A Few of my Favorite Things

I thought that I would change things up a bit today and show you a few of my favorite things. I saw Vanessa's list of fave kitchen gadgets and I felt inspired ;)

First up is my hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works. Really, I could have easily taken a photo of my B&BW hand soaps too... gotta love those fresh scents and cute bottles!



















One of my next favorite things are my weight-lifting gloves. Before these babies I got sore hands from using weights and now I can pump it out like nobody's business~ all 70 pounds that I benched last night while Mr. Wonderful was benching 200 pounds without gloves :P But, hey... I have sensitive hands - what can I say!



















Another favourite thing of mine are our new runners... especially after a workout like last night! What a beautiful sight!!



















I absolutely ADORE my new IPhone and more specifically my Bridge to 10K app with the GPS feature... you can't beat that friends!

















And two last things that I live and breathe for... the view from my deck which screams relaxation and showcases my comfort spot (our trailer) and the brand-new deck itself. I love my home and now this deck just says, "BRING ON THE SUMMER"






























What are some of your favourite things right now?

Make it a great day!

Bridge Time :D

Good morning everybody!

I am sitting here giggling because I think that I must have lost my marbles last week. I did week 6, day 1 of couch to 5K and it did not go that great... had another hard start BUT I think that it was my choice of attire. I was pulling down my shirt and pulling up my shorts... just overall very uncomfortable! It certainly interfered with my run but I got through it with my little teenager right beside me. She actually did very well - I am proud of her.

Then I went to Montreal for work again... that is twice in two weeks! I spent three days each week in meetings and too busy and fatigued to do much. That being said, the minute I got home I opened my Iphone, downloaded my application (B210K) and went out for a run... and I DID IT! The Bridge to 10K program is intended for C25K graduates but I did it anyway :D It is amazing what we can do when we decide to do it.

Then I did the second day of week 1 and managed to run almost a full mile further than the first day! I ran outside for the second run and it seems that I can go faster outside... is that weird? Anyway, whatever the reason I feel that I have really accomplished something! I am certain that on July 3rd I will do alright with the 10K race.

On another note... I downloaded my playlist for running and included the following song... is it perfect or what?!

Mean - Taylor Swift

I felt so inspired and empowered when I was listening to this!

Also, on the diet side of things... I have taken on a new challenge - The 10 day Sugar-free challenge. I have been doing this running thing for six weeks now and I have gained 5 pounds! I have been watching what I eat but it seems that something is not right. SO, I decided to shock my system by completing eliminating sugar in all its forms. WISH ME LUCK! It is only for 10 days...

On the running note, since B210K is a six week program and since my run is coming up in 5 weeks my plan is to run 5 days per week to complete the program in 4 weeks which should give me a week to gain speed. :S I can do it!

Here are the stats:

C25K, W6, D1: (outside)
Calories: 410
Avg HR: 137
Max HR: 175

B210K, W1, D1: (on treadmill)
Calories: 638
Avg HR: 150
Max HR: 179

B210K, W1, D2: (outside, different route)
Calories: 666
Avg HR: 162
Max HR: 175

Make it a GREAT day!

Wanna win a TON of running stuff?

I was doing my rounds and came upon this entry... ... now that is a giveaway! You wanna get in on the fun? Just head over to the run to the finish and enter in the draw!

At war in my head...

OK, so I am on to week 6.. SIX people, I can hardly believe it!! I am nearly done the program and I know now that I will finish this program and I will be a runner and then I will be able to keep up with my Mr. Wonderful and my friend Terri Lynn. I am actually looking forward to running alongside of my friends and to just run.

So, as I said last week I ran week 5, day 1 and 2 together... back to back. I was hesitant to do day three of week five just because I was worried and wondered if I could really run for 20 minutes without a walk break. I was also waiting for a break in the freezing cold weather to go for an outdoor run... but since it did not look good weather-wise for the next couple of days I decided, on Friday night, to bite the bullet and do the run on the treadmill. I pressed start on the Iphone, got my music going and set out to walk for the warm up. I couldn't understand why I was feeling winded and overwhelmed and this was the walking part of the program!!! I slowed it down a bit and still wasn't feeling great but it was time to run and so I pumped up the speed and I went too fast... so I slowed it down, then I felt guilty and speed it back up and then I I realized that it was not going to be a good run. I battled with myself for a bit slowing it down and then speeding it back up ... I did this and continued this war in my head for 12 minutes of the run and then I CHOSE to run and I ran. I ran the remaining 8 minutes and then I continued to run through the cool down and continued to run until I ran those 20 minutes. Then I cooled down for 5 minutes... so I got through the run.

Here are the stats:

Calories 464
Time: 47:10
Average HR: 149
Max HR: 166

Now on to week six... wish me luck.

Make it a great day!

