACT III - The RACE - "Over hill, over dale,Thorough bush, thorough brier, Over park, over pale, Thorough flood, thorough fire, I do wander everywhere." (act 2, scene 1)

As soon as we started, I knew that it was going to be a hard race. It was so hot and humid, that it was hard to breath.
Also, I was having costume problems. hahah

My head piece was itchy and falling into my eyes
My lei around my neck was misbehaving
My ipod got stuck somewhere and kept pulling and falling out of my ears

I was also carrying a extra (toss away) water bottle and my camera in my hands.

But soon, I had to make some changes, if I wanted to continue the race. I tossed my headpiece, I changed the neck around my neck to go diagonally around my shoulder and under my arm (like a sash), I adjusted my ipod and put my camera in my back pocket of my running skirt.

During the race, i was fueling with Big Feet candies, Nuun electrolyte replacement, 2 water bottles in my fuel belt and 1 salt stick.
I found that this was a great combination for me. I kept me fueled, strong, and hydrated.

Kilometers 0-3 - costume adjustments
Kilometer - 6 - fuel - 2 big feet candies
Kilometer 9 - finish my Nuun electrolyte replacement and throw away the toss away water bottle
Kilometer 11 - 2 big feet
Kilometer 13 - 1 big feet candy
Kilometer 16 - 1 big feet candy
Kilometer 21 - salt tablet
Kilometer 25 - 2 big feet
and DONE

Somewhere along the course, we had great views of Toronto, so i grabbed my camera and took some pix:

another runner actually stopped and offered to take a picture of me....

of course i jumped at the chance and said YES.

The whole race, I felt good. I was keeping pace with the 3:15 pace fairy and feeling really good about it. I did a quasi 10 and 1 system, but instead of 10 and 1s, i kinda did it every 12-15 minutes. I took a walking break whenever my body needed it.

And that system worked awesome for me.

I passed the 21 kilometer mark with a huge grin on my face. I ran the half marathon distance, faster than I ran my half marathon in May. I was soooo happy.

But I knew that it was not over. I still had 9 kilometers to go....and a lot can happen in 9 kilometers. But fortunately, nothing did. At around kilometer 25, I ran into my friend (who is always like 30 minutes faster than me, running a 1:40 ish half and a 3:40ish full). She developed a blister and was in much pain. I ran with her for a while, but then I took off.

At kilometers 28, I was ready for the race to be over, but I kept pushing.....and running....and pushing....

soon, I saw 29 km and then......

THE END!

I crossed the finish line in : 3:12: 45

I was deliriously happy.

I quickly grabbed my medal, snapped a picture of myself, grabbed some water,

and ran over to cheer on my friend as she finished!

ACT IV - The After "The course of true love never did run smooth. " (act 1, scene 1)

After the race, we went out to eat. I desperately wanted BEER! And french fries. And that is exactly what I got. After food, I went home, and I was so tired that I decided to forgo my usual ice bath and just jumped (or more like crawled) into bed and slept!

After thoughts:

Overall, I am super happy with my performance.

I trained hard and put in a lot of work, and got good results. I was aiming for around 3:15 and totally beat my goal.

This race left me feeling super confident for my goal race on October 16, 2011. I am very confident that i can run a Sub 2 hour Half Marathon in 8 weeks.

I am not saying that its going to be easy. I will have a lot of work to do. I still have to work hard and hit certain paces during my workout, but overall, I feel very good about it!

and thats my race recap. Hope you enjoyed!

How to prepare for a Night Race

2011-08-21T14:08:00.000-04:00

1. Sleep in

slept in till 9:30 am

2. Eat 2 breakfasts

a. toast with peanut butter and strawberries and coffee and water

b. Everything Bagel with Herb & Garlic cream cheese

3. Wear race shirt

4. Dance around in race shirt

5. Prepare you Gadgets and Accessories

6. Watch a movie

7. Get Dressed

8. Dance around in your outfit

9. Big late lunch/early dinner

Tuna sandwich and pasta with sauteed garlic, onion,
tomato and spinach

10. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

11. Paint Your Nails

___________________________________________

Thanks to everyone for your kind words

and good wishes. They really helped me KILL this race!

