Friday night quickie

Not THAT kind of quickie...although hope springs eternal!!

No run last night, as it was the final clinic night, and we all just sat around and quizzed oh-wise-Garrath about marathons and strategies and what ever else came to mind. Some went out for a run afterwards, but since I was one of the hardcore idiots that ran Wednesday in the rain/sleet/snow/wind storm, I took a well deserved night off. wished everyone heading out to Vancouver the best of luck, although it sounds like they may be in for

Boot Camp tonight was awesome, but I may have to hurt Trainer Josh next week - we did a TON of leg work tonight, including a lovely stroll (read: all out run) up Douglas Fir and back. Then there were squats, lunge walking, lunges, more squats, hurdles, ladder and finally sprints and even more squats!!! I'm sure I will "thank" him as I'm tackling the hills of Blood & Guts tomorrow morning.

Dinner is in the belly, and now I am just winding down for the evening, as I'll be up bright and early for tomorrow's Big Run Half. I am actually planning on going to Weight Watchers to weigh in first, so will aim to be at Dalhousie between 6:45-7 (yes, a.m!) so I can then eat my bagel w/PB & banana (can't eat before I get on the scale) and still stop for a coffee on the way to Bowness Park. The race starts at 8, but we already have our chips, so no need to get there ridiculously early to pick them up. It's a new system...last week was the D-tag, which is a thin piece of plastic that you loop through your laces. However, they are finding many runners flatten it, and then their times don't read properly.

And there's always the good old plastic chip, that if you don't fasten well enough with the plastic zipper clip, it falls off, and you don't get your time. Can't count the number of races where I ran past someones chip on the road!

These timers are on the bib itself. Maybe this is used somewhere else, but it's a first for me. You just have to wear your bib...which I'm pretty sure most runners in a race do, so there shouldn't be any glitches. We'll see.

Popped by the hospital to visit Dad - it's been since Monday for me! Sounds like he's coming home on Monday, which is a good thing. Of course, it also means Home Care, which my Mom is upset about, but it's going to be that way or no way, so get used to it. I will make sure I'm there when the nurse comes in to assess, so I can be aware of what's going on.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day:

21.1km run in the morning

Greek cooking class w/dinner in the afternoon

Spa Grand Opening for my hair-dude in the evening. I'm tired already! BUT it also means I will get to sleep in on Sunday...glorious, wonderful sleep!!!

I'll try to get the race details in tomorrow, between the run and cooking class.

Later,

Spring run

Sorry no blog yesterday. I took the evening off! My younger brother was taking my Mom to visit Dad at the hospital, and once I got home from work I decided I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything! It was glorious!!
Typical Calgary spring-time weather out there...rain/sleet/snow and high winds. In fact, we are under a Heavy Snowfall Warning for overnight...could be close to a foot of snow on the ground by morning. As long as it's gone by Saturday (or at least gone from the roads/paths) as I'm running the Big Run Half in the morning. I don't mind running when it's cooler, in fact I prefer it, but I hate slogging through wet snow. I want to beat my PB time of last week, and really can't wait to push myself on the hills of Blood & Guts. Seriously, what have I done with myself?!?!
There were oh so few of us at run clinic tonight...you could tell the seriously hardcore runners (and I was proud to be one of them). We were to do 10km, with the first 3-4km being a nice steady pace, and then picking up to race-pace for the next 3-4 and then cool off on the run home. However, Mother Nature decided against us...we headed out, and since everyone else seemed to be of the 4:15 or faster group, we were really going at a serious clip. I managed to keep up with most of the group, but was really feeling it when I started running with Garrath directly. He is just a wealth of information and support, and I love running with him. Granted, it almost kills me, as we were doing 6:30 at one point (my steady pace should be 8:37, with a race pace of 7:36 - you understand my dilemma!!). After we crossed the river and were facing north, we were hit with the full brunt of the storm. It practically pushed me backwards at one point...Most of us gave up on race pace, and did our best just to finish, although we did cross back early and only did 7.36km. Okay, not "only" but we didn't finish the full run. Tomorrow night is the last class of clinic, and I am sad, but will dig for more marathon tidbits from Garrath and the rest of the group. While many are heading out to Vancouver for Sunday's run, there are quite a few of us running Calgary (including Garrath) so we'll continue our training schedule for the month of May.
Came home (the usuals weren't there for our Wednesday beer) and had to change immediately, as I was soaked to the skin and FROZEN!! Had to have a hot cup of coffee just to warm up from the inside too. Brrrrrr...
Have a little meatloaf in my toaster oven, which I'm going to turn into lunch (didn't have time to eat it before the run) for tomorrow. With some tomato 'gravy' and some pasta, it should be rather tasty.
Did my taxes, and sadly owed money. Just a tad, but still...that'll learn me for selling shares!
Okay...I'm off to find something else warm to drink and listen up for sleigh-bells and hoofs on the roof!
Merry April, everyone!

