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!