Boot camp fun

Tonight's class was hard because it was hot. There was this great ball of fire in the sky all day. I was afraid!!! But it warmed everything up, dried stuff off and hatched about a tra-zillion mosquitoes. Mosquitoes LURV me...I guess my blood is quite tasty. They tell all their friends. Despite spraying myself down before class, I was weak by the end of it from lack of blood! And note to the wise...do not slap at a mosquito with a 10lb weight in your hand...it will hurt!

We ran up the BA hill, across the ridge (love my minimus trail shoes for this) and back down the west side trail/stairs. Then we really got down to business. Split into groups, we all started with 15 drop-leg flies followed by 8 (each arm) plank rows. We jumped up and sprint to cone 1, lunge walk to cone 2, sprint to the benches. At the benches 15 dips, 15 incline pushups and 15 (each leg) leg drives. Sprint to the next cone, 15 squats. Return the way we came, doing all the moves back to the mats. Start over, this time to the other benches, we we did 15 curls (with bands) followed by 15 shoulder presses. Sprint to the next cone, 8 (each leg) lunges. Sprint the little bitch hill to the 2nd bend, run back down to where we did the squats. Do 15 squats, sprint back up little bitch and then return the way we came, repeating all moves. Collapse...I mean, return to mats to start over. Okay, we had a brief rest and water break, but did start over, DOUBLING EVERYTHING! And rather than out and back, we did the whole circuit as a circle. I was extremely close to losing my lunch on the hill.

Finally back at the mats, and after another quick rest, we did a funky upside down pyramid. Starting at 12, we did squat swings followed by lat raises, and then dropped to hold plank until 1 minute was up. Then up and repeat, only to 11 and so on until we hit 6. The plank holds got longer for some people, but by #8, my 10lb weights felt like 50 and I was slowing down. Did I mention it was hot outside?! Finished our hour with some ab work - Trainer Josh calls them the Transformers...we "transform" from v-sit to banana (legs and upper body off the ground...you look like a banana) to scissors. Repeat three times... I lay on the mat for a good 5 minutes afterwards, just trying to cool down.

After some stretching, I whipped into Walmart for cat litter and drove it down to Mom's. I swear I put over 300km on James this weekend, which is redonkulous for someone who walks everywhere! Gah! Quick visit with Mom, then home because I was starving. Drove past many temptations (McDonald's, Wendy's, A&W, Harveys, Sunterra, Safeway, Coop) and made a quick, tasty meal of sauteed peppers, onion and low-fat sausage, seasoned with Epicure Sweet & Spicy mustard and served over brown rice. So good my camera ate the photo...okay, I was so hungry I didn't even think to grab said camera!

All right...it's getting late, and I have to get some zzz's.

Later,

Damp Sunday run

No Zumba yesterday...not enough interest for a summer session, so hopefully it starts up again in the fall. Now I have Saturdays open...what ever will I do with my time?!

Yesterday I got up, puttered, then went and collected Mom, got some groceries, cat food and chocolates. Hauled some trash and then off to the north east end of town for my nephew and niece's house for her baby shower. I have to say I like where they are living now, rather than their last place (they are a bit of gypsies, but must settle down, since the little one will be here any day), and I feel they are a bit more settled. After meeting their friends, watching the gift opening and then noshing on some grub (hot dogs, potato salad, veggies) I came home and spent the evening watching TV.

Up and met the group at Eau Claire, for a 22km long, slow run. I made sure I had a good breakfast this week (the heart rate spiking last week unnerved me a tad), and pulled out the camel back for double the fluid. And I had my standby OJ/water mix in the bag, rather than just water like last week. The more I think of it, the more I think it may have even been the gu I had at the halfway mark that did me in. I don't normally take them, but because I didn't have OJ, it was something new and different. New and different doesn't work.

Today, we started our run in the rain. Thankfully not as heavy as Footstock a few weeks back, but it was drizzling and cool for a good part of the run. Of course, I had my windbreaker off by the time we hit our first walk break! Today we went east and south, a nice treat from our usual western routes. There were quite a few hills, but I love these ladies and their trail training...walk the hills up! Brilliant!!! After a couple of rest breaks (potty for the others...I am a camel), we finished 22km in the sunshine in just over 3 hours or an 8:16/km pace. Felt good the whole run, although my one arch is a little tender now. Not sure what's up, but I'll keep my eye on it. After a quick lunch of egg wrap (protein), fruit salad (YUM!), coffee (much needed) and chocolate milk (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE), I whipped up to the north west this time, for a food party at a friends. It's like Epicure, but less spices and more dip mixes, I think. I got there very late (it started at noon) so most everyone was gone, but I did sample and order a couple of things and had a quick visit with S.