The day after Policeman's

Legs feel great! I was able to walk like a normal person all day!! Even curbs were a thing of ease...who knew I could get to this point with my running.
Of course, Trainer Josh did everything he could to remind me (and my legs) that we just ran a Half yesterday. We started the hour with the lovely climb of B.A. Edworthy Hill...we then ran west along the ridge to the "stairs"...I use this word so loosely! We were supposed to go down and run up them a couple of times, but I missed the start of the path (you know...where the trees are bent slightly from when some small furry forest creature last passed through!!), so ended up with a little trail run till I got myself sorted out.
Finally got back to the group, where we saddled up with resistance bands and proceeded to pull each other across the park...many times!!
After that fun (the crab walk was my MOST FAVOURITE!), we switched up with some circuits...cardio (jumping jacks, high-knees, mountain climbers & burpees), then legs (oh boy - more! Squats, 'round-the-world lunges, sumo squats), back to cardio, then to upper body (wide, normal and narrow push-ups, up & down plank (hands to elbows and back) and side plank with dips), back to cardio, on to arms (seated row, lat pulls, bicep curls), back to cardio and finally on to core (full body bike, overhead leg drops, Russian twists and oblique crunches)...if you finished all of this, you could return to cardio if you wanted! I did not!!!
We the finished the class (yes, the good times continued!) with some 45 degree legs, scissor kicks, full sit ups. After a few rounds of that, we did a full sit up with weights through our legs, up above and to the side. We then laid down and died!
Drove to Mom's, to head to the hospital. How can I tell I have too much going on?! Oh, that would be when I was driving along, thinking of everything we need to take, and did we have, etc. when I ALMOST RAN OVER A LADY AND HER DOG!!!!! In a freaking crosswalk!!!! I am so embarrassed!!!! I almost pulled over and threw up. Focus, Carol, focus!!!! Ten & two and nothing else!!!
Dad is doing the same...had our usual visit, then dropped Mom off at home. And instead of swinging into a drive-through (with my full concentration on the road the whole way) I came home and made a quick and tasty pasta dish. Even left some for lunch tomorrow. Tossed whole wheat pasta with some Epicure Roasted Red Pepper dip mix (made with light mayo, light sour cream and feta) and some chopped up roasted red peppers. Quick and quite yummy. With a salad tomorrow, it will make a great lunch.
Once again, it is 10 pm and I am beat.
Night all,

2010 Policeman's Half

A good time was had by all. As mentioned earlier, I PB'd, which is AWESOME! I really felt it today, and think next week's Big Run is going to be as or even more awesome!!
Woke up bright and early, had a whole grain bagel with PB & banana, a glass of chocolate moo and some OJ. Mixed up my usual long run mix of OJ, water & sea salt, picked up K. (my pace bunny, who was running under the name of Carrie today - I was Al!) just after 7 am. Got to Mount Royal University, parked, and wandered around, trying to find anyone we knew. Think there was about 3,000 runners there today (it was the 30th Anniversary this year) although there was also a 5km run/walk. After a quick potty break, we joined the masses and started out in what can only be described as perfect running weather. The snow had stopped overnight, and the paths were just wet, not icy or sloppy, it was overcast (no bright sun), with a bit of a breeze, and +1-+2C. Absolutely perfect!!
K. works a lot of the Thursday clinic nights, so she misses out on a lot of the steady runs we do. While we were both treating this a bit like our usual long/slow, I also wanted to run...so we decided that we would go as far as we could before having to walk...we made it to about the 9km mark, which was really great for K. After a water, and another potty break for K., we took off again, although it takes a minute for my legs to remember to run after standing around. Pace was good the whole way, doing a great job of maintaining a 7:30-7:40 pace.
We started at the University, ran east down 50th Ave till we hit the running paths, ran south over the reservoir, past the Hospital, down and through Eagleridge community, past Heritage Park and back onto the pathway past Glenmore Landing. Onto 90th Ave, and west up to South Glenmore Park, where we hit the path again and entered the Weaslehead natural area. One very steep hill down, and through the park until we get to the very, very steep hill back up to North Glenmore Park. Made it almost the whole way up the hill before my legs died out and had to walk, but started running right away at the top. East again to Crowchild, but weaved through the neighbourhood till we crossed Glenmore Trail (over a very large pedestrian overpass, which we both decided to walk up to save our legs) and made our way back to 50th...turned west to home!
Even though we started out near the end, we slowly but surely started passing people, and during the last mile, we probably blew past 15-20 runners. That felt GOOD!!! Finished, verified our times (potty break cost us 2 minutes, but I'm claiming my Garmin time!), grabbed a banana and some of the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had, and after catching up with others from our running group, headed for home.
Dropped K. off, jumped in the shower and was back in the northwest for lunch at Earl's with some of the Epicure ladies. Had the smoked salmon and avocado eggs benny with hash browns and fruit salad (brunch menu)...heck, I burned off 1,667 calories, so I'm having hollandaise sauce if I want it!!
After lunch, I drove from the northwest to the southwest, and switched to my Mom's car, as my nephew and his girlfriend were coming to the hospital with us today. Dad wasn't looking great, but didn't look too bad either. Apparently one of the doctors did try to call me, but it was on my cell and I was driving at the time, and even though it's not law here (yet), I try to ignore my cell while hurtling down a traffic-filled roadway! They didn't leave a message, so hopefully they will try again tomorrow.
Dropped Mom off, dropped nephew and the girl at the train station downtown and came home to a dinner of salad and tomato pizza. Now I am doing my best to keep my eyes open, but I am fading fast!! It's been a loooonnnngggg day!
Hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Monday!
Later,

Personal Best

Yeah Baby!!! It may not have been a PB for Al K., but it was a PB for me!!! Took almost 4 minutes off my previous best. Yay me!!!
The best part was passing all the people in the last kilometer...they were fading fast and I was just picking up speed. From the last mile marker, we easily passed another 12-15 people, all looking like zombies doing the death walk. I'm loving this whole training thing because I feel AWESOME right now!

