Yes.
I ran.
It is surreal.
Best. Feeling. Ever.
1.47kms at a 7:13km/hr pace in 10mins 38s
It was a slow one. Some walking was done. But I DID IT.
My body needed it. My mind needed it.
I signed up for the Terry Fox Run in September, BLT 5k Fun Run/Walk in October!
Welcome back me. Welcome back.
#craxymamaruns
The end of another year. Sitting back and reflecting on what has gone by and what we will be working towards in 2015.
Getting close to Christmas always make me reflect and think about the time I get to spend with my family and friends. They have supported me through so much over the past while and I love them so much. I am looking forward to spending some much deserved time with them over the holidays 🙂
Over the past year I have noticed so much. I am beginning to think it’s because I am over 40 now, lol.
With my surgery date up in the air, it is hard for me to forge ahead with races and registrations, as it could be late 2015 before I am able to run again.
A lot of my time has been moving towards yoga with light cardio and starting back up with weight training. Keeping up with my fitness will ensure a better recovery after surgery.
Having a mental illness has made me sit down and think of the ways I can cope better now that the “dark times” have descended on us weather wise, and to use those skills throughout the year. Fitness has always served me well, and this year I have added steady meditation to the mix. This has certainly helped, but I still need to realize that I will have bad days and not beat myself up over them. There will be days I will just want to live in my nest, and that’s okay.
A big “thing” for me is sleep. Sleep is very important. For both physical and mental health. I have been tracking my sleep for the past 16 weeks. My average sleep efficiency has been 93% over those past weeks. I am finding this a great tool.
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| Last night wasn’t super – but yay deep sleep! |
Starting this blog has been an adventure and something I am very proud of. (With the craziness and chaos of life, I am able to say that I now learned that writing and scheduling my posts are the way to go!!) I have “met” some fantastic people and looking forward to what the New Year brings for myself and for the blog 🙂
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| You knew there had to be a badass drawing! 😉 |
As I look ahead, I am hoping to share more with you about my journey with surgery, recovery and my plans to become a Certified Yoga Teacher in 2016! Adding yoga to my fitness regime has been a blessing. It has allowed me to slow down, learn to breathe, and brought some peace to my hectic life. To share this with others would be awesome.
I will still be me….you won’t see anything different here on the blog, other than some cooooooool super awesome pics like THIS!
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| I look awesome-er in X-Ray vision!! |
To sign off for my last MAJOR blog post of 2014 (because there will be the small random super fun holiday posts!) I wish everyone the most happiest of the Season. Spend time with those you love. Hug them. Enjoy them 🙂
#crazymamaruns
And got myself down to the Atlantica Hotel on Saturday to pick up my awesome Race Crew T!
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| Woohoo! Go Race Crew! |
Of course, we ARE on the East Coast of Canada, so the weather is always unpredictable. I got up on Sunday, ate my breakfast and gathered my gear to wear. Needless to say, I was not exactly thrilled with the temperatures…
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| This called for My Soxy Feet long socks! They were feet layer #1 😉 |
When I arrived at the top of Citadel Hill, it was misty, cold and kinda blah. Actually a little colder than I thought (note to self – more layerage when NOT running!) I met up with Stacy (Runner and Race Director) in the “Don’t Park Here” Parking Lot (oops!) and my job at that moment was given to me. I was the “Don’t Park Here” Girl. I was given a fabulous helper and we directed folks to the other entrance for parking.
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| It IS as cold as it looks! lol (Yay rain coat and pants!) |
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| The “Don’t Park Here” Parking Lot |
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| The TNT Purple People setting up their water station 🙂 |
So, once all the volunteers and sponsors made their way in, our job at that station was done.
I was then assigned down by the Finish Line with a couple of other awesome volunteers to make sure runners did not walk back over the Atlantic Chip finish line with their bibs on! This was harder than you might think! Being a relay, everyone wanted to head over to cheer on the next leg. (The race started inside the Fort and you are to run 7 times around the Citadel to complete your leg.)
(To check out some awesome photos of those folks running – head on over here: Photo Stream )
I was as vigilent as I could be, holding my “Keep Right to Finish” sign and trying to cheer on the runners in the off and on torrential downpours with super wind that was going on – trying to stop those from crossing that finish line! A couple runners got past me and totally wonked their finish time 😦 Bib numbers were taken so they could fix up the times of those who literally walked back over the sensors. Eeeeeep! Trying to steer runners away is NOT an easy job! We are some determined people! (By the second and third leg, this was much easier as folks were given the info before they ran out.)
So we cheered and blocked 😉 I was given relief about halfway through Leg 3 and headed back inside the Fort to stay dry and have snacks.
