Three Things Thursday!

1. I missed my hill training workout this week 😦 My sister had to go to a function at my nephews school last night, so she wasn’t able to meet me to run, and my nephew wasn’t able to babysit 😦 Unfortunately, she has a hockey game tonight so she isn’t able to go tonight either. Bummer! I was actually looking forward to our last hill workout of the program!

2. I’m not sleeping well 😦 I’m totally exhausted and have no problems falling asleep, but after getting up to feed Tanner sometime in the middle of the night, I can’t seem to fall back to sleep. I’m up for at least an hour and a half, but usually more. My mind starts going and I can’t seem to shut I off 😦

I’ve started taking a GSF Complex – it’s suppose to help turn your brain off which is exactly what I need. Hopefully I will see results soon, I’m exhausted!

3. I’ve decided to join Tosca Reno’s Sugar Strike for the last 10 days of September. I have not been eating well lately…actually I’ve been eating like total crap, so as a first step, I’ve decided to eliminate sugar for 10 days.

Here’s what to do when the sugar craving hits…

Luckily Tosca does allow sugar substitutes! I’m not sure I can go 10 days without any ‘sweets’!

Time to get baking…first up – Eat Clean Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins 🙂

Three Things Thursday!

Happy Thursday everyone! I hope you are having a great day!

1. Labour Day Monday we packed up the kids and headed to the CNE for the day. We had such a great time! Ryan went on a ton of rides loved every one of them…even the dragon rollercoaster! Tanner, well, he’s just such an easy going happy little guy…he hung out in his stroller all day and watched all the craziness going on around him. Here are some pictures from our little trip to the Canadian National Exhibition:

2. My half marathon training is still going well. Last Sunday, I ran 16km and last night we did hill training – 6 hills – an once again, I can honestly say, neither were bad. Sunday’s long run was a bit lonely, there aren’t may people out on the trails at 6:40 in the morning, but on the bright side, I was out before the humidity sunk in and when I got home, I still had the whole day ahead of me!

Hill training was good. I ran with my sister, which always makes my run more fun and pass by quicker. We did 6 hills – each of which was about 480m long. In the end, we ran up almost 6.5 km. I’m not sure if my times were any better than last week, for some reason my Garmin would not do laps…I still need to figure that thing out!

My husband is home sick today so I might actually get out for a tempo run later tonight…very exciting 🙂 Sunday’s long run is 18km and next week we’ve got 7 hills! WooHoo!

3. I hate to say this, but I am super excited for fall. I love all of the beautiful colours when the leaves change and running in cooler weather is awesome! I am also looking forward to things slowing down a bit (as they usually do when fall arrives) which will give me more time to plan and cook healthy clean meals.

What have you been up to this week?

Are you looking forward to fall or wanting summer to stick around?

Three Things Thursday! On the Right Track!

Happy Thursday everyone! I am super pumped that the weekend is almost here, and the fact that its a long weekend…well, that rocks!

This week my three things have to do with me being on the right track. Here’s the scoop:

1. I’m pretty excited about my upcoming half marathon. Yes, its still 52 days away, but I already feel like my running is getting better. Over the past two weeks, I have committed more to my training program, and I can honestly say, it’s paying off.

I was super nervous about last nights hill training…I hadn’t run hills in probably 5 years, and the hill we chose to run is almost half a kilometre long! 5 repeats, a 1k warm-up and a cool down back to the car – we ended up running a total of 5.75 km. Not bad, and the craziest part…I enjoyed it!! Yep, I liked running hills… my times got faster each repeat and at the end I felt like I could have done one or two more…Bring on next week – 6 repeats 🙂

2. I made a couple of super clean eating treats. Yesterday I spent about an hour in the kitchen and made Banana Cocoa Chip Muffins from Ingredients of a Fit Chick ; as well as some Cocoa Bites – both are delicious, low calorie, and easy to make!

3. This weekend I will be doing my second full BodyAttack class in preparation for submitting my certification video. Last Monday’s class went really well and I’m hoping for much of the same – with some improvements – for Saturday. I haven’t decided if I’m going to video tape yet…I guess I will have to see how I’m feeling about it all Saturday morning. I would totally kick myself if I do awesome and don’t record it!!

