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?

400 Workouts? CHECK!

I started this year with 307 workouts under my belt. One of my goals for this year was to hit my 400th before I turn 40 this month.

Check!

This goal was a pretty practical one in that it got me to hit the gym regularly all year. I had room on the calendar for my vacation time and for a couple of days off for any particularly busy weeks, but otherwise? Cranky? Tired? Feeling lazy?  Too bad. Go and get your shoes on.

It worked! Got me to the gym even when I wasn't feeling like it. And you know that once I was there, I never regretted being there.

What's next...hmmm...maybe I can hit 500 before the kids finish school at the end of June?

Speaking of goals, I've hit 3 of my 6 for 2011 so far. I'm on track for the fitness-related ones...but I've got some work to do to accomplish the weightloss related ones. Huh.

How are you doing with your goals for this year??

Here's this week's recap:

Ready to get spooked? Check.

Saturday - 2K dogpark walk and Curves + 25 pushups in the AM. The 400th! In the evening, went on another Ghost Walk with my son, @3K. Old City Hall, Elgin Theatre, St. Michael's Hospital, Mackenzie House, Ryerson University and the Massey Mansion. Spooooky spooky.

Old City Hall. Beware of Courtroom 33.

The Tour Guys put on a fantastic series of historical walking tours - both spooky and non - and I highly recommend that you check them out if you are ever visiting Toronto or Vancouver.

He got Stella to pull him around on his scooter after this was taken. There was lots of giggling involved.

Sunday - Thanksgiving dinner with my inlaws. Beautiful, warm fall day. Kids had a great time riding their scooters around the paths behind Grandma's house. After dinner, my MIL and I took the dogs and kids for a long walk down by the lake. The lake was shimmering with the full moon and it was warm enough to leave the jackets behind. Perfect.

Since I mention the dog park so frequently, you should probably see a picture of it. It's a beautiful spot. This is about 1/3 of it.

Monday - Thanksgiving holiday. 2K dog park walk before breakfast. Another stunningly beautiful day. Hit Cherry Beach for a few hours of splashing around and soaking up the sun.

At the beach on October 10. Unbelievable!

Tuesday - Spent half the day in the car taking kids places. 1K dog walk before bed.

Wednesday - Zumba + Curves + 25 pushups + 1K dog walk.

Thursday - Stairs to 7 in AM + 2K dog walk + Curves + 15 pushups.

At the Inspiration Wall. Very inspirational.

Friday - 2K dog park walk, followed by one of my favourite things: race kit pickup!! Got our bibs and chips for Sunday's 5K, then browsed around the expo. Guess who we ran into:

Hello, John Stanton!

As busy as he was, John made time to chat with everyone. We chatted briefly about weight loss and fitness, he congratulated my son and I both on being active, asked my son if I'm more fun of a mom now that I'm active (he said 'yes', good boy!) and he graciously agreed to have his picture taken with us. Nice way to end off the expo. Looking forward to the run on Sunday!

Happy New Year!



With my husband, waiting for the Resolution
Run (5K) to start - Jan 1/2011

Anyone have any good resolutions for 2011? Mine are fairly modest, but I hope that makes them achievable:

1. Achieve a sub-40 minute 5K power walk. Doesn't have to be too far below 40 minutes; 39:59 would be great.

2. Achieve a sub-30 minute CN Tower climb. As above - doesn't have to be too far below 30 minutes; 29:59 would make me really happy.

3. Lose 20 of the 40 extra pounds I'm carrying. 2009 was the year I lost most of my weight; 2010 was the year my fitness improved and I lost a few inches but didn't see much of a drop on the scale. I know that I've added muscle mass by adding more exercise and a broader range of activities, but I also know that I haven't been watching my food intake terribly closely. Sure, I'd love to lose all of the extra weight this year, but I'm setting my sights on the first 20 pounds for now.

4. Say goodbye to size 16. I've plateaued here for some time. Looking forward to saying hello to smaller sizes.

5. Train for something a bit scarier than a 5K. I'm thinking of something like the 25K option of the Becel Ride for the Heart. Hmmm.

6. Earn my 400th workout shirt at Curves before I turn 40 in the fall.

Every goal needs a plan. Mine is -

• Continue taking the stairs at work and power walking at lunch time
• Keep getting to Curves 3x/week, swim every other weekend this winter
• Break the bike out whenever the weather permits
• Continue keeping an exercise log on this blog. It's been so, so helpful!
• Plan out which events I want to sign up for in 2011
• Watch my food intake. That means better meal planning, keep an eye on portion sizes, watch out for the treats and get back to keeping a food diary. If I'm fitter AND lighter, I should be able to shave time off my current PBs and get closer to my goal weight. I'm giving My Fitness Pal a try - I'm here.

I learned a few things from the first few events that I participated in - what are your "must do"s?

• Take music. Can't believe how much nicer it is to listen to the iPod rather than myself panting
• Pin my bib to my pants so I can take layers off when I get hot
• Have bananas waiting in the car for a post-race snack. Favourite pre-race breakfast: whole wheat english muffin w/ peanut putter & cheese + glass of milk + an orange.

Here's how this week went:

Finished! With my husband & sister-in-law.
We're all smiles but tired and SOAKED

Saturday - A warm and rainy New Year's Day (8C) and the 5K Resolution Run with my husband & sister-in-law. They ran, I power walked. I was VERY nervous about how I'd do without Lynda there to be my pacecar. I finished the Santa Shuffle in 44:13 four weeks ago and am proud of that time, but knew thata I only achieved it by hustling like crazy to try to keep up with Lynda...and it nearly killed me! Today, I loaded up my iPod with Green Day, went at what I thought was a comfortable but speedy pace - and finished in 42:49. Shaved 1:24 off my time!!! I found the event very challenging, but my technique was a lot better - I paid attention to taking short, fast steps and got my arms moving. Having the iPod really helped me set a good pace and get into the zone. Dave and Lisa did great too - they ran most of the way and fininshed in great tme despite being tired and not having trained over the holidays. Go go go!!!

Sunday - Bit stiff today! Recovery day. Took it easy for most of the day but walked the kids down to go skating for an hour. I did a few laps around the rink but moved pretty slowly.

NOT COOL - Got a message from one of the trainers at my gym tonight - the owner has closed the club, without giving any notice to staff or members. Fortunately there is another one reasonably close to home. Planning to drop by tomorrow, workout on a visitor's pass and transfer my membership.

Signed up for April's Climb this week...!

Monday - Had the day off work and got to the new Curves right after dropping the kids off at school. Very different facility than what I'm used to but quite nice - and the manager is great! Very active and involved in the circuit. Phone was ringing off the hook while I was there with members from the closed club calling. Did a workout. Zumba classes start next week!

Tuesday - Stairs to 7 in the AM, 1.5K power walk at lunchtime.

Wednesday - Stairs to 7 in AM.

Thursday - Stairs to 7 in AM and at lunch; lunchtime stroll to do errands, Curves after dinner. Got a preview of what the Zumba classes will be like - so fun. So sweaty. So clumsy. Going to be interesting trying to learn the steps....hope I don't step on anyone...

Friday - Quick 1.1K power walk at lunch + stairs to 7. Quick 1.1K power walk after dinner, to the community centre and back.

What I'm reading this week  - Not a lot of anything. In between books right now. Any recommendations?