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| Watching the rain from INSIDE…snack time! |
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| Cold and wet hands….brrrrr |
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| Attempting to warm said hands. |
I was there when the winner from the Third Leg made it in to get his bag and change. What a rock star!
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| Third Leg Winner! He was shaking like a leaf… |
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| This was my fabulous helper’s tower – he made it out of counter popsicle sticks 😉 |
I ran this race last year (it was around the Halifax Commons) and absolutely loved it! It is so much fun, and I ran a super awesome 38 min 7k….I was over the moon 🙂
This race also provides a warm breakfast afterwards at the lovely Atlantica Hotel (their Sunday breakfast buffet in the regular restaurant is also TO DIE FOR). The oatmeal was amazing, as well as the croissants and muffins, juice and coffee!! I was able to boot it over and warm up my belly, thereby warming up everything else, as my gloves were soaked and my body temp had regulated back to “Holy Crap It’s Cold” after moving and bopping around to keep warm on the Hill.
I highly recommend this race as a must do! The fun, the costumes and the atmosphere….well it just rocks! When the Race Director is cheering you on at the finish line – well, I am wondering if Stacy has a voice today!! We had so much fun.
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| Oh Starbees….how happy I was to see you. |
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| These puppies were left to dry in the Van!! |
To close out – I have to give MEGA shout outs to those who ran in those conditions (especially those in costume!!). Cold wet rain sucks! I also give a HUGE shout out to my fellow volunteers who cheered and stuck it out for the whole morning! We are awesome!
And thank you so much to Stacy. You run a good race girl 🙂
#crazymamaruns
Until you read small 140 character blurps that can be misinterpreted.
It’s like broken telephone. What you want to say ends up being shortened with no real “meat” to it.
After our trek to Lawrencetown Beach today to watch the waves and hike along the cliff to get some cool “post-Gonzalo” wave pics:
Small meals? Yes, eating every 2-3 hours throughout the day is good – because your metabolism stays fired up, and working out builds your lean muscles, which in turn make them fat burning machines. The whole wording of that tweet just irked me to no end.
In a time where we are trying to empower our young women (and men) to be HEALTHY – not skinny, I am so afraid that there are young men and women out there reading the 140 character snippets or FB posts and misinterpreting the meaning behind it. They will not dig to find out what is BEHIND the tweet, or FB post, or any other social media blurb. They read it and believe it.
This is a part of the reason I am proud to be an Ambassador for Sweat Pink (Fit Approach) , Girls Gone Sporty and My Soxy Feet. These are communities that support EVERYONE and we share information that has “meat” to it. We ask questions. We read. We investigate. We blog and share our experiences with the public.
It is also why I love my Twitter running fam. We share our information on what has worked for us during weekly chats.
What we have to remember is: every person will have their own special formula that works for them, because WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT.
We are so much more that 140 characters, a Facebook post, an Ello post, or a forum comment.
Keep asking questions. Don’t limit your knowledge to a tweet, a post, or a picture.
I’ll end with this: My advice: Ask an expert. A doctor, a nutritionist, sports specialist. Get information for YOU.
Best advice: Love yourself for who you are. Get healthy because you WANT to. For YOU. Healthy comes in many sizes. Don’t think you need to look a certain way to be healthy.
Keep. Asking. Questions.
#crazymamaruns
Tonight was my first class at Moksha Yoga in Bedford, NS 🙂 I signed up on Saturday as they had their “Summer Special” on. $60 for 60 days.
I have taken yoga before, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I figured with the deal on it was a great time to try it out and see if it was something I would be into.
I arrived well before the 15 mins they ask for, as I needed to change. Melissa greeted me at the desk and we had a quick chat. She made sure I was armed with water, mat and towels (they rent them if you don’t have any) and sent me on my way to the change room. (No late people here. You’re late, you are out of luck. NO YOGA FOR YOU!)
This studio is wonderful. Clean, quiet and welcoming.
I changed and walked into the “Brazil” room….and the wall hit me. IT’S HOT.
I walked to what I thought was the back of the class and set up my mat, beach towel over the mat and grabbed some blocks and a strap. With my water and little face towel beside me, I settled into Savasana. I figured this would help me acclimatize. I laid there and sweat BIG TIME, like someone had turned on a sweat faucet. But eventually that did slow down…until class started…
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| Because you’ll be full of it! |
Tonight’s class was Yin Yoga (90 minutes). Melissa was our instructor.
Yin Yoga is a little different as you hold your poses anywhere from 3-10 minutes. It is all about relaxing and letting gravity do the work. The focus is on the breath and the stretch. No activating muscles. Release.
Upon Melissa’s arrival into the class, she advised today we would be focusing on legs! (AND that the back of the room…..was actually the front…no looking at the mirror and so much for hiding…lol)
I though “wooooohooooo!”….because today, I ran 5kms!!!!! (Go ME!) My legs were a little tight as this is the most I’ve run since the discovery of my OCD knee.