Well, that’s all for now, gotta go practice my BodyAttack script…then cut the lawn…do some laundry…and figure out what we’re having for dinner…

Have a great day!

Toronto Women’s Half Marathon – Race Recap

Training

Sunday’s Half Marathon was my first race since running the Scotiabank Marathon in 2007. After having my second baby in January, I decided I needed a little motivation to get back in shape and though it would be fun? to get back into running. So, I texted my sister and asked her if she wanted to do a half marathon with me. She said yes! That day, we signed up for the Toronto Women’s Half Marathon.

And, on March 5th, I went for my first run in a VERY long time. It felt great, I was so excited to be running again, and was super pumped to have a race planned. Thirteen weeks of training all worked out…3 runs a week, one long, one interval, and one plain ole run. Throw in a few BodyAttack classes each week as cross training and I was all set to go!

Well, after signing up to take my BodyAttack Instructor Course and making that a priority, I soon was down to running only once or twice a week. I also ended up missing a few of the long runs towards the end my my training. Both of which are not so great when your race goal is sub 2 hours.

So, about 3 weeks away from the race, knowing there wasn’t much of a chance of me finishing the half in under 2 hours, I decided I would run this race with my sister Cathy and try to help her reach her goal of a sub 2:30 half. I was super excited to be running with my sister, because, although we have ran many races together, we’ve never actually ran together in a race.

Race Day Preparation

Because it had been forever since I’d last ran a race, my Garmin was dead, super dead, like not even chargeable dead! I had done most of my training runs just using the fitness app on my iPod, but I wanted more info about my running on race day, and figured if I was going to get back into it, I needed a watch. Hehehe! So, after humming and hawing, I decided I would treat myself to a new Garmin.

Four days before the race I picked up a Garmin 410 from Costco. After charging it up, I went for a run and played around with it a little in hopes of figuring it out before race day.

It took my a while, but I finally figured it out and was totally shocked at all the info it gathered during my run! I LOVE my GARMIN 410!

In the spirit of Carb Loading we had my sister and her family over for a pasta dinner the night before the race. I made a delicious recipe – Eat Clean Sausage and Pepper Penne from Clean Eating Classic Comfort Foods 2012.

It was awesome! The recipe made enough to feed 7 of us, and the guys even had seconds. It took a lot of time to make, but was definitely worth it! So good!

After shooing everyone out around 9pm, I was time to get my stuff together for the morning.

Race Day

I set my alarm for 6:00 am since my sister, brother-in-law (Rory) and nephew (Jack) were coming to pick me up at 6:45. I grabbed a quick shower, got dressed, made a yummo oatmeal pancake, and it was time to go! Despite having a great sleep, my brother-in-laws first comment upon seeing me was “wow, she looks tired!” Yikes!

The boys dropped us off at Sunnybrook Park so Cathy and I had a bit of time to visit with some friends, pee, and stretch before the race. An hour and a bit later, and I’m still looking pretty tired!!

There were over 1150 women running this years race. We were divided into three groups according to finishing time. Cathy and I started in coral 2.

The gun went off to start the race at exactly 8:00, and the first group of runner (the fast ones) we’re off!

3 minutes later, our gun sounded and we were off! Our plan was to run a mile then take a one minute rest break for water and eventually cliff energy gels.

I was surprised at how jam packed the first bit of the course was. Off and on for the first kilometer or so we were running on a narrow path, shoulder to shoulder about 8 wide. It was awful! Cathy and I struggled to find our pace and get in our groove, but eventually we started running for the gaps and things got better. It wasn’t until the 3K point where the group started to spread out a bit and we were able to run our pace and not feel like we were going to get trampled on!

The next 5K went pretty well and things looked good for a 2:30 finish!

Rory and Jack were waiting to cheer us on at about the 9km mark, it was great to see them and even better that they snapped a picture of us in action!

Up to this point we had been sticking to the mile and one plan, but the clouds started to disperse and it got hot! From about the 2 hour mark on, ended up walking more often, which resulted in our muscles having a chance to tighten up, which caused more walking, and it sort of became a viscous cycle!

We didn’t really got back into a groove again, but managed to pull it out for the final 400m and run in strong to the finish line!

Woohoo! 21.1km DONE!

And don’t you just LOVE the bling! Yep, that necklace was the finishing ‘medal’! Cool, eh!

