Monday morning yoga is the BEST! I'm so glad I signed up for this class. It makes me feel like I'm starting the week off right, and this week I was ready for a fresh start.
I took Friday off in lieu of Thursday for Remembrance Day so I had plenty of time over a long weekend to run. But I didn't. Do you ever feel that when your schedule is jam-packed you're able to get more done?
Friday, I was definitely feeling the big hill we tackled on Thursday night's group run (and a lack of stretching afterwards), plus, I had ALL weekend to run. Saturday, I woke up to snow, but thought I would go out in the afternoon, but I got busy baking, and pretty soon it was almost time for our friends to come over. Even though I had plans for a hike with the BF on Sunday, I figured I could go out for a quick run beforehand on Sunday morning, but I slept in instead. Oops.
Our hike on the weekend was really great. We were on the Cariboo Waggon Road and came across a couple of old, creepy cabins. There was a fair bit of snow on the ground, so it made hiking a bit more challenging, but it made it easier to find animal tracks - and we saw a LOT! We kept coming across moose tracks, and they looked fresh. We must have been following him pretty closely.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Amy Runs a Marathon, again?
You betcha!
I knew before I even ran my first marathon that it wouldn't be my last. The question wasn't if, it was just when I would run another one. I've decided on this spring for the when, so now the question comes down to where???
Option 1:
BMO Vancouver Marathon - Sunday, May 1st.
The Pros:
- It's close to home
- The BF could come
- I have a few friends in Van for extra support
- The Candy aid station
- The giant hill in Stanley Park that is part of the half course is not part of the full course
The Cons:
- I ran this half marathon in 2010 and it was not well organized
- High chance of rain
Option 2:
Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - Sunday, May 15
Pros:
- I grew up near Toronto and have lots of friends and family in the area for support
- Did you see the size of Marlene's medal?
- Better chance of better weather than Vancouver
- Cross-country flight
- Time change working against me
- The BF probably would not be able to come
Mississauga Marathon - Sunday, May 15
- It's my hometown!
- Lots of friends and family for support
- I would run past two of the houses I've lived in and very close to the one I grew up in
- My 87 year old grandmother might be able to make it
- Better chance of better weather than Vancouver
- It's a cross country flight away
- Time change working against me
- BF probably can't come
- Mayor Hazel McCallion, who has been mayor for my entire life and is the longest running mayor in the history of the universe might pick that weekend to kick it. Chaos will ensue.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
First Class p. 2
We have been enjoying a mild fall - until today. I woke up this morning to frost on the ground, and it stuck around all day. There's no snow yet, but you can just feel that it's coming. Perfect timing then, for my first Winter Running Class.
I normally run mid-morning, so the first thing to throw me off was running in the dark, at 6:30pm. This was a first! I didn't know what to eat all day because I didn't want to go to the first class with an upset stomach. Unfortunately, I was a little too cautious and ended up heading to the rec centre feeling a bit hungry instead, but better to be rumbling to be fed than rumbling to vomit.
The class started inside and our instructors spent some time talking about winter running gear and shoes. Of all of the shoes/accessories, they recommended using screws in your shoes and will help us to "install" them once we have snow on the ground.
We headed out on an 8K loop and I was pleased to find that I was not the slowest after all. There were actually 2 brand new runners and they made it around the whole 8K! It was a loop I've done many times, but we ran in the opposite direction and it was dark so it felt completely different. I could not normally be convinced to go out in the cold, at night, when hungry to run, but having the class to go to was great motivation.
Looking forward to class number 2 on Thursday!
I normally run mid-morning, so the first thing to throw me off was running in the dark, at 6:30pm. This was a first! I didn't know what to eat all day because I didn't want to go to the first class with an upset stomach. Unfortunately, I was a little too cautious and ended up heading to the rec centre feeling a bit hungry instead, but better to be rumbling to be fed than rumbling to vomit.
The class started inside and our instructors spent some time talking about winter running gear and shoes. Of all of the shoes/accessories, they recommended using screws in your shoes and will help us to "install" them once we have snow on the ground.
We headed out on an 8K loop and I was pleased to find that I was not the slowest after all. There were actually 2 brand new runners and they made it around the whole 8K! It was a loop I've done many times, but we ran in the opposite direction and it was dark so it felt completely different. I could not normally be convinced to go out in the cold, at night, when hungry to run, but having the class to go to was great motivation.
