Birthday Week!

This was a short week following Thanksgiving, but we packed a lot in - including birthdays for my husband, my sister, my sister-in-law...and me! This was a week of daily cake and pie and a few big dinners, but I also stayed fairly busy -

The dog and I got in our three runs for C25K week 3, we went on a couple of trips to dog park, I got through Day 15 of the 30-day ab challenge, and we got out of town to see my family for birthday dinner. A few pics -

Tuesday - It's raining, it's dark - and we're running. Woah.

Wednesday - amazing moon over the dog park tonight

Saturday morning Fall colours

Spotted on a roof during our run on Saturday afternoon. Any birders out there recognize what this is?

My parents' puppy is 17n weeks old and getting bigger - but he's still quite a bit smaller than Stella :-)

In other news - today was the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. A number my friends were spectating and volunteering, and I was disappointed that I couldn't be a part of it. It's made me realize that I haven't volunteered at a race for well over a year...and also reopened my secret urge to do a half one day. I am training for the ATB 15K in March, so a half in May seems like good timing. On paper at least.

Two things to think about while I'm planning next year's goals.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has been a good week - lots of stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie this weekend, but otherwise it has been a good week.

There were a few walks at High Park with the dog -

Blurry. Running.

Fall colours

 

 The dog and I finished weeks 1 AND 2 of Couch to 5K -

 

Walk breaks are for stopping to sniff, right?

 

My favourite part of every run

I made it through Day 11 of the Ab Challenge -

We cleaned like mad and had the family over for Thanksgiving Dinner, then spent today over at the Brickworks for a walk in the fall colours. 



 

Tried to take a family picture, but belly rubs were more important

Perfect way to end a long weekend

A good week.  



Alright, alright - I'll get off the couch

Can you tell that I've been struggling with starting to get back on track? Sporadic blogging and almost complete lack of exercise are big clues.

I stopped running somewhere around February. Stopped going to my gym in late spring, then juuuuust started going regularly again when it closed abruptly. Haven't been working out at home. Have been quite indulgent with the treats. The worst part is not particularly caring. Being lazy is so easy. But my pants are getting tight and I feel uncomfortable.

So - it's time to either slide into absolute laziness and let exercise become something that I used to do - or decide to recommit. I was dangerously close to option A when Island Girl (half marathon relay) rolled around 2 weeks ago. I signed up in the spring, didn't train, and would have bailed if it hadn't been a relay event.

Gorgeous morning to be up and heading to a starting line

I got to thinking on the ferry over - despite being so sedentary this year, I've done a 15K (March), a 10K (May), a 75K bike ride (June), a 5K (June) and I was on my way to a 10.5K. Every single one was harder and slower than it needed to be, but I did them. Going over this list was a huge morale booster.

During the race - my time at the 5K mark was 3 minutes slower than my PR, my legs really stiffened up in the last kilometer, and it took me 90 minutes to cross that 10.5K finish line - but I loved the adrenaline rush and the fun of being part of the crowd.

Halfway done!

Tagged Lynda in, walked off the jelly legs, then joined the cheering section until it was time to meet Lynda and run her the last 150 metres into her finish line. She put the pedal to the metal and SPRINTED in!


Medals, ferry, brunch and run chats. Lynda has set out some aggressive goals for herself for 2013 and expects me to be along at the start line for a few of those with her. I think that means I'm recommitting.

I was kinda surly about the idea of starting actual regular running again through. It took me a solid 10 days after Island Girl to actually lace up, hit start on my C25K app and head out the door with my furry running partner.  She's absolutely thrilled, so there's that.


C25K Week 1, Run 1. Pics or it didn't happen.

And with that one run, I found myself slipping back into some good habits. I started the 30-day ab challenge at home -

I got surprisingly sweaty playing ping pong at a work event -

Who knew ping pong was such a workout?

 Did a second C25K run -

C25K w1r2

 Got out for a walk to see some fall colours -

And went to a family yoga class with my husband and daughter this morning. That's something new. So was the almost-handstand that I did up against a wall. Wow.

So. One day at a time.

Hello, again!

It's been a while...again.

I mentioned last time that I'd lost my motivation to keep moving. Still struggling with that, but things are on the upswing. Turns out that I had been battling some reasonably minor health problems that were sapping my energy. Those peaked in July, and have since been resolved, but at the same time, my gym went out of business very unexpectedly. I started searching for a new one but found myself really enjoying the extra free time that came from not working out. Kept meaning to take up running again, but then the summer heat & humidity hit, vacation time interrupted my routines...and wow, is that ever a long list of excuses for not exercising, eh?

The good news is that back in June, I stopped driving to work and taking transit, which has given me about 2 kms each day of extra walking. So, there's that. 

Here's what I've been up to: 

Color Me Rad 5K with Lynda - a brutally hot day. It was 38C with the humidity at 10am!

Tree planting day with our local park group. We shovelled mulch onto 100 new trees!

