The best exercise is the one you do!

I’ve been thinking about writing this post for a while. I keep seeing people who are involved in all sorts of different fitness communities talk about how awesome that specific way of life is just THE best EVER.

“Crossfit is amazing, everything else is useless.”

“Real women lift heavy, cardio bunnies are stupid.”

“Running is so great, weights bulk you up too much.” 

Good grief, kids. Have you thought about just loving something and not bashing something else? I personally love running and the way it works for my body and helping me reach certain goals. I feel like it gives me a challenge, be it timewise or distance or whatever. I like how it leans me out to be completely honest. The flip side of that coin is that I like how strong I feel when I do weight work, which is basically every time I’m at the gym – I’m a well rounded person like that :). 

The point is, everyone has their favourite and it’s their favourite for a reason. What would the world be like if we all stopped hating on other things so much and just encouraged each other to do their thing? A little crossfit never hurt nobody, those girls on the treadmill are probably lovin’ their lives, and the lifters over there in the corner are getting down while that bar gets pushed up. And instead of the lifters shooting the cardio doers exasperated looks, maybe just lift. And for those “cardio bunnies”, do your hill sprints and love it. Just do what you do and what you love. The whole lot of you are beating the people eating the pizza on the couch so revel in that, together. 

What a difference a year makes…

Well I told you I’d be back with some stories so here it goes… I figure some of you know what the past year has been like and then again, some of you don’t so maybe let’s start with a recap of where we left off….

-I had just finished my first timed 10+km run with my cousin in the bitter Ottawa winter and was looking forward to doing a couple more of those over the running season

-I’d been eating gluten free and loving it

-Work was busy and I was loving it

Ok so then I dropped off the face of the blogging world. To be honest, things just got a little hectic. Work exploded when my boss accepted a position in a different city so I stepped up to run the show for a couple months. Don’t worry, I kept running and being amazing. I guess things just got in the way because, no offense, this blog wasn’t my main priority, work was. Then a tie for second between the relationship I was in and the gym. I feel bad saying that because really, coming second to a job isn’t a great place to be.

The important thing is that I didn’t stop running. I did that Winterman in February. Then I did the Harry Rosen run in April – an absolutely treacherous 5km of hills through Toronto’s High Park. A couple weeks later, the Yonge Street 10km, down Yonge Street, obviously. Then, in those couple of hours after the race, sitting around with my cousin I said “You know, I could probably do a half marathon some day. Maybe.” She told me I could totally do it. And so the seed was planted….

Fast forward to June. Life basically starts to unravel. Relationship ends and my friend Laura is diagnosed with a recurrence of her Ewing’s Sarcoma. It’s terminal. I take a two week vacation to the coast for a change of scenery, pace, and fill my bandaged heart back up. It worked, I’m happy to report. I came back from the coast ready for whatever I had to deal with. There was nothing that could stand between me and my goals and I had a new one to add to the list – Scotiabank’s Waterfront Half Marathon on October 20. 21.1 km just days before my 29th birthday. The training began. I was also given the official word that I’m allergic to wheat, so that was a challenge. Try carb loading without wheat, it’s a gem of a time.

August/September/October…. pretty much work, run, love life. And then… the big day was there. I’d been struggling with the taper/carb loading thing because I felt so so FAT. I’d gained about 6 pounds from training alone and felt like a big assed blimp. That ass was obviously hard as a rock though, so I know I need to just chill. The run itself was so cool. I had some friends come out and cheer me on along the way (oh hey Liz, heyyy!!!) and it made it such an overwhelmingly emotional day. I got reallllly bored around km 17 and also noticed that my hands were swollen so I strolled with them above my head for a while, I’m the coolest. My goal was a 2:45 finish time basing it off my best and worst runs and also factoring in the whole “Pace yourself, you still have to walk home after” thing. Well, I’m so proud to say that I came in a 2:43 on the nose. It’s not very Canadian of me to be proud of myself, but I am. It was a really hard, shitty year and to be able to triumph like that really raised my spirits. 

So then it was my birthday and that was nice… and then November, and then Christmas season.. and some where along the way, I didn’t want to run anymore. I just.. didn’t. It was cold out and the treadmill and I aren’t really in love… so I did the stair climber and weights. And now,  I miss running and I’m so excited for the days to get longer and warmer and to be able to feel the pavement under my feet. So I’ve been back on the treadmill and you know, as much as I feel like I’m starting over, I’m reminding myself that any time, you start over, you’ve already come further than you were before.