(stay tuned to a race recap in the next few days)

Also a big shout out to Marlene, Sam & Cynthia (in pic below) and Laura,

who i did not have a chance to meet, but i know she was there somewhere!

Running in the Mid Summer Night

2011-08-20T09:55:00.001-04:00

The Race: MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S RUN 30K

The Motto: My legs keep no pace with my Desire

The location: TORONTO, ONTARIO

The time: 5:30 p.m

The outfit:

The Goals:
Goal C = 3:20 (@ 10:43 min/mile or 6:40 min/k)
Goal B = 3:15 (@ 10:27 min/mile or 6:30 min/k)
Goal A = 3:06:24 (@ 10:00 min/mile or 6:12 min/k)

The Plan: Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy! Think of this as a regular long run.
Take pictures. Smile. Talk to people. Do a little dance. Show a little love.

The Mantra: HAVE FUN!

The dinner the night before the race:

The breakfast #1:

The race shirt:

The bib:

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-18T09:53:00.000-04:00

1. Row Your Boat

Last night, I headed to the gym and for the first time in a looong, looong time, I did not run. Instead, I used the elliptical, the row machine, did lots of abs and pushups and finished the workouts with lunges and squats and stretching!
Also, I FELL IN LOVE............
................. with the rowing machine!

The rowing machine was sooo awesome. I allowed me to get my heart rate up, without putting any strain on my knees. It was truly awesome. Amazed by my newfound love, the first thing that I did when I got to work was research. And here is what I found:

low impact - no stress on knees (very important to me)
whole body workout
strength training - legs, back, arms, chest
calorie burning
core work
posture

2. Sleep

I dont know what the hell is wrong with me, but lately, all I want to do is sleep. I always thought of myself as someone who need 6 hours at the most of sleep. And around 6 hours is what I usually got. I would go to sleep around 12 am and wake up around 6 am, or on the day that I knew that I would workout, I would try to be in bed by 11 pm to be up by 5 am.

But in the last 2 days, I have fallen asleep wayyyy earlier. On Monday night, I was in bed and asleep at 9:30 pm. And yesterday, I was asleep just after 10 pm. And the bf had people over, and it was not quiet. I was reading in bed around 9:30 pm and just after 10 pm, i could not keep my eyes open, so i turn off my light and immediately fell asleep.
Very Weird. I guess I need more sleep, after all.

3. Feeling Sick

I woke up this morning feeling incredibly sick. Maybe incredibly is too strong of a word, but its been a while since i felt this sick. I woke up with a headache and tummy problems. And soooooooooo tired. I almost fell asleep on my way to work this morning. UGH. And im running to the bathroom every few minutes. And my staff noticed my paler than normal face and brough me tea.

I dont know what it is, but I am also feeling very cold. Like colder than I have all week at this office.

Plus, I wanted to take the day off but I am not at my own site (im filling in somewhere else) and there is no one to cover, so I had to go in. UGH!

I hope whatever this is goes away by Saturday!

~ Now, tell me 3 things about your week! ~

Weeks 6, 7 & 8

2011-08-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

Hello and Happy Tuesday.

Yesterday was a crappy day! Not only was it Monday, but work was so stressful and intense, I passed out at 9:30 pm.
When I got home from work, all I wanted was a glass (or 2, or 3, or.....10) of wine. But because I am trying to limit my alcohol intake this week before my big race on Saturday, I used up all my will power, had a cup of peppermint tea and passed out!

(source)

Not wanting today to be as shitty as yesterday, before I passed out, I made myself reminders in my phone that are to pop up every 1 hour to remind that 'TODAY IS A GREAT DAY!" And so far, it has been working. Granted it is only 10 (ish) am and I still have lots of time left, but so far, things are good!

Today, I just wanted to look back at my previous few weeks of training and to see how I am doing. So, here I present to you week 6, 7 and 8 of my Half Marathon Training.

Week 6: July 25- July 31

Monday - rest

Tuesday - 5.5k run

Wednesday - 11K with Running Room -TEMPO run

Thursday - 3.25K easy run + 100 squats

Friday - rest

Saturday - 8k trail run at the cottage

Sunday - rest

total distance: 27.75

in summary: this was a good week. I loved my tempo run.

This was supposed to be a fallback week, but I still managed

to get a few awesome runs.

