Happy Canada Day! AKA...The Start of My Half-Marathon Journey

I have been very lax in writing in this blog and I apologize.  Everything got crazy and I just let it slide.  I'm back now and I'm going to be sharing my journey to my first half marathon.  I'll be running the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon.  Today was my first official training day.  Race day is October 20th.

Being Canada Day, I kicked off my training with the Green Germann Sakaran Canada Day 5K in Burlington.  The past 2 weeks I've been taking it easy to make sure all nagging injuries and soreness was healed up and ready to hit the training this week.  I was expecting anything great, so I was surprised with my time.  I guess all the miles I've been putting in walking the dogs helped me maintain some level of fitness.  The course was flat and along the lake.  It was a cool day and I had a good run.

Here are a few pictures from the race.

After the race, Mike and I came home and took River to the dog park.  She loves going and running around and barking.  It wore her out for the rest of the afternoon.

We went to the University of Waterloo for their Canada Day activities.  It wasn't what I was expecting, but we had a great time and there were some cool kites.

Then we went for a walk in Waterloo Park. We hadn't been there in quite awhile.  It was fun to see the animals and walk along the water.

When we got home, I took River out for a long walk so she could sleep through the fireworks.  It's been a great day and I'm gearing up for tomorrow.  I have a 4 mile run in the morning and since it's been cool, I can take River with me. 

I'm nervous about running my first half-marathon, but I'm also excited.  One of the reasons I'm doing this is to show James that even when things scare you, you can still get out there and try them.  He's been shying away from things that scare him or things he's afraid he won't be good at right away.  I keep telling him that this half scares me and my time won't be super fast, but I'm still going to train and put the work in to do my best and be proud of what I accomplished.  Plus all these training miles will add money to the Disney jar. 

James wants to train with me so we will be doing some running and speed work.  I'm also adding weights and a couple of core classes to my workout.  Wednesdays we will go to the big field by our house and do some speed work and core work.  We'll take River so that will make her tired as well.  Two other days I'll be doing some interval distance running with him after my training run.  He wants to do well in our 5k in August.  I told him he has to train to do that.  I think if he sees me working hard, he will as well.

So I'm off to bed so I can get up early for a run.  Tomorrow will be Day 2 of my journey.  I'm excited, nervous, scared, and ready for the challenge.

Day 4: Run March Challenge

I'm on a roll!   Got up this morning and hit the gym.  Since today was a scheduled cross training day, I broke up my workout.  I did just over 2 miles on the treadmill and then did 8.6 miles on the bike.  I took it easy on the treadmill.  Just a nice easy run. 

When I got home I got a very quick shower and then got James up for school. River knew she was going to daycare so she was bouncing off the walls.  She loves loves loves going to daycare!  This week she gets to go 3 times so she will be one happy and tired dog.

I'm now at the pool getting ready to finish up some work and write some workouts.  Next week is March Break and it will be nice to have some time off.  I still have to coach Masters, but it's not as bad.

Tomorrow I have to get up a bit earlier to make sure I'm at the gym early.  I have a 6 mile run plus weights.  I can't wait for it to warm up to melt some of this ice so I can run outside again.  I'm not a fan of running on the treadmill.  It really sucks.  I'll get through it though.  Hopefully by the end of the month I can be outside for my long runs and River can run with me.

Enjoy your Monday!

Day 3 of the Run March Challenge

Today was a bit rough for me.  I just wasn't feeling the treadmill at all.  I only did 2.75 miles.  I then did 8 miles on the recumbent bike.  I thought that was a good comprimise.  Plus I did weights today.  A full body circut was on the schedule.  It went well.  I am going to have increase the weight on 6 different exercises next week.

I did look at my training schedule and talked with Mike.  On my rest days or cross training days, I'm only doing a mile of running so I don't get reinjured.  I want to stay on schedule, but meet this challenge.

My next goal race is the Chocolate Race 10k on Mother's Day.  In between now and then I have a 5k race on Saturday, a 5k on Good Friday, a 5k race with James at the beginning of April,and  the Toronto Yonge Street 10k on the 21st of April.  Then I run the Chocolate Race.  I'm running more 10Ks this year so I really don't want to be injured at all.

Off to enjoy the rest of the day!!!!!

Day 2 of Run March

Woo Hoo!!!!!!  After getting up at 3:30 in the morning to do 3 swim practices, I still managed to get to the gym.  I did 5.5 miles in the same time as my 5.2 miles yesterday.  I had no hamstring soreness at all.  It felt so good!  Now I just need the ice to melt so I can run outside with River again.

I also got new shoes yesterday.  I LOVE them!!!!!!  They are Saucony ProGride Guide 6.  They are the update version of my old shoes and I loved those.  These are much lighter and plus they are a cool color.