Home, nap on the couch, dinner of baked potato topped with salsa, low-fat sour cream and shredded cheese and a piece of chicken, and now it's almost bed time. Can't believe it's the work week already. At least it's a short one, with Friday off to celebrate Canada Day. I may go for a hike with the girls on Friday, but haven't quite decided yet. We'll see how the week goes.

Later,

Dougie Fir fun

Tonight at boot camp we decided we needed to get away from the park, as every picnic area was filled with screaming children...oh, and their parental units! It was a nice Friday night and people were taking advantage of it. So off we went to run the Douglas Fir trail. This time, instead of stopping at the top, we kept going down the other side. Lots of stairs, tree roots, rocks, hills, climbs, descents, mud, puddles, trail. The storm that was blowing in blew right on buy us, and we stayed dry and cool in the deep forest that is the Douglas Fir. If you didn't know it, you would never guess that you were in the heart of a huge city, and just steps away from people's back yards! We finished our little run with a sprint down and back up a rather steep hill (the service road that leads up to Douglas Fir from the east) before returning on the trail to our mats, way back at Edworthy Park. The total run was just over 3.5km, but that could be wrong too, as Mr. Garmin doesn't really like hills all that much. Can't accurately count the distance up. Finished the class with some core work...v-sits, push-ups, planks, plank rows, drop-legs, toe touches and my personal favourite, v-sit to banana to scissors...all one move. OUCH!!!!

Stopped in at Walmart on the way home to pick up stuff for my niece's baby shower. Since the baby is still in the oven, and I don't know what they're having, I went totally neutral. Faceclothes, some sleepers, a hat/mitt/bootie set (all in Pooh motive) and a BIG box of diapers! I would have made a diaper cake, but I am so not motivated!! Tried that once, and it's harder than it looks. Well, not harder, but more fussy than I choose to be tonight! This is one I made a couple of years ago for my neighbour.

Found out Winterstart opened today, so I was among the first to get registered (41 at last count, and I know at least 15 of them). It's a 5-mile race in Banff, AB, in November at night and it is a blast! It's so cool to run along in the cool night air, watching glow sticks bopping along the road ahead of you. Okay, so there's a wicked hill you have to climb and then come back down, but it ends at the host hotel, where they turn the underground parking area into a beer garden for the racers! Beer and cookies...best way to end a run! Then, that got me looking for the Resolution 5K Run, which is on New Year's Eve: also open, so I signed up right away. Instead of a shirt, you get a winter running jacket, and this year's colour is a nice blue. I have the bright orange of last year (call it my running/hunting jacket) and yellow from 2009, so it'll be nice to switch it up I am one of 6 people currently registered! But don't be afraid...it sells out every year. Then I decided to get on it and sign up for the Alzheimer's 10k in October (Canadian Thanksgiving weekend). This one I will fund-raise for, but closer to the race date. So far it's me and one other lady registered! Could be a lonely run!! LOL!!

In case you've lost count, that's officially 19 races to the end of the year. I have run 8 to date, some good and some not so good. Some I run for fun (Winterstart, Rogue's Pirate run) and some for serious (Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto marathons). But mainly I run for me. And because I can.

Later,

I got nuthin...

Title-wise, that is. Couldn't seem to come up with anything clever anyway.

First off, let me say:
I LOVE THESE THINGS!!!!!!

They are totally comfortable, I stayed upright and had a great boot camp experience. Best part is today I have no leg pain or any of the other symptoms people talk about while switching to barefoot training.