Week 7: Aug 1 - Aug 7

Monday - rest

Tuesday - Tempo Run - 5x4 mins at under 9 mins/mile with recovery jogs in between= 6.16 K

+ squats and lunges

Wednesday - 8.2 K tempo + abs and stretching

Thursday - 10.5 K Hill

Friday - 1.5 hours of walking

Saturday - rest

Sunday - 19.3 K long run

total distance: 44.16 k

in summary: This was my fave training week so far!

I totally kicked ass with 2 tempo runs; one scheduled and one impromtu.

My Hill workout also kicked some booty and my long run was awesome!

Week 8: Aug 8- Aug 14

Monday - rest

Tuesday - 1 hour walk

Wednesday -rest

Thursday - 10 K Hills

Friday -1 hour walking

Saturday - rest

Sunday - rest

total distance: 10 K

in summary: I am not going to lie but I really did not mind

taking (pretty much) a full week off. I only ran ONE time and my total distance

for the week was only 10k, but work was not so good and my brain

and body needed some time off!

In previous training cycles, 1 week off would totally kill my self confidence and my confidence in my training plan and running. Guilt would eat away at my for like a week and all my runs would suffer because of it. But for some reason, this is not happening to me this week. I feel good. I feel like I needed a quick break and what a perfect time to take a break and taper off a little (or a lot) before a big race.

This week is Week # 9 and its also going to be an easier week. But still active and productive. Here is what I have planned for this week:

Monday - X training - done and done - I did Jillian's Ripped in 30, plus pilates from this fabulous blogger:
Tuesday - X training - either elliptical or bike, plus abs and arms
Wednesday - easy 6 k with the running room
Thursday - easy hill training with the running room
Friday - rest
Saturday - 30K race
Sunday - rest

And week 10 will be a big BOOM!  After taking Sunday and Monday off to recover and rest up, Tuesday I am back to TEMPO (Christina, you in?) and it will continue to be a big week. And I think this little break has got me all jazzed up to kick more ass in the upcoming weeks. Wish me luck!

looking for more to read?? Check out these lovely ladies and how they go to be where they are right now:

"How did you get here?" - Amy

2011-08-14T14:56:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone. Let's welcome Amy from Amy Runs a Marathon as our guest blogger today. Amy is a fellow Canadian that runs on the other side of the country of me.
Take it away, Amy!
_________________________________

How did I get here?
Remember when you were younger, and the age you are now seemed old? I don't care how old you are now, at some point, when you were 15, or 20, or 25, or whatever, thought ahead to the age you are now, and thought that was ancient.

For me, old started at 25. When I was in high school, university, and even gallivanting around Australia at 24, I thought I'd have it all figured out by 25. You know, "it." As in everything. As in life.

Then I turned 25.

And it sucked.

BIG TIME.

Not only did I not have everything figured out, I didn't have anything figured out. This is when I had a quarter life crisis and packed up and moved to China. I also sat down and wrote down some pretty serious goals about things I wanted to accomplish. One of them was running a marathon before I turned 30.

Looking back, it's funny that this was on my bucket list, even then. I was a sporadic, casual runner at best, and hadn't raced since cross country in Grade 10, but I guess I wanted to be more than that. I wanted to be a healthier, fitter person. Born with zero hand-eye coordination, I've always been more clutz than confident. I wanted the accomplishment and discipline. I wanted to be one of those people.

I remember a conversation with a friend about some of the other goals on the list. (She now gets me a book from my lifetime reading list every year for my birthday). I don't remember telling anyone about the marathon. It must have been at the cottage after one too many beers on the dock.

Fast forward to my 30th birthday.

I was happy to turn 30. Of course, I still didn't have everything figured out, but I no longer expected that I would. I'd crossed a number of things off of my list and had a great job and had just moved in with my boyfriend. We were spending my birthday at my cottage and some of my family came up for the weekend. I was training for my first half-marathon and giddy to talk about all things running. (This was pre-blog, so I had no other outlet). Life was good.

Then my cousin asks, "What happened to running a marathon before you turned 30?"
Ouch.
Sting.
And a good kick in the pants. Before the end of that year, I'd started training for my first full marathon.