Archery lesson with my husband at our local castle. Turns out that we're both pretty good at this :-)

Got the kids to the beach a few times -

Rented a cabin up north for a week in July. Lots and lots of relaxing, but I got out in a kayak almost every day:

Our dog loved loved loved the cabin!

 My cousin & I got our kids up north in August for our annual Two Moms, Six Kids camping trip.

This beach was about 2 minutes from our tents

And hiking led to some spectacular views. 

 Got the dog out for lots and lots of walks of course -

And today, a bunch of us got up early and caught the ferry over to the Island for our annual Island Girl Run! Orange medals = half marathon relay (10.5KM each); blue medals = half marathon!

Back: Cassie, Sarah, Karen, Me, Lynda, Laura.
Front: Melissa, Alex, Emma

I have to say - doing 10.5K on no training didn't make for the best morning, but my nutrition was solid and I power walked my way into a finish that was only 6 minutes slower than last year's run WITH training. 

What's up next? I'm not signed up for anything, but we are talking about the Around the Bay race in March again, and I'm thinking of doing an 8K in October. I suppose I'd better stop talking about training and actually get out there. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Soooooo...It's Been a While!

Something happened last fall and my motivation ground to a halt. My interest in taking time to exercise, run and go to the gym vanished. It's no coincidence that blogging fell off at the same time that I stopped having anything to really talk about. I think it started off as taking some time to rest and relax after a busy season...but the motivation to pick things up where I left off hasn't really come back.

I'm working on it.

Meanwhile, I kept signing up - and showing up - for races, but they have been harder than they needed to be since I haven't been training.

Both my mom and my friend Julia called me out on my lack of blogging recently. I promised Julia that if I could make it to the finish line of my race today, that I'd pick it up again. I did, so here I am (Hi, Julia!). Hopefully recommitting to blogging will force me to get moving again, so that I have something to write about!

Here's what you've missed:

December 2012 - Santa Shuffle 5K

Sarah, my daughter, me, Emma, my son

This was a strange one - it is usually a very well-organized race but not this time? It was supposed to be a 10am start, but at 9.30 they started letting people go out whenever they showed up, causing a lot of confusion for all runners who came on time. A number of bandits also ran the race, were given medals and allowed to help themselves to post-race refreshments - meaning that by the time we crossed the finish line there was barely anything left. It's a charity race so I shouldn't mind - but it was a very chaotic morning and things really didn't need to be this way.
 
March 2013 - Around the Bay 30K relay (15K for each runner)
Big, scary goal #1

Only 2K left to go. Just passed The Reaper

Rachel & Sarah (relay team), Emma (30K), Laura (30K), myself & Lynda (relay team)

This race kicked my butt but I had so much fun that I didn't care. It's out of town, so we booked a hotel room, made a girls' weekend out of it and had a blast. We went last year, but I only did the 5K. Not-so-secretly had my heart set on doing the relay but wasn't mentally ready at the time. Made sure I'd be back for the longer course in 2013 to earn one of their "older than Boston" shirts.

This race features rolling hills (bah) but a lovely view and the people who live on the route not only come out to cheer for hours, but play music, offer snacks and generally put on a party. That last hill is a killer though - and the Reaper is waiting for you at the top. The agonizing thing? You can see the finish line for the last 3 kms and it takes forever on tired legs to get there.

More training and better nutrition would have been wise. I was going on empty for the last 1.5K. Took everything I had to pick things up for the finish line. Going back next year and aim to arrived trained.

May 13, 2013 - Sporting Life 10K

One of the few moments where I managed to actually run

Alex, Sarah, myself

This race kicked my butt and I DID care. I could not believe how much fitness I lost in two short months after ATB. I was running on empty after about KM 3 and the whole thing was such a struggle. Spent most of it power-walking. An eye-opener to say the least....but I couldn't get back in to running just yet because it was time to cram for...

June 2, 2013 - Ride for Heart 75K
Big, scary goal #2

Done and so happy. Amazing how all the pain goes away as soon as you cross the finish line!

You heard me - I crammed for a 75K bike ride. I started with a few short rides and almost gave up. Switched to my husband's road bike (significantly lighter than my mountain bike) and pulled off confidence-boosting 21K and 44K rides over rollllling hills.

I've also done the 25K (2011) and 50K (2012) version of this ride and wasn't going to give up on my goal of doing the full course this year.

So - I got up at 4.30am, rode to the 6am start line and just. kept. riding. It poured rain for a while - so heavily that I was actually wishing for my swim goggles. Then the wind picked up. Which was not fun. But I watched my nutrition carefully (G2, Hammer gels, bananas, raisins & pretzels for the record), managed not to swallow any bugs and didn't walk up a single hill. 81K total including my ride from home.

But I really don't recommend cramming for this sort of thing.  I also don't recommend doing this sort of thing in NON-PADDED shorts. Ouch.

What's next? A recovery day or two, then back to the gym and C25K. We're doing the Colour Run later this month, the Warrior Dash in July, and Island Girl 10.5K in September. I'd prefer not to go into these completely undertrained.

How have you been?