A summer of fun

I have had a great summer!  I've been running, but not in the standard "pathway or roadway" type running.  Nope, I've branched out, wanting to try new things.

The first one was Mud Hero.  THE.MOST.FUN.I.HAVE.EVER.HAD.ON.A.RACE.EVER!!!!!!

Run a 6k trail race and throw in 14 obstacles, from mud puddles, net pyramids, fire poles, tires, parked cars, 4' fences, 10' walls, webbing through trees, straw bales, giant bouncy slides and finish it all with a good crawl through the mud!

Of course, I couldn't just do one...

SPARTAN!!!

I completed (toyed with the words attempted, struggled, tried but truth be told, I started and finished said race...Mama didn't race no quitter!) a Spartan Sprint a couple of weeks ago, and while it wasn't quite the giggle-fest that Mud Hero was, I still had fun, and challenged myself in ways I never knew I had in me.  Such as going down a steep hill and back up, all with a 20lb sandbag on my shoulder.  Or crawling under barbed wire and through the mud.  Ended up doing way more burpees than I wanted (next year, more bacon please) - at every obstacle a fail = 25 burpees!  But I got through, survived and got to get hosed down by our wonderful fire department!

And this past weekend, I finally ran my very first, real trail race.  Moose Mountain.  Had two awesome running buddies sign up last minute, to run it with me, and that really made this the most fun.  We weren't in it to win it, but just to enjoy a gorgeous day in K-country, get a run in, and have fun along the way.  Every km or so was another photo op, and we laughed, skipped, danced and sang our way to the finish line.  We may have been last, but I guarantee we had the most fun!

Next up for me is a new Half just outside Cochrane, AB in 2 weeks.  It will be a hilly one, but it'll just be good training for San Francisco, which I was just reminded today is in 6 weeks!  And in between Cochrane and San Fran is Melissa's 22 (one of my all time favourite runs), Harvest Half (south end of Calgary...new views) and the Alzheimer's 10k, for Mom.  But I'm not freaking out...this is the year I finish.  No PBs for me, as I deal with injuries and stress and weight gain.  As long as I stand up every morning, and can put one leg in front of the other, the PBs will come.  Maybe not this year, maybe not even next, but then again, I will be in a new age bracket then, so who knows.  I may become one of those speedy old ladies we're all so envious of!!

Okay...Melatonin in (again...so grateful for this wonderful little pill of sleepiness!) and I'm ready to sleep.  Time to shut down and go to bed.  Bootcamp at 6am.

Today I am grateful for the wonderful running community I am part of.  There are far too many names to mention here, but each and every one of them has touched my life in the most life-affirming, positive, supportive and funny way.  I smile just thinking about them.  Thank you all for just being there.  Hugs and kisses...mmmwah!

Gratitude,

Confused

I know it's been awhile since I last blogged and even read some posts, but still...this new Blogger design is confusing me.  Where is everything the way I want it?!  Doesn't Blogger know that I don't like change, and that they're just adding to the pile right now?!?

Okay...things I'm grateful for.  Melatonin...it does appear to be helping.  Which is a Godsend.  I was not doing well on no sleep.  I did not make it to bootcamp on Monday (yes, I am still faithfully going at 6am, or the crack of stupid, as I like to call it - only for Trainer Josh) because of zero sleep the night before, but I did make it this morning.  Not feeling like the speedy, super-woman of camps past, but I'll get there again.  Today involved a lot of burpees (just for me...thanks Josh!), deadlifts with rows, jumping jacks, step-ups, leg drivers, mountain climbers, curls with press, squat press, v-sits, full body bike, incline push-ups, regular push-ups, bent over rows and running.  I was a very sweaty mess by the time I climbed in the car 60 minutes later.

Work is...my work location has changed because of a fire in our downtown office, and I'm not overly happy about it.  For the first time in 12.5 years, I have to drive to work.  Yes, I have walked to work, practically every day, for the last 12.5 years.  I miss it.  GREATLY!!  There is no where to walk around the new location, as they failed to install sidewalks in this particular end of town.  I guess they wanted more room for all the semi-trucks and the like.  It's going to be a very long year.  Yes, it will be summer 2013 before we're back downtown.  I do not like change.