I'm getting to my point now: If you have a goal, tell someone. Heck, tell the whole blogisphere! But tell someone who is going to follow up and ask you how it's going and whether you've done it yet. I'm not saying I never would have run the marathon without that question on my birthday, but it definitely gave me a push. Once I started training, I told everyone. That's when I started my blog, made regular posts on Facebook, and told everyone I knew that I was doing this thing, and that got me to the starting line.

______________________

Thank you Amy! That was great.

Its so important to look back and see how it all begin. Amy rocked her first marathon and ran a second one. Crazy girl! I still have not forgotten about the pain from mine!

Go check out her blog, if you haven't done so yet.

(if you are interested in being featured on my blog, email me at confessionsofarunner@gmail.com)

Four for Friday

2011-08-12T11:25:00.003-04:00

TGIFF!

Its been ONE OF THOSE weeks and I am sooo glad its over!

BRING ON the WEEKEND and the COTTAGE!

1. "How did you get here?"

I've been hosting a new segment called called "How did you get here?" which features runners and other extraordinary people in their journey. They share their stories about overcoming obstacles, training for marathons and ultramarathon and still running a household, working, having family and a life.

Check out these lovely ladies who helped me out:

I have some a few other great guests coming up next week. And if you want to be featured, email me at confessionsofarunner@gmail.com or comment on this blog post and we can arrange something!

2. Featured Runner

Samantha over at Health, Happiness & Skinny Jeans featured me in her Runner's Special. Go check out her blog and see me!!!

3. WARNING: not for the weak stomach-ed

DO NOT EAT CHEESE BEFORE RUNNING!!!

Yesterday, was my scheduled hill running with the Running Room. I have talked about my hill running experience here and here.

(source)

Yesterday, was a run just like any other. OR at least it was supposed to be.

Usually, I eat a snack at like 5 or 5:30 before our 7 pm run. My snack is usually some kind of bar or fruit. Yesterday, i had nothing like that to take with me, but had some left over cheese from lunch. Thinking that if I eat it at 5:00 pm, that should give me plenty of time to digest. BOY was I WRONG!

7:00 pm came wayyyy to fast and before I knew it, we were running our warm up, heading over to the HILL.

The Plan: 6 hill repeats

Planned distance: around 11.5k

What really happened:

the warm up was slow, which was ok
hill #1 - not pushing too hard - stomach feeling ok
hill #2 - a few girls and I said 'lets do this shit" and really pushed it = stomach cramps
hill #3 - ouch, ouch, ouch
hill #4 - is there a bathroom anywhere here?? I wanna go home! I was ready to quit at that point.
hill #5 - this was a baaaaad idea! I should have quit after hill #4 and went back to the store and gone home
hill # 6 - does not exist
cool down - this was more of a 'clench-your-cheeks' and try to make it back to the store without pooping your pants (SORRY for the TMI)

All in All - I made it, without any major problems, just some pain.

(source)

this did NOT happen to me.

I just thought it was funny

I will NEVER EVER eat cheese that close to a run again!

(again, sorry for the TMI - maybe i should write a warning for the post)

4. What should I wear? AND What should I eat?

(this is a 2 parter)

A. What should I wear? For my upcomming race next weekend, my friend and I wanted to dress up for it. But we dont know what to wear. Its going to be a hot day, so we want something light. Also, its a 30K, so we want something comfortable. Any ideas? Have you ever ran a race in costume?

The famous Marlene in her even more famous M&M costume!

(Marlene, hope its ok that i am using that picture)

B. What should I eat? This is a night race, that starts at 5:30 pm. I have never ran a night race and dont know how to property fuel for it. Any ideas? Have youever ran a evning/night race?

So that's all from me. Have a fantastic weekend!

"How did you get here?" - Shelly

2011-08-11T15:56:00.001-04:00

Hello there. Today's guest is the speedy and ever-so-fabulous Shelly from It's Just One Foot in Front of the Other.
Take it away Shelly.......
________________________________

I was flattered when Aneta asked me to contribute to her postings on other runners and a bit worried that I couldn't condense 25+ years of running into a single posting. So I decided to address her topics individually and anyone who is interested in the "rest of the story" can hop over to my blog (http://www.itsjustonefootinfrontoftheother.blogspot.com) or drop me an email (shellyrm@yahoo.com)

Fav Workouts:
I don't really have a favorite work out. I do have workouts that I do not like; track. I don't like running in circles, so I don't. My running is about enjoyment first and racing success second. Although I know that better workouts would provide me with faster race times, after 25 years of running those things don't matter quite as much to me. My favorite workout - if I had to say - would be a day long run in the woods with or without a race going on. A day spent running at my own pace on a new trail with no pressure about time limits or age groups.