We finished in 2:40, which was a bit longer than we had hoped, but all things considered, not a bad run! We’re already trying to decide what our fall half marathon will be!

Here is the breakdown of our run, straight from my Garmin!

I love that thing! Can you believe the detail?

Motivational Monday! 13 Days Til Race Day!

So, with just under two weeks to go, and my last long run out of the way, I’m starting to get excited about RACE DAY!

I have totally changed my race goal…from running a sub-two hour half…to helping my sister reach her goal of a sub 2:30 half.

Why?

Well, I really don’t feel as though I have run enough to meet my goal, and since my sister has improved so much in her running, but still lacks a bit of the mental strength necessary to meet her goal, i’m going to run with her and keep her moving…around every turn, past every mile, up every hill…she is going to finish this half marathon RUNNING!

So, with that in mind, here is this weeks Motivational Monday….

Doesn’t that just crack you up…OMG too funny – maybe cause it’s so true!

It’s time to start believing…

…believing in yourself

…your training

…your hard work

…your ability to succeed

You CAN, and WILL do this!

8 Week Progress Report

It has now been just over 8 weeks since I started my journey (and this blog)! Here is an update as to where things stand in terms of reaching the 11 goals I set for myself and the progress I have made since my last update.

Goal #1 – My Pre-pregnancy Body Back – So, I’ve pretty much reached this goal. I am back to my pre pregnancy weight, and fit into my ‘goal jeans’, although not quite the way I want. The muffin top HAS GOT TO GO!!

This week marked the mid-point of the Skinny Jeans Challenge which meant measurement time!

I am actually really pleased with my progress so far…I’ve lost a total of 10.4 inches! CRAZY!! I still want to improve on my percent body fat – I’m down almost 5%, but would like to bring it down by about another 2.5%.

Goal #2 – Run a Two Hour Half Marathon – Well, the Half Marathon is only 19 days away and I’m definitely NOT PREPARED!

I’ve still only ran outside 2 times – one fast 5K (which went surprisingly well), and a 16K run a couple of weeks ago with my sister.

Here’s how my training schedule looked over the past 5 or so weeks.

BodyAttack has taken over my life! I have missed so many runs to get to Attack classes, it’s crazy! I’ve missed a total of 10 runs in the last 5 weeks – 1 hill workout, 3 fartlek workouts, 2 regular runs, and 3 long runs! BRUTAL!

I seriously doubt I will meet my goal of a sub-two hour half. I’m disappointed, but still hoping for a good run.

I guess we will see how things look after my 18K this weekend!

Goal #3 – Improve my Upper Body Strength – I was actually doing well with is goal since starting The 100 Push-Up Challenge last month – that was until I got sick. Since then, I have done NOTHING, and as a result, I am STILL struggling through the Upper Body Conditioning track in Attack 😦 My plan is to start the challenge again…tonight! Anyone want to do it with me and help me stay on track? Please?

Goal #4 – Try Hot Yoga – Still haven’t made it to a hot yoga class, and its not looking like I will be heading there any time soon. Until I get my Attack Certification Video done, I need to go to another Attack class Thursday evenings.

I hope to get my video in by mid-June, so hopefully I will be able to get to a class soon after that.

Goal #5 – Eat Clean – this is yet another goal that has been shoved aside since becoming sick and getting super busy.

I definitely need to get back in track, and fast!

My plan is to check out the latest issue of Clean Eating Magazine over the next few days, and set out next weeks meal plan. After that, I will hit the grocery store and get at it! I still want to aim for at least 2, but hopefully 3 clean meals a week.

Goal #6 – Limit the Amount of Junk Food I Eat – I’m actually not doing too bad at this one, considering I really haven’t been eating clean, I’m not exactly sure what I’ve been eating! My plan of not bringing it into the house is working, and I’m going to continue to keep it that way.

Goal #7 – Limit my Chai Lattes to one a Week – FAIL! HUGE! I’ve actually already had 2 this week! Chai latte is what seems gets me through the day! Although I did choose a Chocolate Banana Smoothie over the latte today:) Might have to stick with it, it’s higher in protein and fibre…sugar too, but I still think it’s the better choice. Agree?