Avg pace: 7:42/km
calories burned: 1667 (bring on lunch!)
2:42:33
21.1km

Running (p-hah!) out the door for lunch, and then down for the daily hospital visit. More deets later.

Yes, that is snow

Love Calgary in the springtime! It was cool this morning, but dry. Now it is snowing...and I mean SNOWING!! Great big, fluffy flakes of snow.

The Policeman's Half tomorrow morning could be interesting, but I think it's only ever been officially snowed out once, and that was about 5 years ago (there was like 25-30 cm on the ground at race start!). This is supposed to stop about midnight, so hopefully there isn't much more accumulation.

I'm off to bed...I have to get up bright and early after all.

Later,

Weight removal

Managed to remove another 1.2 pounds this week - only (p-hah "only") 12.4 to reach goal. I WILL reach goal this year! And I WILL run the Calgary Marathon in 5 1/2 hours (or less!). Being very affirmative today!
Doing a couple of loads of laundry, mainly to get the running gear clean and ready for tomorrow. Then I'm going to have some lunch and then head out into the hallways to do some vacuuming and cleaning up - tenants can be slobs!
Picked up the race package for the Policeman's tomorrow. Nice tech shirt and funky little toque (thankfully it's NOT toque weather this year!! It has been snowed out in the past!), bib and timing chip (a strip of plastic, rather than the little disc thing - never run with one of those before). Running swag is getting rather thin these days, I must say.
Since the race is bright and early at 8am, I will head to the hospital earlier today, so I can get to bed nice and early tonight. I have all the fixings for my pasta & tuna (standard pre-race meal) as well as bagels and bananas for brekkie tomorrow. Bring on the run!
Had a nice coffee with H-woman and her mom earlier today...haven't really seen H-woman much lately, so it was nice to get caught up.
That's all I have for now...anything exciting happens, I'll let you all know! Otherwise, I'll recap the race tomorrow.
Later,

Long week

Dad still in hospital, and by the sounds of things, for another week or so at least. He's getting crabby, which upsets my Mom and makes her crabby, and then I get crabby!! Good times in old Cowtown, I tells ya!
I went to my marathon clinic last night, which was great because I needed to RUN last night! Blew some of the stress and stink off me, as I maintained a great pace of 7:15 for the almost 10k route.
Turns out I am running the Policeman's Half Sunday morning (found a bib today) but because the time to change names has well passed, my name is Al. Not sure how Al will feel, running like a girl and all, but hopefully I can do him (and me) proud! There's quite a few from the clinic doing this run, and it's really pretty, with only one B.A. hill out of Weaslehead Park. Of course, it's at the 16-18km mark, when we all have such fresh legs! Will let you know how it goes.
Food has been adequate, at the very best. Can't remember the last time I actually updated my journal, but I have mentally tried to make healthy choices...salads, veggies, lean proteins. I've managed to avoid all sweet things, even tonight grabbing an apple when what I really wanted was something ooey, gooey and chocolatey! We'll see what weigh-in tomorrow has to say.
Not much planned for tomorrow other than clean the building, gather some garbage from the front, take mom to the hospital, pick up the running package and some food for Sunday pre-race brekkie, coffee with the ladies (that's if anyone shows up!) and of course, take Mom to the hospital to visit Dad.
Half marathon Sunday morning, lunch with some Epicure ladies and then...repeat after me...take Mom to the hospital to visit Dad. My poor old beast has had some serious klicks put on it over the last few weeks. We just have to get him healthy, so he can come home. I picked up some stuff to retrofit his bathroom and make it easier for him to get around. I know Mom really wants him home, as do the furbabies. Simon is terribly upset that his Daddy is no where to be found these days. It will be better for everyone, most especially Dad, if we can get him out of the doldrums of sitting in a hospital all day long.
Okay, time for the sack - I am tired and getting hungry, so must go to bed before I empty the fridge!!
Later,

Tuesday already

Laid low yesterday, as still recovering from cold/flu. Did make it to the Epicure Product Launch, which was good - love the returning and new stuff for summer. I even made Mango Chutney, from scratch (okay, with a little help from Epicure!)...it was very easy and highly tasty! I will most likely add some chili next time to up the heat, but it's a nice condiment. Along with the chutney, we are bringing back our BBQ rubs (Tuscan, Fish, BBQ, Beef & Steak, Teriyaki & Tex Mex) and introducing Montreal Spice for Beef and Montreal Spice for Chicken. Steak Sauce mix, Smokey Ranch dip, Italian dressing, Maple Kettle popcorn topping...the list goes on and on. Be sure to check out the website and book your party with a local consultant (or me!) - most awesome stuff.