Improve Speed:
If I had taken the time to share all my racing experience with you, you would know that my fastest marathons (road) were my first two years of marathoning 2003 (3:37; 2nd female, 3:38, 3:37 (8th female) and 2004; 3:54, 4th female (heatstroke), 3:32 (PR - 4th female. My father had just died), 3:50, (8th female) . I ran 6 of my 10 road marathons those years. Since then my road marathoning has hung around high 3:30s to 3:50s. I even ran one with my husband that I hit the wall and finished 4:12, it was a sickening experience I hope to never repeat. It was the closest I have yet come to DNFing. I have not gotten increased my pace over the years. I have increased my enjoyment of running over the years. Yes, I can run faster with less effort than when I first started but I only longer have any desire to cross the finish line getting a PR only to throw up after. I run against only myself these days and occasionally I put in some pretty nice paces and place nicely in smaller races but I am happy with continually increasing challenges...lately in the distance variety.

first road marathon

2004 Johnstown marathon - PR Marathon, right after my father died

Running mom, wife, worker, everything:
There isn't one way to be all the things we each must be for the others in our lives. What works one week may not work the next. Having been married-single-parenting for so long I find it hard to imagine any other way. My family knows that exercise is a daily part of life. I do my best to include them whether that be as a passenger in the jogging stroller that I push way too often or riding their bike while I run. They might choose to join my in a fitness tape or workout on another piece of equipment while I run on the treadmill. Sometimes my daughter chooses to dance around to the workout music and laugh at my attempts to keep up with Shawn T while I sweat through Insanity. Whatever they choose they join in making it all mostly work.

Fitting it all in:
I touched on this already in the fact that there is no ONE way. Our family struggles to allow everyone's (read: my) goals fit it. I don't say that to complain or garner sympathy. I tell you that because I know that many out there deal with the same issues. We are not all blessed with spouses or partners who have evolved to the same level of fitness (or the desire to reach a certain level). It's important to know that your family isn't the only one that struggles but somehow still makes it work. Most of the time. This spring, for example, I made the push from 50ks to a 50 miler. My family was cautious but supportive. When I had the opportunity to go for the 100 via two or three other 50 mile and 77 mile races, my husband pulled the brakes. Was I disappointed? Yes. But I realized that my goal for 2011 had been to go for 50 miles. Even though I was lucky enough to have accomplished that early in the year did not mean I should set aside all the plans we had for our family so that I could spend the summer and fall attempting MY next goal. Instead our family enjoyed a summer of activity and fun. I enjoyed knowing I set a goal and had a new plan to work on my own fitness to be better prepared in 2012.

Running 50k

Each day, each week, each month we have to remain flexible to the needs of our families and ourselves. I have crossed a lot of finish lines in life. So many of them have been sweet but I must say they are made a whole lot sweeter when your family is eagerly waiting for you on the other side.

Running 50 miles

Going Long:
My favorite topic. How do I run for so long? Easy. I put one foot in front of the other. Okay you know it was coming, right?! Seriously, it really is just about that simple. Ultra running is largely mental. Yes there is the need to have a large mileage base and have reached a certain level of fitness but I have seen people mental push themselves past that marathon mark. People that you would never look at and think, "There's an ultra runner." Running over great distances does take training and an understanding of your abilities but a willingness to believe that you can.

For me, it has taken years of running, years of undoing past beliefs, years of building a trust in myself that allowed me to think I could do that when a fellow ultra runner asked me if I wanted to run that first trail 50k.

Ultra running is more of a journey than a destination. Once you've been bitten by the ultra bug, it feels only right to wonder if you can, go just a little farther, climb a little higher, push yourself just those few steps more. Ultra distance events are not just the natural progression after having run a marathon. They are not for every runner but if you find yourself wanting something more than shiny medals. If you want to experience a sense of fellowship with your fellow runners beyond your running group, a caring for each other that extends into the racing arena; ultra running might be worth looking into.