Speaking of boot camp, it was a really good class. Hot but good. It's amazing how hot +24C feels after months and months and months of cold, dreary, wet weather. I didn't want to say it out loud, but it was almost "too hot". Shhh....don't tell Mother Nature, she'll take it all away! Back to camp...Trainer Josh and I had a heart-to-heart at the beginning of class, as he voiced what I've been struggling with for weeks...despite running, boot camp and zumba, I am not losing anything. Not an ounce, not an inch. Of course, then I have to fess up to eating my feelings, which is totally ironic because the feeling is frustration over not losing weight! Vicious circle!!! BUT I did start the eLifestyles program this week. It is a 12-week program that gives you menus, food tips, lifestyle ideas, coaching, etc, to help meet your goals. It was a WagJag coupon (or Groupon, I forget) and I thought it couldn't hurt. I'm on 1,500 calories a day, which is difficult for a 12+ year points follower, but I'm entering the food into WW etools, and so far am eating within my points, as well as using the weekly points allowance for "treats". I was down a pound today (yahoo!) and am committed to staying focused. Goal is 10 pounds...that will get me back under 200, and then I can chip away at the next goal.

Boot camp had us running up the upper-bitch (where the stairs are), where we also did squats and hops up. My quads were totally po'd though, as I ran the Crescent Heights stairs the night before. We finished with some killer band work, more sprints, weights and wicked killer ab work (full sit-up with one leg extended out to the side....OW!).

Met up with my last Epicure hostess, closed her party and met the gang at the Barley Mill. Man...it's barely summer and the place was so disorganized that we waited over an hour for our food. My medium-rare steak sandwich was well done and cool, but by that point I was chewing on the table so I ate it anyway. Hope they get it together.

Came home, and after entering said Epicure order, I finally crawled into bed about 11:30. The heat of the day combined with my own little "flashes" (I LOVE getting older...it rocks) had me tossing all night, so when the alarm went off at 6 I reset it and went into work at 8:30. It was totally weird working till 5, but I needed the sleep.

Home, where I made this awesome meal for dinner. Okay, so I cheated on the salad (kit came with black beans, grated cheese, grilled corn and a smokey ranch dressing, which I used half), but the fish tacos are tilapia sprinkled with Epicure Guacamole seasoning and baked, and then the corn tortilla is smeared with a mix of sour cream and seasoning (just realized I totally forgot to slice the avocado - d-oh!) and a sprinkling of cheese. The salsa is a tomato, pineapple. jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice.



I ate and waited for awhile, before deciding I really was hungry, so made a dessert of a slider bun, a bit of Nutella and fresh raspberries. Devine! Sorry...couldn't get the picture to come out clear.

I am going to head to bed early tonight, as I can't sleep in tomorrow. I want to get to boot camp at 5, as this will be my third time this week. And fingers crossed that there's enough of us registered for zumba to start on Saturday!

Later,

Splat Prevention

These were what I was wearing yesterday during boot camp, hence my splatastic fall. Please note no grippies!!


Today I walked 3.66km to and from Gord's Running Store and picked up a pair of these. New Balance Minumus Trail shoes. Notice the grippies! Can't wait to try them out tomorrow.

Tonight I met up with M&M (two of the ladies from Sunday's run) for another run. We started out at Eau Claire and made our way east to Centre St. Up Centre St and then up a rather steep hill (did 15:15 to get to the top), circled around to the west, ran to Crescent Heights, and because one of the ladies hips were bothering her, we ran (vague description, as I walked!!) the Crescent Height staircase, otherwise referred to as Calgary's outdoor Stairmaster! One hundred and sixty-seven steps bottom to top, and one heck of a climb! We did three laps and then aimed ourselves for home. We had planned on one final loop of Prince's Island, but the hip still ached, so we finished at Eau Claire, with 3.51km under our belt. However, we did run for about 45 minutes, and since I was a soaking wet mess (no rain tonight!) also got our workout on.

Met up with some peeps from past running clinics and enjoyed an iced mocha before heading for home. Really should be in bed, but whatever reason, I sit here typing. I really must try going to bed sometime before midnight!!

Later,

Splat!

I know that I say boot camp hurts, but usually for far different reasons!

I decided that since tonight was the start of a new 6-week session, I would start wearing my Vibrams to class. I was wearing them inside during the winter classes, but wanted to get used to wearing them and actually running in them. Tonight may not have been the best evening to start!

It rained last night...okay, stormed is more like it. That left for muddy fields, and the Vibrams, in true "barefoot" fashion don't have the best grips!! We started with a run down the pathways, which actually felt okay. I was running with someone, who was grilling me about running and stuff (that was kind of cool...) and while we weren't going fast, we were running at a good pace. The legs and feet felt great. This would be when the rain started, again, by the way.