Run Forrest, RUN!

I can always remember being sore and having sore legs... ALWAYS! One of my first real memories of something being seriously wrong with me was at the age of 8. I was playing with my brother and my cousins (all boys) and we were walking down to a brook to play. It was on a gravel road and I was tagging along in the back and just trying to keep up with all the boys, who really did not want me there. My knees began to pain and I knew that I was going to have trouble but I wouldn't say anything because I did not want the boys to say, "That is why we wanted you to stay home" so I carried on. The pain got worse and worse and then my knee let go and I fell... hard! Blood was running down both of my legs, stones were in my cuts and I was ever so grateful to have the boys there. They were all so sweet, especially my brother who tried to make me laugh and forget about the pain. They told me to limp, like Terry Fox... and that is exactly what I did, all the way back to Aunt Judy's house.

Fast forward a number of years and many Doctor's appointment later... I finally found a Doctor who seemed to believe what I was saying... and prescribed braces - just what every teen-aged girl wants... leg braces for BOTH legs. Regardless of the look, I wore them when I was doing gym because it would have looked even worse if I would have fell flat on my face in the middle of a soccer game... right?! WRONG! The kids were horrible... they made fun of me and said, Run Forrest, RUN! I will never forget the feeling of embarrassment that I felt at that moment... but I shrugged it off and said that it didn't bother me. I had lots of friends that understood so I did not need to have everyone think that it was ok to wear these ulgy braces. Fortunately, or unfortunately - haven't decided which it is - I was allergic to the material that the braces were made from and couldn't wear them long... so I just went about my business without the additional support and really just didn't get very good grades in Phys Ed.

Fast forward to last night... here I am, 35 years old and I finally know what is wrong with me. I take my meds and do my best to force myself to keep moving so that I can try and manage my weight with all the meds. I have recently taken on the challenge of doing the Couch to 5K program because I want to learn to run... something that has always been out of reach for me and my joints. I arrived home last night from travelling a 10 hour trip and my legs were S-T-I-F-F!! I came home and made supper, ate supper with my family and sat down later to a cup of green tea... legs up and I was resting but my legs were almost jittery. So, I told Mr. Wonderful that I was going out for a run and I convinced my teenager to go with her old Momma. I pushed start on the C25K app on Mr. Wonderful's Iphone and began the week 5, day 1 program. We warmed up and then we began running... 5 minute runs followed by 3 minute walks... NO PROBLEM for this old lady but the teenager had trouble keeping up. I felt so good after the cool-down that I pressed start for week 5, day 2... eight minute runs with a three minute walk in between...that is right, I did both back-to-back and I did GREAT! As I was running home I heard those same kids yelling, Run Forrest, RUN... and I ran! Oh how I wish they could see me now!!

So, on that note, I have ordered my own Iphone... no more Blackberry for me. I am downloading C210K as soon as I get it because July 3rd is coming soon and I am registering for my first 10K... I decided that I would go right into the 10K because it would be worth my trip to do an hour run but a half-hour is just not enough... call me crazy :P

So, it is official ... July 3rd I will be running my first 10K - yeah me!!

So... here are the stats from yesterday's run:

Calories: 763
Average HR: 165
Max HR: 183

Albeit, these stats do NOT include the warm up because I forgot to turn on the HRM :P So, please no freaking out for the average heart rate being so high... I was able to talk with my daughter the whole way.

Make it a great day!

Oh yeah, and I ran 8.65KM last night... :D

Here is the run:

C25K Week Four Recap

Week four is in the bag! I can run for 5 minutes in a row now... who would have thought I could do that. Now this week I don't get the three minute run because they are all five minute intervals but I am looking forward to pushing myself to get 'er done.

Week 4, Day 1:

Calories: 379
Avg HR: 153
Max HR: 178

Week 4, Day 2:
Calories: 432
Avg HR: 128
Max HR: 174

Week 4, Day 3:
Calories: 412
Avg HR: 156
Max HR: 176


So I ran outside for the last run that is why my average heart rate is up again... there are a lot of hills where I am running. I do love running outdoors though because it is real terrain and if I am going to actually do a 5K run then I have to be able to run on the ground. SO, I am gonna keep pushing through and my heart rate should regulate the better I get.

I also did a 14 km bike ride with Mr. Wonderful on Sunday with the same hills and managed to burn 438 calories with my average heart rate 152 and max at 166. We also did a shoulders and arms workout for 277 calories and I did Cardio Abs for 123 calories. So, this week I stayed under my calorie goal all week and burned over 2000 calories... not at my 3500 calorie goal but I will get there...

Hope that you had a great week of fitness too... make it a great day!

Map my Run

About two years ago a friend of mine introduced me to running and to Map my Run. I tried to run back then but with my disease and lack of good drugs I was not able to keep it going. So, now that I am back at it and running on the roads a little I logged in again. Here are the facts from the last run...