Thank you, Aneta
____________________

No, thank you, Shelly! . Your ultra running always amazes me.

I still have no idea how you fit it all in. haha
Thank you so much for sharing your story and tips. Everyone, head over to Shelly's blog and follow her while she runs her super fast and super long runs!

(if you want to share your story, email me at confessionsofarunner@gmail.com or post a comment on this post)

"How Did You Get Here?" - Marlene

2011-08-10T09:46:00.001-04:00

Because of all the craziness in my life and work right now, I have asked a few people to guest blog for me. Today we start a new segment called "How did you get here?" and our first guest is the fabulous Marlene from Mission to A(nother) Marathon. Lets all give her a big round of applause!
And here she is............
__________________________________
Hi everyone,

This is Marlene from Mission to a(nother) Marathon and Aneta has graciously invited me to write a guest post on "How I Got Here".

To give you a brief intro on me: I was overweight and generally unhealthy most of my life and reached an ultimate "low" about 5 years ago after I got married. I was completely out of shape, obese and truly unhappy with how I looked and felt. I took up exercise, which eventually led to running, and found myself completing my first half marathon about a year after that. From there, I have run countless races including 8 marathons (currently training for my 9th in October) and lost 60+ pounds.

I achieved a BQ (Boston Qualifier) Marathon time of 3:37 in May of this year - something that I never thought possible in my wildest dreams, given that I ran my first marathon in 4:42. I am no superstar, but I have come a pretty long way in the last few years. Here are some of the biggest contributing factors that I believe have helped me achieve this goal and made me the runner I am today.

Nutrition

Obviously one of the most important steps in losing weight is maintaining a healthy diet, but it is about more than just losing weight. As a runner, eating properly is cardinal in staying healthy and getting stronger. I have learned to view food as fuel for my body and adopted mottos such as "Garbage in = Garbage out" and "Eat Like an Athlete". I feel best (and run best) when I eat as nutritiously and "clean" as possible. I also track my daily caloric intake to ensure that I maintain the right balance between eating too much VS too little. I train up to 12+ hours a week so it is crucial that I am getting the right foods in the right amounts to keep myself moving.

Training

For the first couple of years that I was running, I never followed a training plan. I would usually run a long run once a week as well as 3-4 other short runs, but I did so haphazardly without any kind of schedule. There is not necessarily anything wrong with this strategy and I know it works for some people, but I get a lot more out of my training when I follow a plan. I lay out a gradual mileage build over the course of the program, with a "drop-down/recovery" week every 3-4 weeks, incorporating speed work, tempo runs as well as race-pace runs. Obviously my very first training plan looked much different from the one I am following now - they key has been building on back-to-back training cycles (with an appropriate recovery period in between) so that I am capitalizing on the strength, speed and endurance from each cycle as opposed to starting from scratch every time.
Recovery

Recovery is so important! Whether this means a complete rest day or "active recovery", it is so important! Over the last year or so I have finally learned that taking it very easy on my easy days is crucial in allowing the body to recover from harder workouts in order to tackle the next one. I generally take just one day off from running per week, with recovery runs on at least two other days. This allows me to maintain my mileage goals without overdoing it.

Flexibility

Things will not always go according to plan and I have definitely learned to be flexible when it comes to training. Things can get in the way of scheduled workouts, whether it's illness, extreme weather, family/work commitments, an impromptu race - you name it. Sometimes I'll just know that I am too tired on a particular day to do what I had planned, and that is okay! I shuffle my schedule around constantly to accommodate these things and do my best to fit in everything I had hoped to, but sometimes that is just impossible. Nothing is carved in stone so I just do what I can with the circumstances and try not to stress over moved/modified/missed runs. Life happens!!!

Racing

I enter races as frequently as possible. I love the excitement of race day, the spirit of the running community and the thrill of the finish line. Last year I completed 20 races and I have about that many planned for this year as well. That's not to say I "race" every single one. I run many as tune-up or training races (no PR goal, but to practice pacing and strategies, or just put in a well supported long run) and many just for fun as well. I believe racing often is a great way to stay focused and motivated on long term goals - a 14 or 16 week training plan towards an "A" race is a loooong time and can really start to drag without interim goals. It also creates more opportunities to get comfortable and confinement in racing situations, from nerves to fueling to logistics.