I did manage to do my 6k tempo at lunch today, and despite the cold/flu and hacking up a lung halfway, I managed to maintain a pace of 7:34. Then I hit up Boot Camp after work (since I missed Friday and yesterday) and hacked up the other lung!! I honestly feel much better now!!!

Dad is still in the hospital, but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel...oooo...bad example! He's supposed to get some retro-fitting in his bathroom to make life easier at home, which means he could be heading that way soon. We still don't know when though. And tonight he just didn't look well - very pale and trouble breathing. Mom wants him home, though, so I hope this all works out soon enough. Even got her to contemplate home care, which she usually has a fit about, so things are looking up.

I did arrive home late tonight, so dinner is a sliced tomato, some artichoke hearts, toasted thin bun with some spinach & artichoke spread (not Epicure, and so not as good!). It's filling a void, and right now that's all the matters.

Heading for bed shortly. I'm still recovering from Sunday's no sleep night (I "may" have exceeded the recommended daily dosage of Advil Cold & Sinus, and lay awake all night as a result!!), so one more good solid night of sleep will be good for me.

That's it...

Later,

Sunday morning non-run

No run for me today...the cold slipped quickly and quietly from my sinuses to my chest overnight! I am currently hacking up a storm, but am finding it is a great core workout! All in the silver lining, huh?
Speaking of...despite all the craziness last week with the hospital runs, conference, missed workouts and fast food takeout, I managed to remove 1.4 pounds. Not quite what I have found the week before, but it's still in the right direction and I'll take it! Trying to get into a much better (consistent) food routine this week, and get healthy enough to return to boot camp and running clinics.
Dad is still in the hospital, and it appears this may be for a while yet. But unless I take a day off work so that I can arrange to be at there during doctor's rounds, I'm never going to find out exactly what's going on. Dad has selective hearing sometimes. I'll see what the beginning of this week brings, and if it appears he's there for a while longer, I'll make the necessary arrangements to actually meet with his doctor.
No big plans today...I did sleep in till almost 10, which is what my body needed. I do have to swing by B.'s for one last feeding of the kitties before she arrives home late tonight, and then prep some samples for tomorrow evening's Epicure Product Launch. Exciting stuff, that I will be very happy to share with you all Tuesday!
Tried the KD Smart for dinner last night, and laughed reading the "Sensible Solution" for making it. Instead of 2 tbsp butter/marg and 3 tbsp milk, change that to 2 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine and 3 tbsp skim milk. Are you kidding me?!?! You still have 2 tbsp of pure fat in there!!!! Here's a thought...skip the butter/marg all together. You don't need it at all. And did you know that the Smart version has a half a serving of vegetables in it?!?! It's made with cauliflower. I can't say I was impressed though...and I think Kraft is trying to trick us all. The original version is a 1/4 box serving, while this one is a 1/3 of a box...larger serving, right? However, once it was all made up, it looked like way less in the pot. Yes, I eat an entire box at once...and I count every point. Have a special pot/spoon that I eat it with too...that is my KD pledge! Anyway, I don't have an original version to compare the overall weight to, but to the eye (and the stomach...I was still hungry last night) it looked like less.
Having a coffee, and off to find some food. I think a quick shower will help me feel better too...I just feel all slimy from the cold, even though I never registered a fever - my body temp is below normal, so it's hard to tell but I was still all hot and sweaty all night. There is a glorious breeze blowing in the windows now, as it's a beautiful spring day in Calgary. The run today would have been lovely.
Later,

Did my best

Really I did...I took vitamin C, E, Zinc...I stayed away from everyone hacking and sneezing and spewing germs...but to no avail. I am sick today! And in a first, I woke up at 5:30, called in sick and went back to bed!! I did have to get dressed and head out once, to feed a friend's cats and pick up OJ and Advil Cold - typical that I would be out of both when the cold hits! Of course, if I'm going to be stuck indoors sick, let's make sure it's when it's sunny and +18C out there!! Boot Camp would have rocked in the sunshine!!! Sad for me...
My Dad is still in the hospital, and by the sounds of things, they may be keeping him for awhile. I'm not going anywhere near him today, and tomorrow I may just drop Mom off, and pick her up, if I don't feel any better. She is terrified of getting lost in the parking lot, hospital, corridor, etc, so I'm not quite sure how to negotiate this yet. She won't go without me, and both of my brothers live out of town. Not far out of town, mind you, but still.
So what have I done this week? Not much, really. Work, run, work, boot camp, work, hospital...you get the trend. Food has not been stellar, but I am working on that. Weigh in tomorrow should be interesting, as we await the backlash of McD's twice in a row! Even as I type, I'm trying to get motivated to make something for supper that isn't out of a can or box. We shall see what we end up with.
I'm heading back to the couch...sitting up is hard!
Later,