Distance: 4.65 km Pace: 6:52 min/km Duration: 32:00 Speed: 8.7 km/h

I can't wait until I can run an hour... that is my goal now - to run non-stop for one hour. You know what the funny thing is that when I used to wear knee braces in high school the kids used to say, "Run Forrest, RUN!" and now I will have them saying it again, but for a different reason.

Make it a great day!

Cancer takes some of the best so I am going to help KICK it's ASS!

Have you ever had a person make such an impact in your life that you know that you would not be the same person today had it not been for them? Have you ever watched two people who truly loved each other, and then have one of them longing to be with the other after death has taken one of them? Have you ever witnessed the peace that comes over someone who is passing as they know that they are finally going to live their eternal existance with their one true love? I have!! And I miss them so much that I can not even explain it!

My Poppie passed away from cancer in 2006 and I miss him everyday. I loved him so much and for so many reasons. When my Dad was suffering with alcoholism I would seek counsel from Poppie. When my Mom and Dad were arguing and not getting along (because of Dad's drinking) I would go to my grandparents house and see what true love looked like. I can still see my Granddad polishing the furniture on Saturday when Mum was doing the Saturday cleaning. I can still hear my Grandma (Mum) singing hymns in the kitchen as she baked and the look in my Poppies eyes as he listened and hummed along. And I can still hear my Mum telling Poppie to cut it out when he sang along because of all the things he did well singing was not one of them!

My Poppie was a gift, not only to me and the whole family but to this country that we live in. He fought in WWII and was wounded and lost a lung as a result. He was a man who believed in God, his wife and his family and he is a man that is missed greatly.

I love you Mum and Poppie, may you both rest in peace... together! Know that on June 11 I will be fighting too ... fighting against cancer! If you have lost a loved one and would like to help me fight, please pledge me as I walk the Relay for Life. You can go here and pledge as much as you are able and every dollar helps us fight together! Thank you to those who have given already... we are in this together!

OK, you are going to think that I am CRazY

OR just deaf... but last night, when I was doing Week 4, Day 1 I did NOT hear the prompt to tell me to walk after the first 5 minute run. For the record, I had my lil girl and my lil boy in there making noise and my hubby working out at the same time, but I really did not hear it! I asked my hubby to check it because I was sure that I was running longer than 5 minutes and it was on the Ihome charging ... he picked it up and brought me the phone and I saw that I had two minutes left on run 3/4 but it should have been on run 2/4!! I ran the 5 minute interval followed by the 2.5 minute walk interval and one minute of the 3 minute run interval!! No wonder I was feeling the strain!!! I quickly took the speed down to 3.6 to allow my HR to come back down and ran the last minute of that run interval and then I was back on track. When I stepped off the treadmill I was WET! The sweat was dripping from the brow, my clothes were drenched and the sweat was just a steady flow. It felt GREAT! I couldn't believe that I was able to run 8.5 minutes and could still talk to my Mr. WOnderful to ask him to check it out. I was only running on 5.4 MPH but I was running!!

My HR average is gonna be high again but the 8.5 minute run had something to do with that...

Calories: 379
Avg HR: 153
Max HR: 178

After the run I worked out my chest for a while and burned a little more calories but stopped at 8pm when TBL came on.

Make it a great day!

A giveaway for Champions... that is us!

Hey there, I found a blog that I have been following for a little bit now... Shut up and Run and it is a great running blog. Well, she had a Champion jacket and shorts sent to her by Champion (how does that happen??? I would love to have random companies sending me stuff) and she has a set to GIVEAWAY to US... go and check it out!

A picture share

A pic of my oldest as she begins to train for the western events of the year... you see I am a hockey mom in the winter, a swimming mom in the spring and a rodeo mom in the summer... the Fall is for me :P



Make it a great day!

couch to 5K - week three recap

Good morning fellow bloggers! I just finished up week three and today begins week four of the C25K program. I have given up on trying to catch up with the X (forgive me Tony) but right now I really want to learn to run while my joints are well enough to do it. I am feeling cautiously excited about increasing my running time from 9 minutes (in week 3) to 16 minutes this week. I am going to keep telling myself that I can and the result will be that I WILL. You just have to get your mind right and forget about your body trying to scream... and you just do it.

I should mention that my rheumatologist has re-prescribed prednizone again even though I am on Remicade. He was unhappy with the inflammation that is still in my joints and claims that I should not be feeling that... I wonder if I will ever find the recipe that will keep the inflammation away, but I am being patient.