Looking forward to class number 2 on Thursday!
Monday, November 8, 2010
First Day of Class
Tomorrow is my first group run. I feel a bit like a kid on the first day of school. What should I wear? What if everyone else is there with a friend? What if they are all faster than me? What if they are all ultra-runners and I'm just a lowly one-time marathoner? What if I trip and fall?
I know that this is all very silly, and I am excited. I'm hoping I will meet some people to run with in the future and maybe to train for my next marathon with (wait, what?), but mostly I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to run through November and December in addition to the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. In my head I've convinced myself that by that point I will have toughened up enough to the weather that it will no longer feel cold. Ha! Hey, a girl can dream. This group is written up in the rec guide as a Winter Running Class, apparently we'll be given tips for winter running each week. I'll be sure to share!
Speaking of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, have you signed up yet?
I can't wait for this to start. Head on over to Amanda's blog if you haven't already signed up!
***
Yoga this morning was A-mazing. I had to do some work over the weekend (never a good thing) and my back was all knotted up before class. After class, I felt like I'd been on a week's vacation. Well, not quite, but pretty close!
I know that this is all very silly, and I am excited. I'm hoping I will meet some people to run with in the future and maybe to train for my next marathon with (wait, what?), but mostly I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to run through November and December in addition to the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge. In my head I've convinced myself that by that point I will have toughened up enough to the weather that it will no longer feel cold. Ha! Hey, a girl can dream. This group is written up in the rec guide as a Winter Running Class, apparently we'll be given tips for winter running each week. I'll be sure to share!
Speaking of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, have you signed up yet?
I can't wait for this to start. Head on over to Amanda's blog if you haven't already signed up!
***
Yoga this morning was A-mazing. I had to do some work over the weekend (never a good thing) and my back was all knotted up before class. After class, I felt like I'd been on a week's vacation. Well, not quite, but pretty close!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Extracting My Sweet Tooth
I looooove desserts. Cake and ice cream and pie, oh my! I blame my parents for this. My mom for being a great baker and keeping a steady stream of cakes and cookies in the house which I grew accustomed to growing up. And my dad for the sweet tooth gene - I definitely inherited it from him.
But alas, I know I'm a grown up now and have to take responsibility for what I'm putting in my body. I've made changes to my diet in the past, and I've cut back on sugar over the years, but there's a little voice in my head that speaks up after dinner every night and it's demanding something sweet.
Towards the end of university life, I finally clued in that the can of pop (plus) that I was consuming every day wasn't very good for me and I stopped drinking pop. I just told myself, "I'm not going to drink pop anymore," and that worked. I stopped. When I satisfy the craving I have about once a year for McDonald's fries, that comes with a kiddie size Coke, and if I ever go to the movies, I'll get a small Coke with my popcorn - but I can rarely finish it. I don't even like pop anymore.
In June I decided to swear off Tim Horton's Iced Caps for the month. I haven't had one since. I didn't miss them all summer! It was easy.
Heck, I gave up meat for 8 years! It all started one day when I was thinking about how we don't really need meat in our diets and I said to myself (yes, I speak to myself a lot), "I wonder how long I can go without eating meat?" Turns out I could go until I moved to China, where I took a little hiatus. I've recently started eating small amounts of local meat - but not because I missed it, just because I was eating more processed food with my vegetarian diet that was coming from farther away and well, we're raising chickens in the backyard and that seems like a better option for my body and the planet.
Ok, meat's not a sweet, but the point is, I can give stuff up. Except desserts. I want dessert. And I don't want fruit for dessert. I can eat fruit in the afternoon when I want something sweet, and it will do. But after dinner? Fruit won't cut it. Sometimes I can have a little piece of dark chocolate after dinner and that will be enough, but I can't do that every day. Eventually that voice comes back and demands a slice of pie, or a bowl of ice cream or a slab o' cake.
I am trying, this month, to cut back my dessert intake. I'm not trying to lose weight, I just want to eat less sugar. But it's hard. It's very, very hard.
***
I went out for a 10K run today. It was a beautiful day, but not such a beautiful run. I haven't been drinking enough water (again) and was very thirsty the entire time. I also got a cramp about a mile in to the run that wouldn't go away, so I ended up taking a walk break almost ever kilometer. It's funny how less than a year ago, I'd be thrilled to finish 10K in under an hour, but today, even though I finished in (just) under an hour, it was a bad run.