This has been super long and wordy and I apologize for it, but I wanted everyone to know what was up and that even though I totally bailed on blogging, I didn’t bail on being the best me possible. That would be silly. 🙂 I’m someone who always needs goals to work towards so right now, my goal is to look smokin’ hot at a charity gala I’m going to the end of March…, and then to look smokin’ hot in Vegas at the end of May… and then to look smokin’ hot at my friend’s wedding in August… and THEN to look like a freakin’ bombshell for my 30th birthday in October. I’ll probably blog more about just my life in general than ohh I did this many miles today and ate this.. because that’s just one part and frankly, that would be boring. So I guess, welcome to my life. It’s not always the most fun or exciting, but it’s mine so I’ve gotta keep livin’ it 🙂

I’m back, bitches.

Quick little post for those of you who haven’t abandoned me. I’m back to the land of the blogging and I’ve got a catch up post comin’ at ya in the next day or so. 

Don’t worry. The wait – or the stories that come with it – was worth it. 

 

Life and vacation and running, oh my!

Alright, yes. I abandoned you. I went on vacation to south east Asia for 2 weeks and didn’t blog once. Well, let me summarize for you – temples, coffee, lots of curries, lots of walking around, and daily beers. Oh yes, and beaches. Also shopping. It was a great time.  The jet lag on the way home was something else but whatever, totally worth it.

Things have been wicked busy with work which I honestly love. It’s still a lot to learn but it keeps me so enthralled…. I realized I’m a total loser admitting to this but whatever. One of my besties, who I met at work many, many moons ago is helping to organize a heart health awareness fundraiser this Thursday which is going to be off the hook! If you’re in the Toronto area and you’re interested in supporting women’s heart health with some fine lookin’ broads and tasty beers, get a ticket and come on by:  https://www.facebook.com/events/451996378197682/

Last weekend was a long one, with Monday being Family Day. I decided to take full advantage of this and head up to Ottawa to see some family and friends. A few days before I left, my cousin texted me asking if I had any interest in being a part of a marathon relay she was doing with some friends. Seems one of the guys went a little too hard and hurt his foot. So here I am, fresh off vacation, haven’t really been pushing myself at the gym, and I’m being asked to run 1/4 marathon, in Ottawa, in February. Jesus. Yeah, sure, why not, right?! The run was on Sunday – the Winterman (http://www.somersault.ca/eventwinterman.htm) so my cousin and I decided I should probably get acclimatized with a wee jaunt around the Carleton U campus. It was literally a test run and I’m mighty glad we went on it. That night, we had a feast at our grandmother’s with some rockin’ veggie chili my uncle made. Delish! At some point during the eveing, I ingested some glutenfilled baked goods and mercy me, it was a bad night. I am fully on the GF bandwagon now. It’s just not worth the pain and the slow run the next day.

It should be said that it was -27 degrees C that day and I was wearing 4 layers and one of my uncle’s wind jackets. I also bought fleece running tights for it and those were probably the best purchase. But, I finished. It was cold and windy and I felt like a pile of garbage but I finished my first organized 10+km run with a 1:22:35 time and you know what, I’ll take it. Here is a picture of me looking hateful.

sunday run day!

 

Well here we are. It’s Sunday, January 6 and I am leaving for Thailand in 12 days. Unreal. Yes, I’m mainly packed which isn’t unusual because I’m a bit of a planner. I’ve been hitting up Pinterest to find different ways of recycling/up cycling old T-shirts to use as throw on tanks or beach covers ups etc. Hasn’t been working but oh well. Right now my main priorities are to get the “To Do” List done by next Monday and be totally ready to go by the 16th.

Tonight was a solid night at the gym. 12 km on with some ridiculous ab work. I foam rolled like a ninja after which I hated/loved after.

I hate foam rolling. Ugh.

2012 in review from WordPress.com

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Thanks, helper monkeys!

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Oh hi! I know, I know, I’ve totally been AWOL the last few weeks. Life gets busy when there are friends in town and gifts to be bought and kms to be run and oh yeah, a job to be done. So calm down, I’m here now right?

The past week, I was away on the east coast eating my face off visiting my family and friends for Christmas. I think one of the best visits I had was with my Grammy and my great aunt. It’s incredible to just sit back and hear the stories they have. I would never have guessed my great aunt was such a man eater back in her day but hey, I guess I come by it honestly? Haha. False. As previously mentioned, I have less game than a 6 year old boy. Fact. Anywayyyyyyy…. Christmas on the coast means two things: family, and food. Oh food, my how I love you. My body was in such a war this Christmas though. I wanted to indulge a bit and my body, knowing that I have to be Thailand tight in about 3 weeks decided to let me get a cold which pretty well zapped my appetite. Thanks…. Although I suppose I should be sort of happy because this is the first Christmas, first vacation really, in a long time where I didn’t gain weight! So I figure I’m in pret-ty good shape for those bathing suits in my suitcase. Yeah, I’m already packed for my trip in three weeks, what of it?