Routine

I am a routine girl...I like to do the same thing, the same day, the same way. Okay, so it's probably a wee touch of OCD, but there's nothing wrong with that! Since my dad has been in the hospital, I find my routine has been shaken up and I admit I don't like it!
Yesterday was work, and since I crashed so early on Sunday, I didn't make or pack breakfast/lunch. After work, I hurried home, changed and went to a much needed boot camp, yes, in the snow/rain. I did not care if it turned out to be just me and Josh, I needed to SWEAT!! However, there were about 15 of us there, so we got our sweat on. While Josh dealt with some newbies, and the rest of the gang went up the BA hill, I ran the roadway up. My legs were immediately bagged from Sunday's 32k, so I did end up walking a few times. The road is roughly 1km in length, so I got in a good run up, and then a relaxed run back down. I love running down hill...some people say it hurts their knees, but since learning to lean into it (most people lean back and that causes the stress to the knees) and letting the gravity do all the work, I just fly down them. We then did a ton of lunges and burpees (oh, the burpees), followed by mucho arm/leg/core work. Everything hurt by the end of that hour!!
After class, I drove straight to Mom's, collected her and the latest of Dad's "bring me" list (which involved me removing my hatch lid and dropping the back seat...I think he's running away from home...) and got to the hospital. Got him settled with his TV (didn't understand the difference between digital (not available) and analog, so was getting frustrated), watched him yell at a young nurse, told him to behave (he would have never let me act that way!!), chatted about a bunch of nothing, and finally got Mom home just after 8. I was freezing (it was raining during Boot Camp, and I didn't have time to change) and HUNGRY!!! I don't eat dinner before boot camp, as I don't want to risk being the first to vomit. As I was driving home, I was thinking of what I could eat but realized that I did not want to start cooking dinner at 8:30...McD's is was!!
Today was not really any better. I went out for my tempo run at lunch - my Garmin decided it wanted to be a compass instead of a exercise assistant though, and I was afraid to touch it again, so I just ran. I had no idea of my pace or heart rate, but I just ran. Then the city decided that doing some stupid construction in the middle.of.the.running.path was in order, so they CLOSED a section of it, but that's okay, because they left us a whole 6 inches of dirt and rocks to run on to get by!!! Now I'm beyond mad, I'm steaming, and still don't know how fast I'm going. Cross the river this time to avoid said construction mess on the return, and get passed by the Snobby McSnobberson running group, only to watch one of the jackasses decide to chase down and freak out a poor goose eating beside the pathway! That just pissed me right off!!!! Really!!! What was the goose doing to him?!?! That's right...NOTHING!!!!! Oh, man I was choked by now!!! And still no idea of what I was doing. Finally got the magic bells telling me my run was done, and there it was...7:15 average pace for 6km. Oopie...not quite the warm-up/cool-down, 7:48 average pace I was looking for!! Speed work is tomorrow night...must remember that!
:)
Since it was a McD's night, and again, I sat up too late and got up too late, I ate at the office deli again. I did ask for half the rice at lunch, but it was the crabby old dude cook, who spared two cauliflower florets for me...um, the other guy would have given me more cauliflower without even thinking about it! Rude!
Came home, changed and went to boot camp, since I missed last Friday's class. In fact, most of Monday's class was there! It had at least stopped raining/snowing, so it was drier than last night, but we made up for it by sweating hard. Sprints up a small hill, followed by many, many, many, MANY squats and lunges!!! In fact, we spent most of the first 45 minutes alternating between the two, with some upper body work thrown in for fun. Ended on the mats doing core. I am already feeling the double workout whammy...feels good.
As I was leaving the parking lot, I thought I should phone Mom. She did say last night that we were taking a night off from the hospital, but for what ever reason, I thought I should confirm. Glad I did...as Dad had yet another "I can't live without this for another 5 minutes or I will die" list...socks & underwear...which is odd, because we took him a suitcase with both items in abundance on Sunday...as well as another bunch last night. Don't ask me what the man has done with 9 pairs of socks and underwear, but we had to rush over more tonight!!! At least he's not a loopy as he was on the weekend, but really...more underwear?!?! Turns out he couldn't wear some of them because they were too big/small/tight/loose/black/white. I don't know...I zoned out and stopped caring.
Dropped Mom off at home at 8, so guess what that meant!? Yes, two nights in a row...McD's. I will need to run super hard at clinic tomorrow night, providing of course that I won't be driving Mom to the hospital. Perhaps one of my siblings to pick her up...that or pigs will fly out my butt...it could go either way!
Later,