But alas, I know I'm a grown up now and have to take responsibility for what I'm putting in my body. I've made changes to my diet in the past, and I've cut back on sugar over the years, but there's a little voice in my head that speaks up after dinner every night and it's demanding something sweet.
Towards the end of university life, I finally clued in that the can of pop (plus) that I was consuming every day wasn't very good for me and I stopped drinking pop. I just told myself, "I'm not going to drink pop anymore," and that worked. I stopped. When I satisfy the craving I have about once a year for McDonald's fries, that comes with a kiddie size Coke, and if I ever go to the movies, I'll get a small Coke with my popcorn - but I can rarely finish it. I don't even like pop anymore.
In June I decided to swear off Tim Horton's Iced Caps for the month. I haven't had one since. I didn't miss them all summer! It was easy.
Heck, I gave up meat for 8 years! It all started one day when I was thinking about how we don't really need meat in our diets and I said to myself (yes, I speak to myself a lot), "I wonder how long I can go without eating meat?" Turns out I could go until I moved to China, where I took a little hiatus. I've recently started eating small amounts of local meat - but not because I missed it, just because I was eating more processed food with my vegetarian diet that was coming from farther away and well, we're raising chickens in the backyard and that seems like a better option for my body and the planet.
Ok, meat's not a sweet, but the point is, I can give stuff up. Except desserts. I want dessert. And I don't want fruit for dessert. I can eat fruit in the afternoon when I want something sweet, and it will do. But after dinner? Fruit won't cut it. Sometimes I can have a little piece of dark chocolate after dinner and that will be enough, but I can't do that every day. Eventually that voice comes back and demands a slice of pie, or a bowl of ice cream or a slab o' cake.
I am trying, this month, to cut back my dessert intake. I'm not trying to lose weight, I just want to eat less sugar. But it's hard. It's very, very hard.
***
I went out for a 10K run today. It was a beautiful day, but not such a beautiful run. I haven't been drinking enough water (again) and was very thirsty the entire time. I also got a cramp about a mile in to the run that wouldn't go away, so I ended up taking a walk break almost ever kilometer. It's funny how less than a year ago, I'd be thrilled to finish 10K in under an hour, but today, even though I finished in (just) under an hour, it was a bad run.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Three Things Thursday
I have been at a Career Fair all day promoting the youth program that I work for. I've had my laptop with me and was able to get caught up on a lot of work in between recruiting high school students, but somehow as things quieted down this afternoon, I accidentally wound up at the Lululemon website and sorta by mistake bought these:
1.
And this:
2.
And showed real restraint by not purchasing this:
3.
1.
2.
And showed real restraint by not purchasing this:
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
This and That
November is off to a good start! Making my list of 10 has kicked my butt into gear. Monday started off the week and month with a yoga class, and since I was at the rec centre anyway, I hit up the treadmill for 5K. Tuesday, I was running around for work all day, but packed myself a banana for a snack and had a healthy lunch at a cafe instead of picking up fast food or a donut. Today was another busy day, but I made time for a 5+ mile run followed by a quick ab workout in the morning by finishing up a bit of work after dinner this evening. Plus, I've limited myself to only 3 pieces of Halloween candy since Halloween. If you saw the bucketful o' temptation in my kitchen, you'd be impressed! I've also been in touch with two good friends over the phone who I hadn't talked to in over a month. Yay!
A little more about that treadmill run on Monday: For some reason, I run slower on the treadmill. I thought the treadmill was supposed to be easier than running outside, but I definitely find it easier to run a faster, if (much) less consistent pace outside. I was busting my butt on the treadmill, but finished 5K in 28 minutes, which would be a comfortable pace if I was running outside. Does anyone else find it harder to run faster on the treadmill?
A little more about that treadmill run on Monday: For some reason, I run slower on the treadmill. I thought the treadmill was supposed to be easier than running outside, but I definitely find it easier to run a faster, if (much) less consistent pace outside. I was busting my butt on the treadmill, but finished 5K in 28 minutes, which would be a comfortable pace if I was running outside. Does anyone else find it harder to run faster on the treadmill?
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