I did manage to pack breakfast and lunch all three days this week, which is huge for me.  I have been sitting outside at lunch, to try and get some vitamin D and to shut off the rest of the world.  I plug into my iPod, open my Kobo and ignore.  It's going to be a long year...wait, I said that already.  I also packed my running gear, and drove straight from work to Eau Claire, and went out at 6pm for a 5k run.  Wasn't fast, wasn't perfect, but I was a sweaty mess again when I was done.  Boo-yah.  Dinner consisted of chicken tacos (soft, not fried), a pint of Guinness and a very small piece of cake (many birthdays, going away and racers off to Canada Ironman - lots to celebrate).  I am home, Melatonin is in, and I am preparing to wind down.

So I should shut this down, right?  Right.

I am also grateful that I can run.  I may not be fast, I may not win, but I never give up.

Gratitude,

Gratitude

 I am grateful today for:

- for purring kitties, despite their mommies not getting more than a few hours sleep, between hot flashes and hot weather.  They don't care...they purr, therefore they are.

 - Vietnam Fortune.  Best chicken satay pho this side of Vietnam, I dare say.  THE.BEST.  Whatever was tickling and niggling in my throat has gone away since a bowl at dinner.  Ah-ha, take that germs!!!

 - Work.  This one is hard.  I like my job.  I like my coworkers (well...mostly).  So I'm going to pull up the big-girl panties and start the countdown.  Only 325 more sleeps till we're back downtown.

 - Fortitude.  I packed my breakfast (Greek yogurt, oatmeal, blueberries), lunch (quinoa, tuna, cucumber, tomatoes and Greek dressing) and snack (Clif PB protein bar, apple).  And breakfast (yogurt, granola), lunch (noodles, a ton of veggies of all colours and tuna in sesame dressing...ooooo...different) and snack (cherries, fibre 1 bar) are in the fridge, waiting to be loaded up in the morning.  I can...nay, I WILL survive this year.

 - Melatonin.  Well, don't know if I've grateful yet, because I don't know if it's working yet, but I'm about to shut down here, go get ready for bed and with all fingers, toes and legs crossed, will actually sleep tonight.  Think good thoughts.

Gratitude,

Bliss

I've lost mine.  Not sure where I saw it last, or if I put it down somewhere and walked away, but I have lost my bliss.  Haven't even been motivated to blog.  No bliss.

Still running, but getting slower.  No bliss.

Trying new things, but they're getting harder (Spartan - got my butt handed to me!).  No bliss.

Paying Weight Watchers to GAIN weight over the summer.  No bliss.

Summer heat wave & menopause.  Definitely no bliss, but kind of out of my control.  I can still whine about it though!

Came full circle at work, trying something new before being put back in the niche I fit best in.  No bliss.  Add to this, a fire earlier this year at the downtown office has me now driving 20+km a day to the NE, where there is NOTHING (crappy restaurants, no sidewalks, no river pathway, no shopping, no NOTHING), thereby eliminating my daily dose of calming vitamin D and adding to my cloud of blah.  No bliss.

Social life...what social life?  No bliss.

Finances.  No bliss.

Home.  No bliss.

Barely been hiking.  No bliss.

Recently went to Victoria for the Epicure conference.  No bliss.

So...what exactly am I going to do about things?  At this particular point, I really have no idea but I do know I need to do something.  So I'm breaking it into small pieces.  Didn't lose it overnight, can't find it overnight, right?  So please bear with me.

I'm starting with a gratitude journal.  I will take what bliss I can from where I can.  A kiss from a puppy, the smell of rain, sunrise, etc..  I will be grateful for every day that I have.  Every day.  I'm also going to map out some plans for the key things I need to get control of...or at least those things I can control - weight, finances, training.  I'll keep you all informed, in order to keep me focused.

Today's gratitude:  Starbuck's Lime Refresher...cool, not too sweet, refreshing and under 100 calories for a vente.  And I am moving somewhat well, even after yesterday's butt-kick Spartan Race.  Heck, I'll even take the fact that I completed yesterday's Spartan race.  It was 5k of humbling moments and I managed to get to the finish line in one piece, albeit after having to get really good at doing burpees!!!

Grateful,