Hopefully that gives you a little bit of insight into my journey. It's important to remember that everyone is different and I am constantly learning and experimenting and trying to figure out what works best for me. If you have any questions or comments on any of the above points (or anything else!), please feel free to drop by my blog.

Thanks to Aneta for hosting me for this guest post.
________________________________________________

Thank you, Marlene for being my first guest. Your jounrney has been incredible. You have many great things ahead of you and I only wish I was half as good, strong and fast as you are. Maybe one day you can train me!

Thanks for reading everyone. If you dont follow Marlene's blog yet, get over there now and follow her. She is a rock star!

(if you want to share your story, email me at confessionsofarunner@gmail.com or post a comment on this post)

19+ Thunderstruck

2011-08-09T10:08:00.001-04:00

Thank you for all your nice comments about my promotion. I am very happy. This was a long time coming and its finally here. I am very excited to start. I will be working in Yorkville, a very posh neighbourhood in Toronto. And even though the drive will be awful, it will worth it for my career and future! :)

Now, lets talk about the good stuff: My 19.3 Kilometer run in the pouring rain and thunder on Sunday!

So, Sunday is our LSD (long slow distance run) with the Running Room. The plan was to run 16 Kilometers. Knowing that I need to run a few more kilometers, my original plan was to get to the running room early, run 4k before the group showed up. BUT unfortunately, my bed was too comfy and warm and I really did not want to get up.
But I made it for 8:30 am, met my group and off we went.

It was a great start to the run. It was not too hot, and it did not start raining yet.

Half way through our run, we got the rain. And then got the Thunder. But we ran on. And ON and ON.....

I felt good and I felt strong. I knew that i had to run more than the group, so I stuck together with a slower paced group than usual.

At about 14K, it got bad. It was pouring rain. It was raining so hard that you can hardly see anything in front of you.
I had a decision to make. I can either:

finish up the 16 k and call it a day
drive home, change out of my wet clothes and hit up the condo gym and finish up my run on the treadmill
just continue running in the rain.

GUESS which one I chose?

IF you guess (C) - you are correct.

I figured I was already drenched and if I went home to change, I would just stay home. So at about 15.7 kilometers, i separated from the group and went off by myself. And those last few kilometers were the best ones. I did not care about stepping into puddles; i was jumping into them. I did not care about staying dry; i was already soaked and just flew through the rain! It was absolutely great.
I was smiling and singing to myself "dancing in the rain". It was fabulous. I LOVED THE RAIN!

(source)

I wanted to swing around a light post and sing on the top of my lungs!

I did jump into a few puddles with delight and giggled like a little kid!

(source)

I actually wanted to run back to the store and ask someone to take a few photos of me. That is how much fun i was having! That last 3.something kilometers was the most fun I had running in a long time!

In the end, I ended up doing 19.3 kilometers (11.99 miles) in just over 2 hours. I am sooo ready for the 30k in a week and a half.

After I got home, the first thing on my mind was an ICE BATH. I knew that my body would need it. I made me some hot tea, ran the bath, bundled up and with screams in my throat, lowered myself into that painful bath. As reading was too much for me to do, i entertained myself with an ICE BATH photo session. haha. Enjoy

________________________________________________

The next few weeks are going to be a little hectic for me. I will try my best to blog as much as possible, but in the meantime, I will have a few guest bloggers fill in for me. I am starting a small segment called "How did you get here?" which I hope you will find motivational. We will start tomorrow. And if you are interested in becoming a guest blogger, email me at confessionsofarunner@gmail.com or comment on this post, and i will send you the info. THNX and I hope that you enjoy!

T.R.H.

2011-08-05T09:52:00.001-04:00

Thnx so much for all the comments on my Ice Bath and Bug Jacket post. The Ice Baths are so painful but help soooo much with the sorenes. I will be taking one this weekend after my planned 20k.
As for the bug jacket....yes i actually ran in it. I dont know where it was bought, but my bf's family has like 3 or 4 of them. They use them for work around the cottage when there are a lot of bugs. It wasnt too bad running in it. It was kinda hard to see and it kept pulling in places and it partially blocked your vision, BUT anything prevent those suckers from getting into my eyes and ears is great.

Someone talked about using Icy Hot creme for the bugs, and I will 100% do that next weekend! I will let you know how it goes!