Goal #8 – De-Clutter – Again, this one has been neglected since getting so busy. I did paint my sons room immediately after my last progress report, but unfortunately, it’s not quit finished 😦 I know, I’m brutal!

So, I still need to:

1. Finish painting my son’s room.
2. Clean out the kids toys.
3. Sort through my clothes.
4. Go through our deep freeze and actually see what we have in there!

Goal #9 – Read More – since my last update, I have finished The Help and The Lucky One.

Up next…the Shades of Grey Trilogy… Apparently everybody I know is or has read it. Not sure what to expect…besides turning 50 shades of red!!! Have you read the trilogy?

Goal #10 – Save Money – I am actually doing quite well with this one! Sticking to a bit of a budget has been easier than I thought it would be!

Goal # 11 – Make time for Scrapbooking – Unfortunately this too has been put on the back burner since becoming so busy. Now that the warm weather is coming, I have no idea when I will get back at it. Hopefully I will make it to a Friday night crop sometime soon!

Overall, I am not quite where I was hoping to be at this point. I need to get back into my running and start eating clean again! Really, I need to manage my time better and make healthy living a priority.

How is your journey going?
Do you have any super easy Clean Eating recipes you can share to help me get back on track?

Missed my Workout

Today was a crazy day! For the first time since mid-December, I actually had to set my alarm so I could be showered and ready to go before Ryan got up. After breakfast and dropping Ryan off at daycare, Tanner and I headed to St. Catherine’s for a meeting.

Since 2008 I have been a part of the organizing committee for the annual OFSAA conference. This year we are running the Women’s Sport’s School Conference, a professional development opportunity for female teacher-coaches from all over Ontario. Today’s meeting was a site visit, we toured Brock University in preparation for next months 2-day conference. Since I am presenting two TRX sessions at the conference, I needed to figure out a few of the logistics. The meeting was pretty successful and the girls absolutely LOVED Tanner! Now I just need to prepare for my presentation!

The crappy part was that we left for the meeting at 8am and didn’t get back into town until about 4pm. Which meant that I didn’t get to the gym today, which totally blows! I was scheduled to do hill training today, and need to figure out how I’m going to squeeze it in at some point this week, without totally tiring me out. I’ve got 4 options…

1. I could skip it entirely – which wont really help my overall training

2. I could do hills in place of Thursday’s 4 mile run.

3. I could do it before my personal training session on Friday, which would probably mean Saturday becomes a rest day and I do my long run on Sunday…or…

4. I could do it tomorrow after BodyAttack – not sure I will have any energy left after the class, but I wouldn’t need a warm-up so it would just be 6 hills and a cool-down.

What would you suggest?

Three Things Thursday…

1. My Fitness Pal – I absolutely LOVE this app! If you are at all interested in improving your health, then this app is for you! It is a diet and exercise log that has the most extensive database ever! It tracks your progress, allows you to connect with friends, and has a ‘news feed’ that highlights the accomplishments of you and your friends. It has a web component and you can sink it with Facebook and twitter. It’s available for iPad, iPhone, Android and Blackberry and the best part…it’s FREE!

Do you keep a diet and exercise log? What tool(s) do you use?

2. My Training Schedule – since stating the Skinny Jeans Challenge almost 2 weeks ago, my training schedule no longer has rest days, and I’m starting to feel it. My current training schedule looks like this:

Monday – 30 minute personal training session

Tuesday – Intensity workout – tempo/hills/speed/interval running

Wednesday – Cross Training -BodyAttack

Thursday – 4 mile run

Friday – 30 minute personal training session

Saturday – Long run

Sunday – Cross Training – BodyAttack

My original thought was that a 30 minute personal training session would not have much of an impact on my body and that I would be able to continue on as is…wow, was I wrong! After the first 3 sessions, I must admit that I have been sore for at least a day, more like two after each workout. This makes Tuesday’s hill and Wednesday’s cross training difficult, as well as Saturday’s long run following Friday’s workout. So, I need to figure out what I’m going to get rid of and how I’m going to hang in for 8 more weeks of marathons training.

Any suggestions?