They match all my bright running clothes.  I think the new shoes will help with the hamstring soreness as well.

I did hit the wall around 2:30 this afternoon.  I ended up taking a nap to make it through the rest of the night.

Tomorrow I'm hitting the gym around 7am and hopefully going 5.75 miles plus doing full body weights.  It feels so good to be back at it.  I will be scheduling a massage though to help with the recovery.

I am so glad I'm on the mend!

Happy March!

Wow...things have been busy busy busy at our house.

My running took a huge hit when I strained my right hamstring.  I was on rest for over a month.  I'm just not starting to ease back into my running.  In fact, I started a new challenge for March.  I am running at least one mile every day in March.  Today I did 5 very easy, very slow miles and felt pretty good.  I'm hoping I'm on the mend.

I have been taking a Learn To Draw class.  It's been going pretty good.  Here are a few things I've done.  First is a cabin drawn with charcoal.

 

Then we did a rose.  I did this using oil pastels.

 



Currently I'm working on a face using charcoals.  I'm almost done with it and I think it looks pretty good.

I have also been doing a lot of cross stitching lately.  I did more towels for my sister-in-law.  I have been working on a set of holiday towels that were for her bridal shower, but they have taken me a little bit longer.  I still have one more to do.

I'm also working on a big poster for my nephew.  It's going to be the Star Wars poster.  Here are the first two pages of the pattern completed.  I'm almost done with the third page.

My goals for the new year were altered a bit.  I have been making little homemade items for my friends and family to brighten their day.  I have mailed out several already.  There have been little cross stitch ornaments, soap, and magnets so far.  I have enjoyed making these things and James has helped as well. 

I'm hoping to be able to keep up with the blogging as well.  I think I have everything settled and organized.  Things have slowed down and I'm ready to roll.

Here's to a great March!

Happy Tuesday!

Well, my first day of the Joy Journal went well.  Some of my goals I met and others I didn't.  Here's how I did.

Exercise: I only was able to do 13 miles of cardio today.  I normally take River for 3 walks, but I only took her for 2.  I did lift weights and I felt really good being back in the gym and working towards my goals.

Nutrition:  I got my 5 servings of fruits and veggies.  I felt better since I was back on my regular eating schedule.  The holidays really threw my system out of whack by eating junky food.

Personal: I was able to read for 40 minutes because I did the Recumbent bike yesterday.  That was really nice!  I completed several small acts of kindness throughout the day.  The two things I liked about myself yesterday was that I stayed focus.  I overslept and I could have just skipped the gym, but I made myself go and I was glad I did.  I also liked that I had a lot of energy yesterday.  That was a combination of the exercise and the food.

House: I didn't get anything done around the house excpet dinner in the crockpot.  The morning just slipped away from me.

The highlight of my day was when I got him I asked James if he liked the soup.  He's response was, "YES!  It's the best dinner I've ever had in my whole life!"  That really ended my day on a good note.

Today my goals are as follows:

Exercise: 6 miles of cardio

Nutrition: Remember to take my vitamins and get 3 servings of dairy in today.  I tend to let that slide and I need the calcium.

Personal: Read for 20 minutes
                Find one part of my body that I like
                Write Mike a love note telling him how much I appreciate and love him

House: Get that kitchen table cleaned off and start organizing the kitchen

My morning has started off okay so we'll see how the rest of the day goes!  Have a happy day!

Happy New Year!

I took a break from writing to try to get things ready for the holidays and then I had swim meets.  But I'm back and with a whole new outlook!

I don't make resolutions for the new year.  I don't believe they work and I rarely stick with them.  Instead this year I'm keeping a Joy Journal.  Each night before I go to bed I'm setting goals for the next day in various areas like nutrition, exercise, personal, household, etc.  Then I will reflect on that day and assess if I reached my goals or not.  Today is my first day using the journal.

My goals that I set last night were as follows:

Exercise: Get 15 miles of cardio done.
Nutrition: Have 5 servings of fruits and veggies.
Personal: Do something nice for a stranger
                Find 2 things that I like about myself
                Read 15 minutes
Household: Get the kitchen table cleared off from the week

I think by taking the time to reflect on the day and setting up the next day in a more positive way I will feel better about myself and have a positive outlook.  I hope to share my year with you.  My goals, my struggles, my successes and my setbacks.  I am really looking forward to this year and doing this activity.  It will require committment on my part and 15 minutes in the evening to relfect and set up for the next day.  I think my daily goals will evolve as well.  I can't wait to look back in  my journal at the end of the year to see how far I've come.

Enjoy your Monday and find your joy today!