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| I am just a little excited in this photo…lol |
We got started and at first I was struggling to get into a pose, until Melissa said to go with my body and when I felt the edge to stop and breathe. At first I thought “How am I going to stay in these positions for 3-5-10 minutes??”. The trick is (for me anyway) to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. I found that once I did that (like in meditation) I let go. I stopped worrying about where I was in the moment and let my body guide me. There was a moment of “Ummm, I am kind of hot…am I going to puke….”, but that passed once I got control of my breathing 🙂
I was dripping sweat everywhere! And thankfully, so was the rest of the room…lol.
At the end, while in Savasana (yay!) the lovely Melissa came around with cold facecloths and placed them over our eyes – BEST EVER!
Afterwards, she congratulated me. Not only on my first class, but for doing so well in a 90 minute class 🙂 I told her it was probably one of the best classes I have taken.
So, guess where I am going tomorrow night???
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| Next time…tank top! Holy sweat 🙂 |
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| My first run…hesitation in that face? Umm, yes. |
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| My second run – happy face, lead in the legs 😉 |
Two small runs, under 3kms, but RUNNING 🙂 This is a test of patience for me right now, as I have to #1: listen to my body, and #2: know that this running will only be until the fall when my surgery is scheduled.
We are just about all settled in our new apartment. I LOVE IT, it’s quiet and I get this awesome breeze on the balcony…SWEEEEEEEEEEEET. The kitties have settled in well, although Jax is a scavenger of fluff from a chair…..
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| The “fluff” and the finder of the “fluff” |
We (My “Greg” and I) also did some hiking along the trail at Crystal Crescent Beach.
It was not really sunny when we left, but boy oh boy, the sun came out and it was AWESOME!
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| In other spots, there were like a MEGA BEES |
And there were bees, LOTS of bees…
In some spots, that’s all you could hear….
Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..(it was a little freaky for a bit, but they weren’t concerned with us).
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| This doesn’t even capture the awesome rockage |
Once we hit the part of the trail they do not maintain (WARNING: there is a nude beach just before this part….so if you take the kids, you’ve been warned…lol), then we hit the rocky part. Super awesome rocks…we hung out here for a bit.
So with my two runs and my hike, I am definitely feeling it in the leg region. It’s been about 4 1/2 months since I have run, or done anything really physical with my legs, as I thought I was nursing a meniscus tear. It feels great though!! I am listening to my body and walking when necessary. I need to get on a trail to run soon. Those two runs were just around my area and with the pavement and downhills, that is causing some pain in the knee for sure.
I have scheduled in some yoga for tomorrow and Saturday morning on my phone app. Need my flexibility back!
So, with My Soxy Feet blazing the trail with my Asics and LunaRacers, I am taking back my running 🙂
Well, until the Fall anyway!
My Energybits Prize Pack arrived!
And because I like trying things out right away, I opened those puppies up at work and took a serving before my walk at lunch.
I am a girl that crashes just about every day at 3:00pm. Never fails. I would like to curl up and have a “horizontal life pause” at this time. NOT THIS DAY. I need to say, I was good to go. I had no problems at 3:00. It was like…3:00pm? WHATEVS 3:00pm. I had two sample packs in my land of Bitdom. I am saving the other for now as we are moving soon and will need the extra zip for then. I am seriously considering these during training (once my knee is better of course) because I did not have any stomach issues. No heaviness, no nausea, no fullness. I felt great!
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| Love the Inspiration on the back 🙂 |
Also, My Soxy Feet arrived!!!!!! As an Ambassador this made me SUPER EXCITED as now I could tell folks just how awesome these socks are! I put them on as soon as I opened the package and wore them until bedtime. I ran errands and everything with these socks on. My feel were cozy and they were NOT HOT.
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| They came all wrapped up with the super cute logo and my rescue kitten Jax loved them too! |
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| Oh I am so getting some more of these babies! I love being a Soxy Mama! |
Well I went and spent part of my evening on Wednesday in “the tube”. The first scan came and went and then they had to come and get me out….my knee wasn’t where they needed it to be. And here I thought I was done! LOL
Once repositioned, back into “the tube” I went. Earphones on with a local radio station playing and “The Voice from The Void” telling me the next scan, how long it was going to be, and the cursed words “and try not to move”. EEEEP! Of course then everything itched and I felt restless. GAH!
I made it through. Was in there for half an hour. Hopefully I hear something early next week and we can get this show on the road….because I need to get on the road!
So tomorrow we beach and then we pack. I received the keys to my new apartment today, so we are on a mission.
And now that well all made it to Friday…..get out there and enjoy the weekend!!!
The Midlife Reframe 