So now onto the real stuff!

This week has been totally crazy:

busy week at the office - lots of paper work and 3 big projects happening
meetings, meetings, meetings
driving to and from Head Office
PROMOTION - YAY! i got a promotion and will be starting at a new site as of Septemebr 1st. YAY

Now onto the REAL RUNNING STUFF!

This week has been fan-friggin-tastic in the running department. So far this week I did a wicked Tempo run, a (not so) Recovery run in the rain, and a awesome Hill run.

T is for TEMPO
On Tuesday, I recruited my virtual friend Christina do run some tempo with me.
The PLAN:

warm up
5X 4 mins under 9 min/mile (Christina did sub 9:30 min/mile and kicked total booty. go check out her blog right now and congratulate her on her amazing tempo run.)
recovery jogs in between
cool down

Total distance: 3.83 miles (6.16 k)
Total time: 42 minutes

OMG This run was killer. I have never ran that fast for that long. It was great! I felt like dying but totally did it and felt awesome afterwards.
And I still managed to do 50 squats and 2x12 squats on each leg! yay

R is for (not so) Recovery Run
On Wednesday, I headed to the Running Room for an easy 6k. I got there early, so I decided to run a few kilometers before my group got there. I ran about 2.7k in my Vibrams. I changed into my regular running shoes for the actual run.
Our instructor was not there, so we headed out with another instuctor, who changed our recovery run into a damn tempo run.

1K warm up
loop #1 - faster than the warm up but not your fasted =1.8k
loop #2 - run as if you stole something =1.8k
loop #3 - he wanted us to do another loop, but we knew that we had a killer hill workout the next day, so all but 2 people headed back to the store.
1k cool down

Total Distance: 5.6k

It was raining and chilly when we started and half way through the run it just became cold and it was pouring. I wanted to go on another loop but was just tooo cold! I wanted to get home, shower, and crawl into bed!

here is my "drenched as a cat" look!

H is for HILLS

On Thursday, we did our hill training. Remember this post on our first hill training. YUP we went back there and ran 5 HILL repeats. Just in case you dont remember what the hill looks like:

We did 5 hill repeats for a total distance (with warm up and cool down) of 10.5K (6.52 miles).

It was hard. After 3 hills, I just wanted to stop. But i didnt. With the encouragement of my group members and the pure fact that I did not want to seem weak or a chicken, i ran the remaining 2 hill.

AND i am glad that i did!

It felt great!

I just realized that my sweaty look is not much

different than my 'drenched as a cat' after running in the rain look. lol

AND now i am sooooo sore. I did lots of stretches yesterday and tricked the bf into giving me a leg massage! But they are still sore. My plan for today- my rest day- is to walk for at least 1.5 hours! Hopefully this will get rid of most of the soreness. OH ya and i have a HOT DATE with my foam roller tonight. Music, candles, wine! and lots of rollin'!

HAPPY WEEKENDING!

My Running Bucket

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Meal Planning 101

Three Things Thursday

11 Randoms

Wordless Wednesday: Blackberry VS iPhone

For the love of French Fries

Nut Butter Crusted Parsnip Fries

Meal Planning

sick day

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My Cuba Vacation

FIRSTS

check check

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Friday Funny

The Before & The After

Body Fat Percentage Categories2:

Friday Fun: Multiple Choice Trivia

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Three Great Workouts

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Run, Plan & HBBC

Friday Fun: Would you Rather?

Polling the Audience: How to split up the Holidays?

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Friday Fun: True or False

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High Intensity Interval Training Workout

Two-a-Day & Pumped up Oats

Avocado Chickpea Salad

New Month, New Start

Three Things Thursday

11 Goals for the 11th Month

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The One where I decided not to finish the race

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My Very First Thanksgiving

Race Recap: Run for the Cure 5k

11 Things & 11 Days

Photo Friday

My First Thanksgiving: The Menu

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Three Things Thursday - Stress & Destress

Wordless Wednesday: BOOTY

Remembering: My First Race Ever

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Guess Who?

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Three Things Thursday

Weeks 6, 7 & 8

"How did you get here?" - Amy

Four for Friday

"How did you get here?" - Shelly

"How Did You Get Here?" - Marlene

19+ Thunderstruck

T.R.H.

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