Tag Archives: resolution

Apr 06 2015
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My Story, Trots

Hamster Ball

It has been a long time since I last wrote without the purpose being work, school, or dictionary- length to do lists.

So once again I come back to my blog, my old friend who I have been avoiding only for productivity related reasons, I swear. It’s not you, it’s me.

My workouts are still going, and my running is still going,

I am less than a month away from a 5km race that I signed up for after running for three 2- minute intervals and it seemed liked a good idea. It must have been the runner’s high. As of now I have one 5km run under my belt in a time of 26:07. At least I’m not risking over training and burning out.

My post- surgery PB is 24:32 so that is my ultimate goal regardless of what my physio might tell you. I’ve got a ways to go but I’ve learned to never doubt what your legs can do on race day. Or maybe the lesson is to never doubt what your heart can make your legs do.

The weather in Toronto is still anti- running (says my inner 80 year old) and as much as I’ve always boycotted “riding the treadmill”, after several months of doing my best my hamster in a ball impression on said treadmill, I’m finding it hard to drag myself out in the blasting wind and freezing temperatures. Apparently missing outdoor runs has aged my attitude about weather by a few decades. Very fitting, as it now matches my 80 year old perspective on… pretty much everything else.

April is a good time to re-evaluate your fitness goals for the year that you probably set in January with the best intentions but then forgot about at the first sight of cake. It is time to get out your thesaurus in an attempt to make your goals sound different than the unaccomplished attempts of January and get back on the horse. Or hamster ball, as the case may be.

There is still a lot of 2015 to come; keep your eyes on the prize, my friends.

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Jan 09 2014
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In The Gym, My Story, Squats

Started From the Bottom Now We’re Here

I am working hard, I am lifting heavy, my body fat has dropped (stay away Polar vortex), and I am building the body that will carry me to my goals this year.

I made the mistake of not taking baselines post injury because I chose to focus on what I hated (my tight pants) instead of appreciating the potential for progress (referencing my tight pants works here too). There have been many times that I have scoffed at people who say, “I want to work out for another month before I set my baselines”, and I easily point out the flaw to their plan without recognizing myself as a fellow baseline avoider. A sheep in trainer’s clothing.

As much as I would love to know how much muscle I have gained, I will forever be left to make assumptions with my biased interpretations of my self image. The only fact I know is that I was not previously ready for beach season. Now I am ready for it. According to women’s fitness magazines, this is a measurement of health.

Have you set baselines? Go weigh, measure, and assess your fitness. Use any dissatisfaction as motivation to chase your goals. I am diligently working away on erasing any “post surgery restrictions” from my file, and adding to my progress daily. I would love to look back on my journey from a statistical point of view and be able to graph it, chart it, and analyse it… if I so desired.

To tackle this year: my first- and hopefully not last- triathlon as well as a 23:59 5km. If you read along last year, you will know that my current PB is 24:32 and yes I expect you to remember these stats. That was a challenge that came together on my second attempt. Word on the street is that Guelph is a great triathlon for newbies and I will do the tried, tested, and true 5km course in London at the Forest City Road Races.

Right now I am focused on building, re-building, and re-creating in the gym. More squatting than trotting. And let me tell you I am standing on the shoulders of giants and I expect big things from myself this year.

Cue the baselines.

stiffdead

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Jan 01 2014
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My Story

Year of The Fit

I had originally planned to spend my New Years Eve celebrating with friends at a house party. We would have been laughing, screaming, and making jokes that wouldn’t be funny to our sober selves, and then I would have spent all of the first day of my 2014 sleeping and wondering why. This isn’t all bad, it is just an accurate summary. Each year as I get older, it gets harder to convince me that anything can justify a tight, sparkling, mini dress in Canadian winter weather.

If I am going to (try to) show off to strangers, I would rather it be in the gym.

So when a last minute change of plans arose, I actually took the opportunity. I had a client whose babysitter let her down so she offered me the job. Let me please clarify that I haven’t babysat in probably 6 years and this is not the usual work I do for my clients. A little bit of convincing was required but it worked. So at 7pm off I go to meet my 2-year old date.

He greets me with a hug and shows off his coordination skills as he jumps and runs as fast as he can. Needless to say, I am really impressed. He politely asks me if I want to share his dinner with him and once it is gone, he asks if we can watch some TV. While we sat and watched cartoon pigs sail around the world, he slyly slipped his hand into mine. Just real casual.

As we are getting him ready for bed, he got caught in his pants trying to pee, slipped in the puddle, and bailed. I don’t care what anyone says, I’d rather see that then a roomful of people counting backwards from 10.  The hardest part of parenting must be to keep a straight face half the time. The learning to pee mishap was rewarded with a high five and clean underwear, and given the title of my least messiest New Years.

As I spent the rest of my evening hanging out on the couch, I flipped through the fitness magazine I brought with me and thought about how happy I was that I wasn’t drinking. WEIRD, RIGHT?! I was actually happy to go home and crush a protein and water in my blender bottle and sleep. Hopefully this means big things to come this year because my head is definitely in a good place.

Upcoming this year: a 5k race in May, shortly followed by my first triathlon. And hopefully no more babysitting on holidays 🙂

proteinbottle

As a side note: I have issues with New Years resolutions… this is a continuation of my lifestyle and is not a resolution…
You can read my gripes about resolutions tomorrow.

HAPPY 2014!!!!!!

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