And right now, I’m sort of feeling like a total life ninja. Today was one of those days I just rocked at life. I found my passport (wasn’t really “lost”, just in a purse in my closet, which I knew), unpacked, did laundry, packed for my next trip, got groceries (80-20 paleo for the next few weeks), prepped a couple meals, had dinner, did dishes and more laundry, hit the gym, cleaned my bathroom and now am making a little post on my bloggity. Complete win, right?

It may be a bit early, but I have a couple of resolutions to share with you for the upcoming year of 2013.  They are as follows:

1) Use my foam roller every day to keep that IT band loose and happy.

2) With said happy ITB, do more road running.

3) Continue with my healthy habits and rocking at life.

 

Do youuuu have any 2013 resolutions for health? Get at me with them, let’s get ’em! Until then, I leave with Holiday greetings from Sasha-dog.

Simple accounting…

In the past few weeks, as I’ve been trudging up the learning curve at my new job,  I’ve been trying to remember my accounting classes at university. Sure, I remember the simple things, the T-charts, the assets and liabilities but the rest of it is sort of on the fringe.

But, the other day while I was pulling my pants up a bit on my walk home, I started to wonder – how does simple accounting transfer over to your physical health instead of your financial health? Does it? Yes, friends. Yes it does.

In financial accounting, you’ve got cash flow in and cash flow out. Well guess what guys, you’re basically a living T-chart. Calories flow in, and calories flow out. Calories in is the obvious one, the food you eat. How the outflow happens is up to you. Keeping in mind that just living takes some calories and depending on what you read, you need 1,200 – 1,500 calories a day just for living. To be honest, I’m not sure how many calories I take in on a daily basis but I do know that in the past month, I’ve walked an extra 60 km and my pants are all a bit more roomy and I’ve lost about 3 pounds (weird).  Keep in mind that I’ve also stopped using weights so much in my workouts to lean out so it might be muscle that’s gone but we’re getting off track.

So, if I had to rough out my cash in flow, I’d say it’s probably between 1300-1600. For conservatism, lets say I burn 150 calories on my walk to/from work (~3km).  The minimum at the gym is 8km which burns another say, 550 calories. I have no idea what my abs/resistance work out burns so let’s just stick with the facts. If I take in 1600, and burn 700 at the gym, I have 900 left in my “asset” side. And let’s say my 5ft8inch, 175 pound body needs 1200 calories to do the normal living/breathing/thinking thing. That puts me at a calorie “deficit” of 300 calories. So, my body dips into “savings” and will start breaking down whatever it can for energy – fat. So what’s your food accounting like? Do you keep a food journal? I did this once, for a week. It was interesting to see what I ate and when. You can even take it a step further if you’re looking to find out how you react to certain foods and write down how you feel 20-30 mins after you eat.

Another thing – last night at the gym, I weighed myself out of curiousity and I couldn’t help but notice what the scale was called. I didn’t like it. I’m the first one to say that a big part of being healthy is to maintain a healthy weight but to be clear, it’s not all about the number. I think there are a lot of misconceptions out there. Between the people who think you’re not healthy until your scale hits a certain number, or your pants are a certain size, or you can see every muscle in your stomach and every vein that carries the blood away from it.

I’ve been a big fan of eating real food, doing real exercise, and living a real life. The only meter of my health is how I feel… and I guess my doctor’s opinion helps too.

Ohhh Thursday! :)

Today was the turn around day. The day when you’ve been sick and you wake up feeling human again. Yes, friends, I’m back! Today was just wicked awesome.

My hair looked good, my outfit was cute, all my favourite songs were rocking my iPod on the walk to work, the sun was out, I was so busy at work that it was 6 oclock before I realized it and high tailed it home. Dinner tasted great, I made kick ass chicken soup, got some groceries, had a call from my grammy, and now am off to the gym for a bit to ease my bod back into it. I’ve missed the gym so so badly.

A nice little 8km and relaxing shower to round out the day before I wake up to a beautiful Friday.

 

What a difference a day makes…

Oh. Hi. What’s up?

So, I had a solid weekend. Lots of fun and shopping and great times. Yesterday, I had a lovely visit with a friend and crushed a wicked good gym session with 10km and some crazy abs stuff. And then the Toronto Argos won the Grey Cup and my happy little weekend was ruined. All the rowdy fans spilled onto the streets and partied hard and were loud and trucks lined up by the arena to get things ready for unloading. They were also loud. I didn’t get to sleep until almost 2.

As I type, I’m waiting for my mug of NeoCitran to cool down enough to drink it and bathe my sore throat with that lemony medicine goodness. And I don’t feel bad about missing the gym because my abs feel as incredible and tight as my throat feels hurty and sore.

Some Neocitran, some Lang & O’Leary… yep. Solid Monday night right here.