3. It’s Me Time! – This Saturday I am leaving the kids at home with my husband (for the first time) and going Scrapbooking for the day. I can’t wait! I am looking forward to having some me time, hanging out with my sister and Scrapbooking. What makes it even better is that it’s a pot luck lunch…so many yummy things to eat! From what I’ve seen, the menu looks pretty good, I should be able to make some healthy choices. I’m bringing Skinny Coconut Cupcakes, Ryan and I will be baking them tomorrow afternoon so check out tomorrows post for more info 🙂 Here’s a little teaser!

Hills and Fish…Don’t Love Either!

Today’s workout according to my Half Marathon Training Schedule is 5 hills 😦 I really have no idea how to run hills on a treadmill, so I stuck with the same format as last week, and just added one hill. After a 1 mile warm-up, I did 5 hills at a pace of 5.5 mph and an incline of 15 (the highest the treadmill will go). I don’t think hills that steep actually exist in this world, so I’m thinking I will be good and ready for any hills that pop up on race day.With a 2 minute rest (walking) after each hill, I actually didn’t feel too bad! I finished the run off with a 1 mile cool down and called it a day!

After the gym, it was time to get cooking! If you checked out this weeks Motivational Monday post, you would know that I desperately need to clean up my eating! Today I made two things from the March 2011 issue of Clean Eating Magazine: Easy Make-Ahead Breakfast Quiche (p. 24) and Baked Manicotti Bundles (p. 72).

I figured I’d make the quiches to have for breakfast tomorrow and to have for snacks over the next couple of days. I haven’t tried them yet, but they sure look yummy! They were very quick and easy to make: saute red and yellow peppers and green onion (the recipe called for mushrooms…yuck!), put in bottom of ramekin, cover with lightly beaten egg, top with goat cheese and a sprinkle of parm and put in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

The Baked Manicotti Bundles are stuffed with tilapia and mozzerella cheese. I’m kinda surprised I made these since I’m not a big fan of fish, but since its so good for you, I thought I’d give it a try.

All things considered, these weren’t too bad! If you actually like fish, you will probably love them! They did however, take a little more work to prepare, but overall were pretty easy to make.

Click here to see the recipe.

So, today’s hill workout actually got me thinking a little bit about the race. It’s 2 months away to the day, and I have no idea what the route is like. My main concern: hills! Is it a hilly route? Here’s the elevation map – check out that hill…ya, I’m talking about the one that starts at km 11 and peaks just before km 14….YIKES! Hill training is a must! Have you ever done hill training on a treadmill? I’d love to know how to do it properly!

Hill Training and Eat Clean Pizza

Today was the first time I’ve run hills in a LONG time! And the first time I’ve ever done hills on a treadmill!

Feeling a little tired and sore from yesterday’s workout, I started out with a 1 mile warm-up at a nice comfy pace of 5.5 mph. After the warm-up it was time for the ‘hills’ so I jacked the treadmill up to an incline of 15 and gave’er for 1 minute – talk about tiring!! Then, after a 2 minute walk break, I did it all over again…and again…and again! I finished the workout off with another easy mile and 36 minutes later, I was done! Woo Hoo! Time to get out and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

So after a few hours on the back deck finishing Catching Fire (the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy), it was time to head inside and get started on tonight’s dinner, Eat Clean Spinach and Turkey Sausage Pizza.

So, with the help of my assistant, I get at it!

We stared out sautéing up some turkey sausage that I took out of the casing broke into little chunks.

Then sautéed some spinach in a little olive oil and garlic.

After that,I rolled out the pizza dough that I picked up at our local Nino Da’Versa Bakery.

And added the toppings: 1 cup of diced tomatoes (drained), 6 ounces of sautéed spinach, the 2 sautéed turkey sausage and 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella cheese.

And tossed it in the oven (on the bottom rack) at 450. 20 minutes later it was ready to eat.

Oops, forgot to take the picture before I cut it up and started to serve it! I’m such a rookie!

The pizza was delicious! The recipe was super easy to follow and took very little time to prepare, and there are leftovers for lunch tomorrow…my kinda meal! The only problem was that some of the crust stuck to the pizza stone – I guess I should have greased it or something???

I’ve come to the realization that cooking isn’t so bad if you have time and are prepared. Stay tuned for tomorrows dinner…Eat Clean Tropical Chicken Tacos….Yummo!

What are your favorite Eat Clean recipes? I’m looking for new ideas, so please do share 🙂