So, here are the facts:

W3, D1: I was so scared of this run but I did a great job; however, I dropped the speed a bit too much and really didn't get the calorie burn that I was hoping for. I forgot to stop my HRM so it marked 418 BUT that was 30 minutes after my run. Avg HR was 121 and max was 171

W3, D2: I increased the speed a bit... took it back up to 5.6 and was breathing heavy but my head was not good that day neither. My average HR was 142 and my maximum HR was 176 for a calorie burn of 332

W3, D3: I decided to take it to the streets and ran to the second range of our town. I chose to take the gravel roads because it offered more cushion. The elevation was certainly not at 0 like the treadmill and it showed in my HR. My avg HR was 153 and my max was 179 for a calorie burn of 363. I should say that I saw two deer on my run and I have decided that although it is more challenging, I think that I like outdoor running more. I like the change of scenery, I like the fresh air and I like the feeling of "going somewhere" BUT I don't like that I am forced to pace myself... I have to learn that skill yet.

SO, that was my week of C25K and I am moving on to week four this week. I wonder how long it took all of you runners to see a difference in your running... am I really going to be a runner in 9 weeks? Can that happen? I hope so...

Make it a great day!

I did it, with grace I might add ;)

I did it, I DID IT! Week 3, day 1 is complete and I was able to run the three minutes and really had enough steam to keep it going but I followed the program and walked after the three minute run.

I did lower the speed to 5.4MPH because I was afraid that I couldn't do it... now tomorrow I am planning on increasing the speed to 5.6 and then on Saturday I will increase it again if I feel good. I can't explain how worried I was about the run - I was concerned that I was not able to go for three minutes and now I think that I may be able to go longer. I think that I can do this thing and I can actually see myself running that 5K!! For someone who has struggled with joint issues all of my life this is like a dream come true.

I don't think that the Shakeology Cleanse is meant to be done without Shakeology :P

Just a really quick update in case there are people praying for me to make it through the Cleanse... STOP PRAYING - I didn't make it past supper :P

I think that i will buy the Shakeology supply to last me through the cleanse because that may have been the problem. I should say that I felt perfectly full until I was cooking supper for my family... then it was more than my willpower could take not to eat the healthy and yummy supper that I lovingly prepared for my family. So, I chowed down with them and drank a green tea after the meal and felt more satisfied than I did all day. I COULD not, WOULD not ever be anorexic ... this chick loves food too much.

I felt nothing different during the day... no cleanse action with this chick and I wonder if it is because it was not Shakeology. I actually ended up retaining water... my ankles looked like CANKLES by the end of the day (for the record, it was before supper). Anyway, I am eating again today ... off to check out the prices of Shakeology.

Make it a great day!

C25K and Week 3 redo

Well, good Monday morning everyone! As I mentioned in a previous post week three of the X was a colossal fail so we decided to take two :) Yesterday we did Chest and Back and I have decided that I really do not like that routine. I used to hate it, during round one but I thought that I grew to appreciate all the push ups and chin ups... but i LIED to myself. I think that the reason I had a hard time getting on with week three is because of this DVD. Anyway, I got through the darn thing but my calorie count was low because I really wanted to be biking instead of doing chest and back. My heart wasn't in it and as such the calorie count was poor:

Calories: 326
AVG HR: 105
MAX HR: 153

Mr. Wonderful always makes himself sick with this video... and we have to take an extra break or two during which time I sit and wonder why I am doing these damn push ups that I struggle so much with.

SO, to get my head right I headed out, without the munchkins and without Mr. WOnderful and I went for my first real bike ride of the season. It was so nice with my IPod in my ears, toque on my head and layers of clothes on... I just kept biking. I ended up biking 18.72 Kilometers in 1 hour and 5 minutes with cold and strong East winds which affected my time. I was in a much better frame of mind when I got back from that run.

Calories: 692
Avg HR: 148
Max HR:167

Additionally, I finished up week 2 of Couch to 5K strong but that doesn't make me any less fearful of today's run... I am scared!!! I am scared of not being able to run for 3 minutes... or am I ready? I am taking Mr. Wonderful's Iphone and I am going to give it a shot. I am going to try and get out of my head and just run. Wish me luck ;)

Here is the breakdown for week 2

Day 1: 434
Day 2: 363
Day 3: 395

So overall it was an ok week. Didn't do what I set out to do but I think my brain needed the rest. I did start the Shakeology Cleanse today -minus Shakeology (using BSN) so I hope to see a move in the right direction on the scale this week. I will keep you posted.

My goals for this week:

Sucessfully complete week three of the X
Run my way through C25K - week 3
Keep my diet clean!!

Make it a great day! OOOhhhhhm and exercise YOUR RIGHT and VOTE today all you Canadians!!

Map my run... ok, bike ride :P

11.63 miles in 1 hour 5 minutes... good for 692 calories :P I love Sundays.. lots of time to play. I will update Monday with C25K and P90x...