I'm tired

Okay...I did it...I sipped the Kool-aid at Conference! I am now planning my 2010-2011 goals with Epicure so that I can go to Conference in Montreal next April!!
I am beat though, and it was really, really, really hard to get out of bed this morning AND push out a 32km run. But I did it...didn't eat the best last night as I ordered fish & chips, and after a very frustrating phone-tag conversation with both of my parents (one at home, the other in the hospital), I ended up with 2 pints of Guinness in me before too long! But it was a long, slow today, and that's what we did, although I know we finished a good 20 minutes faster today than in March when we ran the same route. Yay us.
Breakfast was a thin-bun with PB and a banana, a glass of milk and a half a cup of OJ. I didn't end up eating again till I got home at 4:30!! I do run with the water/OJ mix, which I find really helps my electrolytes (I do add sea salt to the mix), and my blood sugars. I didn't feel the need for a goo, even though I had one with me. And because I was 'on the go' right after the run, I only grabbed a bottle of 1% chocolate milk (BEST recovery stuff, EVER!), which tided me over while I stopped to pick up a set of keys from B. (I'm cat-sitting while she's in Vegas) and then down to get Mom to go visit Dad in the hospital.
I don't know what the hospital is giving him, but seriously...I want some!!! He spent the whole afternoon explaining about the cowboys riding the elephants that were unloading across the street, in the "straw" neighbourhood that just put up the plastic trees last night, and how the houses are all be shifted into place by remote control, and how the one building wasn't there yesterday, but is there today (it's in the neighbourhood we grew up in, and has been there for about 40 years!) although it will be gone tomorrow. Yet, he's lucid...completely calm...everything else is normal, although he was questioning if we had the proper 210 plugs for the outlets (we're not in Europe, Dad). Even the nurse was looking at him funny, although she explained to us later that it's most likely the infection he has in his chest spreading into his brain. They are battling that even as we speak! Good, because one parent with brain issues is all I can handle, seriously!!
Dropped mom off and picked up some milk and such for the week. And now, at 8:26pm, I am going to bed!
Back to some semblance of normalcy this week...hopefully that will help me dislodge and remove the 1.6 lbs I "found" this week.
Oh, and if you want to book an Epicure party (Calgary and area, although I have driven to Edmonton for one!), let me know!! I need to start saving for Montreal!!! Viva la Epicure!!
Later,

A real quickie

Just getting home from Conference...got there at 10 and found out didn't need to be there till noon. Sigh... Raced home in freakiest of snowstorms - it wasn't cold enough to be a blizzard but I think the amount of snow and the wind made up for that! After changing for the Hoedown...why must every non-Calgarian plan Calgary events and assume that means we want to go Western and have a Hoedown?!?! Got back downtown in heart of snowstorm - took longer to drive the 1.85km than it did to walk! - and had a mediocre Chinese dinner at the Regency Palace. We paid $15 each (and there were probably 100-150 of us) for a spring roll, some kind of shrimp/scallop mix, ginger beef, mixed vegs, fried rice, S&P squid and lemon chicken. That's one plate of each per table of 8. There really wasn't a lot of food. And everything came out one at a time...so we had plate 1 and then nothing, plate 2 and then nothing. It was very odd...and we had a pool going as to when the power would officially die, as the lights flickered on and off for a good hour!
Storm let up and we walked back to the convention centre for our Hoedown. Had one beer, wore my "costume" (a Daisy Duke apron), gambled away $20,000 (and rather quickly, at that!), gathered up my swag and after dropping a friend off, came home.
Tomorrow starts at 9, so I'll be heading down early to grab a very large Starbucks. There is supposed to be a dress up gala tomorrow night, which I had wanted to attend, but found out today that my dad went back into the hospital, so I'll skipping it to drive Mom to the hospital to get our inevitable "to do" and "to bring" and "to pick up" lists. Oh, and visit Dad, of course!
No running today, no WW (I was just too darn tired this morning, so I'll drive up to Dalhousie on Saturday). And now no Boot Camp tomorrow or running...nothing on Saturday. I'll feel downright slug-like by Sunday's 32km at this rate.
Later,

Long day

Got everything done at work that I needed to, as I am off for a conference for the next 3 days. Didn't bother packing lunch or brekkie, so I enjoyed eggs benny (lite on the sauce) with baked hash browns, and lunch was a bowl of tomato vegetable soup with a veggie sandwich that got pulled apart because the bread was a soggy, disgusting mess! So it turned into a pile of veggies with some feta and hummus smeared on them. I did take my flex band over to the park and worked up a sweat with rows, lat pulls, curls, etc, as well as some core work. I got the blood pumping by walking a couple of klicks around the park.
Came home, had some shredded chicken on a thin bun for dinner...wasn't really hungry, and I didn't want to eat too much before run club.
Speed work again tonight, which is my most comfortable running to date. It's weird, but it's like speed and my legs work well together. I can stretch them out, and just go. I swear at one point I saw 5:43 on the Garmin!! However, I did my best to stick between 6:30 and 6:51 (my speed rate) for the remainder of the intervals. We then cooled down with a couple of laps of the island before heading out for our usual beer.
Only one pint tonight, and no munchies, as I'm weighing in tomorrow morning, rather than Saturday (again, because of conference). So what ever happens, happens. But I think I'll be fine. Even if I'm up, I've got 10 days to "fix" it!
Okay, since I'm up and going to weigh in at 7am, I'd best get my butt in bed. I want to also try and fit in a run before conference, but not sure if that's going to happen or not. We'll see what the morning brings.
Later,

Good

Good day...went without a hitch, very smooth for day 2 of month end.
Good eats...got in loads of fruit & veggies, proteins and even a treat (a chocolate-laden, homemade protein bar)
Good run...maintained a great tempo pace between 7:31 - 7:40 for 4km.
Good afternoon...got most of my important month-end report done, so I can finish it off tomorrow and leave the rest of the week guilt-free.
Good evening...got some groceries, did some puttering, ate dinner, watched the tube.
And now, since I decided I am really tired...
Good Night!