To try and keep us "dry" (our usual shelter was being used by a group having a picnic...yeah, that's what we'll call it), Trainer Josh took us up to the spot at the base of the Bitch. I'm still getting used to walking on rocks in these things (ouch, ooo, ouch), but I still ran up the Bitch several times, and felt okay. Coming back down I was a little unsure, as I felt myself slip a few times, but always caught my balance. We did pyramid squats, ran the hill, more squats, more hill, a brick of rows, lats, kick-backs and squat press and then run the hill (repeat two more times!!!). Between the humidity (the rain finally stopped), donating blood earlier today (I was past the 6-8 hrs of no exertion...almost...) I was struggling a bit, but as usual did my best to keep up with everyone.

Then it happened...we were on our way back to our mats, with everyone walking down the road. To avoid the rocks, I thought "aha, the little hill to the grass would be perfect"...I took two steps and then WHAMMO!!!! Both feet flew out from underneath me, and I landed right on my ass! HARD!!! I was covered with mud...my Garmin was dredged in it, I'm sure it got in my hair as my hat went flying, my arms, my legs... It's a good thing I can laugh at myself, because I was ready for everyone else to burst out when I finally caught up with all of them. "Oh, Carol...you have something on your back". Hahahahahahahaha...whatever!


Finished up the hour, and then with a towel (I keep one in the truck) made it home in time to change and give the keys to my newest tenant. Then supper of crab sliders (fake crab, mayo, lite cream cheese on a slider bun) and some leftover potato salad. I finished cleaning up, and finding little wounds, and have been prone on the couch since. I should have done a load of laundry, but I'll do that tomorrow. I luckily have loads of running gear to choose from, as I am meeting up with M. for another run at 6.

My latest medal rack sums it all for me.


Later,

Sunday run and other musings

I decided to join up with some friends from previous clinics, for this mornings long, slow run. Since I'm not signing up for the next clinic, and pretty much everyone I know (and can keep up with!) were running elsewhere (Congrats to D.C. for his PB in the Winnipeg Marathon) or just enjoying one last weekend before the clinic starts, I was running with a group of wonderful ladies that I've never really run with before. While I was pacing at 5hr, or even to finish, these ladies were pacing at 4:30 or faster! I admit to being a little concerned as to how I would keep up, but I ended up setting the pace.

The forecast was for rain, although the sun was actually out. Or, at least I think it was the sun...ball of fire in the sky, but since we here in Calgary haven't seen a lot of it lately, I had to guess what it was! We took off to the west, heading to Shouldice Park, as the goal today was 20km. We were doing really well with the pace, averaging at nice 7:30 range, which is fast for me. The weather cooperated too, as it was warm and sunny, but humid. So odd for Calgary, and I do prefer it drier. Only got rained on once, for about 5 minutes, but by time, I was soaked with sweat anyway. Couldn't get much wetter, and the cooler temps were most welcome by this point. At least for hot little me!

I felt really good, until about the 16-17k mark. Not sure if it was my actual monitor, or me, but suddenly my heart-rate red-lined at 180-185. Decided to walk for awhile to try and bring the rate down, before running at a slower pace. Some ladies thought it was dehydration, and I think my nutrition could have been better (I didn't have any OJ to mix with my water this morning - took a gel though). Finished 20.4 at 2 hrs, 41 mins (12 minutes faster than the Half I did last week) but I knew I needed some food, FAST. After some stretching, I enjoyed chocolate milk (best recovery food, EVER), a bowl of fresh fruit salad and an egg wrap (eggs, cheese, bacon and green pepper in a wrap). Felt more human as soon as I got the milk in me. Rounded out the meal with a cup of coffee.

The ladies and I then sat and discussed future trail runs. They are all training for a 100km race in September...that's just crazy talk, if you ask me! But the trail runs make sense, and will most definitely shake things up for me. Can't wait to try out a few with them, schedule permitting.

Came home, showered and had some more water. Can't decide what to do (slight headache - I hate wearing hats) although I'm thinking a nap would be outstanding.

Happy Father's Day to all father's out there. Hug your Dad, if you can. I do miss mine today.

Later,