Holiday Monday

Last day of the 4-day weekend...blinked, and there it was gone!
Slept in till 8 (such a rebel!), got up and made a latte to get the motors running. Did a load of laundry - all my technical gear. I did buy the special laundry detergent for technical gear (yoikes, it's pricey!) and have noticed that special funk is gone from my shirts. So I guess it's worth every penny.
Just puttered around, really doing a whole lot of nothing. Caught up with some People mags, half watched the 2007 Top Chef marathon on the Food Network, cuddled with the kitties, that kind of stuff. H-woman called and we met up for coffee and a gab. As she's telling me about the crazy lady that verbally assaulted her on the way to yoga this morning, lo and behold, there she is again! Apparently, and I'm not sure what gave us away, but H. and I are not "Canadian" enough for this lady. I love living downtown!! While we were up on the roof patio of Starbucks enjoying our coffees, we spied another friend C., who came up for a visit. She's one of our usual Saturday morning coffee ladies, and it's been awhile since we've all been able to get together, so it was a pleasant surprise and nice visit.
Walked home (no crazies) and after a quick nap with the kids (really fast for me, only 20 minutes) I got up, changed and went to Boot Camp. Trainer Josh was soooooo excited, as the stairs he loves so much were clear and open. Oh boy!!! Stairs!!! After running Blood & Guts yesterday...my legs are soooooo happy!!! But what I had real trouble with today was my asthma. I just could not get into a rhythm breathing, and we all know how important that is. Must be all the dust being blown around, because the wind from yesterday has not died down, at all. I struggled with the suicide drills and the stairs, but finally got everything settled. I am loving how strong I am getting, especially when we're doing core work...where I couldn't even hold my legs off the ground for more than a second before, I am completing the full circuit without stopping now. Boot Camp ROCKS!
Home, changed and decided I wanted KD and grilled sausages. It was a low veggie day, but that's okay, because I know I make up for it other days of the week. And sometimes, you just have to have KD. I pledge to always eat my KD straight out of the pot, with my special KD spoon!!!
And now, I'm winding down, getting ready to hit the hay and tackle my very short week at work. Thursday is the start of the Epicure conference, so I'm only at work tomorrow and Wednesday. I could get used to working less than 5 days a week...this could be bad!
Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Later,

Sunday in review

Really nothing exciting today as Easter, like all holidays, birthdays, and days of significance of any sort are really non-events with my family these days. Got up early, as normal, and went down to the Running Room to do the long slow today. We were scheduled to run 29km today, but my pacer is in Florida, so I was running alone. We all know how well that worked last year...but I also knew that I could not keep up with the 4:45 group (I do know, and openly admit my limitations), so I headed of. We were doing the Bowfort Park route again, only this time approaching from the East, which is way hillier. Good practice for the Big Run I'll be doing in May.
I did plug in my iPod, which I rarely run with anymore, and stayed totally on track with 10:1's the whole way. Pre-run fuel was a Dempsters bagel with PB & banana and a half bowl of oatmeal made with yogurt and peaches. I once again ran with my OJ/water combo, and remarkably that fueled the whole run...I didn't once feel like I needed a goo or anything to pump me up.
It was a nice day, albeit slightly cooler at about +1C when we started and +6 when we finished...but the wind was constant, from the west (awesome...a headwind!) and cold! Especially off the river...brrrr... I made it to Bowfort though, and I managed to run each and every hill without stopping or walking (unless it was a walk break) - I am really pleased with that. Got momentarily lost on the route back (missed a turn) but got back on track quickly, and ran out the rest of the run on my own.
Stats:
29km
4:12.17 to finish
8:42/km pace
137 bpm (79% max)
1,693 cal burned
Did some stretching, grabbed a very large, extra shot latte (didn't have coffee before I left) and came home to change and clean up.
Did head down to the parents, mainly to check up on them. Yesterday, I got the call that I had to drop everything and rush down to vacuum their house, as Dad needed to call 911. Not sure if that is code...not sure if I took the right parent in for Alzheimer's assessment...really not sure of anything! I did have an appointment though, and after talking to my mom and determined all was well, although I did piss off my father and was branded "worse daughter ever". That lead to a bit of emotional eating last night, although H-woman and I did some serious carb loading at an awesome sushi place here in town.
Anyway, got to my parents today (the run did wonders in relieving a ton of my stress) and found everything to be hunky-dory. Dad was still at home (changed his mind about 911), floor still needed to be vacuumed, and Mom completely forgot we even had a conversation yesterday!! And Dad seemed happy to see me. Sigh... Had a visit, made sure they had food in the fridge, did some tidying up, clipped the cats claws (and reassured Dad that if anything happened to them, the cats would have a loving, cat-crowded home with me) and then headed for home, stopping in at Coop along the way to pick up some staples to get me through the next few days.
Dinner (I totally skipped lunch...really not hungry...okay, that is odd!) was corn chips, spinach dip and salsa. Lent is over, so dips for dinner is back on!! I know I should have something more substantial, but I really am not hungry. Maybe I still have loads of sushi and rice from last night in me!!
I am thinking it's almost bed time (I am tired), so I'm going to finish up my water and see what happens. I am off tomorrow, so do get to sleep in one more time.
Hope everyone spent the Easter weekend enjoying it to their best expectations.
Later,

SUCCESS!!!

50.4 pounds down...only 13.4 left to go! Victory will be mine!

A really Good Friday

I HEART four day weekends!

It started with a lovely lie-in. Okay, so I was up by 8am...sad that that's "sleeping in" for me these days! I remember when, not so long ago, friends were under strict orders to dare not call before 11 am on weekends! Oh, how I miss those days sometimes.

Made a very strong latte, and mixed up some oats, Liberte plain Greek Yogurt, a touch of brown sugar, a tablespoon of sunflower seeds and some peaches. Kind of bland looking, but quite delish and satisfying.

Spent the morning puttering around, reading blogs and catching up on other things.

Finally felt growly about noonish, so made a quick shrimp Caesar salad. I used a toasted Dempsters bagel as my croutons, and baked the shrimp on my clay baker till they were done. Tossed the salad with some baby artichoke hearts, to up the vegetable factor (and because they are sooooooooo good) and chowed down.

More puttering, and had a wee Criminal Minds marathon, from my PVR. Finally decided to get ready for Boot Camp, which was running like normal today. Yay! I do love getting my sweat on, and after last night's race - oops, run - I was ready to get the muscles stretched out some more. That and I really do like sweating every day!

We decided that even though the City feels the path should remain closed that Douglas Fir was ready to run again!! Actually, it felt good!!! Heart was pounding my chest, and I was gasping for air, but for once I wasn't at the back of the pack, but leading a few newbies through the paces! That felt good!! Up to the top, down about a quarter of the way, back up to the top and then some speed drills up and down the staircase. I have a very happy set of buttocks right now! Back to our mats, where we picked up our weights (seriously...what was I thinking?? 10 pounds?!?!) and did some squats, sprints, lunges, sprints, push-ups, sprints...you get the drill. My arms felt like they were close to falling off by the end, but I sucked it up, made my ugly face and got 'er done! Then we hit the mats for core/ab work. Man, I feel such a difference in my abs right now. I actually enjoy (I know...sick and twisted) the fact that I can do the whole core routine without stopping.

Class was over before we knew it, and after verifying that there will be a class on Monday, I came home and whipped together a really quick dinner of whole wheat bowties, Epicure Pesto mix and drained canned tomatoes. Needed to add some protein, so I had a side of 1% cottage cheese with Epicure Italian (formally Summer Garden) Sansel on top. Now I'm letting it sit, and doing my best to ignore the mini eggs in my freezer. Yes, they are still there...calling out to me. Lalala...I can't hear you!!!

All right...going to partake in some more water, take out my contacts and get comfy on the couch with the kids for some cuddling and more Criminal Minds. Then maybe I'll move on to Medium or Cold Case. I have a bit stored in the old PVR...really should get caught up.

Hope everyone had a great day.

Later,

Holy speed demon!

Something is definitely working!!

Flashback to our pace trials in January when the clinic began:

5km, time 39:15, pace 7:51/km

Tonight...10km pace run, to get a feel for how we've been doing with our training.

10km (actually 10.36 but who's counting!), time 1:09.34, pace 6:43/km!

6:43!!!!!!! Holy freaking SIX.FORTY.THREE a kilometer!!!

This is the fastest I have ever run...ever. EVER!!! And I'm here, standing, talking about it...not laid out on the sidewalk, gasping for air. Holy wow!!

Bigger news then the run is the very fact that I survived today!

You see, the company I work for likes to celebrate Easter. We have an actual Easter Egg hunt for prizes, and usually have Crave or Buttercream cupcakes for everyone in the building (roughly 700 or so). This year, they thought it would be fun to have a CANDY BUFFET!!! A candy buffet!!! Are you kidding me?!?! Chocolates, gummies, sours, twizzlers, jelly beans, suckers, oh my. I had a plan however. First, I would continue to say, over and over and over again, that "I will hit 50 down on Saturday". That kept my intake to two rosettes and two raspberry jellies. I helped with the set up and immediately retreated to my desk, and acted like someone had crazy-glued my butt to my chair!

Then one of the VP's was wandering about, handing everyone a bag of the dreaded Cadbury Mini Eggs!! Argh!!!! Mine is currently in the freezer (yes, unopened), where they will stay until Sunday - a treat for after the long run. I figure after 29km, I can be allowed to have a few mini eggs!

Lunch was leftover dinner from last night (salmon on a bun, salad), with a sweet Ambrosia and a piece of light cheddar as a snack.

Came home, and whipped up a quick omelet, as pre-run fuel. I whisked 2 eggs with some Epicure Roasted Red Pepper dip blend, and let that sit. Then I pan fried some diced up roasted red peppers, and put it all together in my wee little omelet pan. A sprinkling of shredded cheese, and eaten on a bagel, dipped into Epicure Sweet & Spicy mustard. A sliced fresh tomato rounded out the meal. Quite tasty.

I am feeling hungry right now, so I'll have some water to see if that is what I really want, and if not, then I'll probably have some Kashi squares. They're nicely low in points, and sweet enough to satisfy cravings.

Looking so forward to sleeping in tomorrow (no 5 am airport runs this week), then figuring out what to do with the day. I think maybe some yard work (it's supposed to be nice) and then boot camp as usual. Getting the hair done on Saturday ('bout freaking time!), Sunday long run and Monday boot camp. And some chillin' & relaxin' scattered throughout. Holidays have become non-events for my family, so I may get a little ham for Sunday...or not. Will play it all by ear.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Later,