Day 34 to Day 43 Brings me to Feb 25, 2014 (getting close to halfway)

Day 34 to Day 43 Brings me to Feb 25, 2014 (getting close to halfway)


It's been 10 days since my last blog ;o

I have been fighting a cold and feeling like I'm losing the battle. It has sucked my energy but somehow I've managed to stick with my hour of exercise, although sometimes it is an hour of restorative yoga. Even this has been a learning experience. I am often surprised how horrible I feel in the morning and after dragging myself to the gym how much better I feel even if its just an hour of walking. I would love to have some spring weather to look forward to, but even the brighter mornings are helping. I am so glad that my routine is firmly established and that I have a workout partner, otherwise there would have been several mornings that I would not have made it to the gym. I'm also surprised that on a day I wouldn't normally go to the gym because of my cold, how often I can actually get a decent workout in. Not always, but most days are fairly productive. I think working out with a cold is OK, but if I was throwing up I don't think I could work out. So I haven't been feeling quite that bad. I would say I have a nasty cold, but not a flu.

I also eat more when I have a bad cold. I know that sounds weird, but frozen yogurt makes me feel better, so does chips and pop. Not exactly quality nutrition. My defences are down when I am not feeling 100% so I have to be careful.

On the upside, the gym has some new equipment in. This has freed up some of my favorite exercise machines (the elliptical) and today I walk/run on one of the new treadmills. The only thing I don't like is that the treadmills look out the window, and not towards the TV. I will have to download some magazines onto my ipad for reading. I have been using an app called "full fitness" at the gym at it has great application for weightlifting, programs and stretches.

This blog is just for my own personal reflection on this journey and to track my progress through my challenge, so I am surprised that I have so many viewers, but seriously if I can do it, you can do it too!

I have a couple of things that I do for gym cardio that might work for you too:

Cycling: I go to youtube, and download "spin class" and do the GCN spin class here is a 60 minute version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFbjsRvjF-A

I also used "yoga studio" an iphone/ipad app on my phone, when I just couldn't drag myself to the gym, it has great yoga from 10 minutes to 60 minutes. Be aware that there is no "beginner" 60 minute yoga, so I did the intermediate yoga, and it is harder than it looks!

I also did a 60 minutes of zumba one day, and did 50 minutes from one video, and 10 minutes of another called "latin dance"

Day 32 and Day 33, Friday Feb 14, 2014, and Saturday Feb 15, 2014

Day 32 and Day 33, Friday Feb 14, 2014, and Saturday Feb 15, 2014


Today I am 1/3 through my challenge. I didn't even realize that until I wrote down the days. What a nice Valentines gift to myself! I was at the gym Friday and did arms and abs. I did mostly "pull" muscles, so I did tricep pull downs, lat machine pulls, free weight pulls, and alternated with ab exercises.

Saturday was a beautiful day -10 (Must be a Canadian, when a beautiful day is -10 degrees Celsius!) I finally got to do my long run outside. I am way ahead of my training program, so I am concentrating on mileage and not so much on speed or tempo, which is a good thing, because my pace is really slow right now. I like to plan my long runs so that for the most part I am running from start point to midway and back. I don't like to do loops otherwise I could see myself cutting my running short. If I am 6 kilometers away from my car at halfway, I have no choice but to run back! LOL.

The first thing I usually do is pick a route, I use "map my run" on the computer and find it is very accurate. Also it tracks other runners routes, so you can use someone else's route for fun. I don't like to carry water so I drive my route first, which also gives me an idea how busy the road are and if there are any issues with traffic etc, and I drop off water along my route. That way I don't have to carry water with me. I always lotion up my feet well, hydrate with water, have at least 2 coffee, supplements, and breakfast. Then I turn up my Nike app and go. I don't know if I can explain to you what goes through your mind when you are running for almost 2 hours. I always start off with everything bothering me for the first two miles, my socks itch, my bra is irritating, my bula is twisted, my earphones aren't staying in, everything hurts. Then after about 3 km my body hits a pace and it's like "well if this is what we are doing today, I'm in" and after that I kinda get with the program. I go through times when I feel like I can't go another step, to feeling like I won't ever stop. After about 5 kilometers, I finally look up and around, and that is usually my first "bliss" moment. I realize how beautiful it is outside, how good the music is, how great my body feels and I usually get my first water break.  I alternate between feeling good and bad all through my run, until I have about 5km left to go. Then it seems easy, like I have done 5km so many times, that is all I have left?

There are two facets to any good training program. 1. Mental preparedness and 2. Physical preparedness. Physical in my case is broken down into mileage. I have to follow a training program and know on race day that I can (and have) run that mileage. Mental preparedness is following the physical program. I say that in the only way I know how, what I mean is that when I am running, sometimes my mind thinks I can't go another step, and somehow my body does it anyway, and sometimes physically I am so tired or sore, and don't think I can go another step and somehow I  think my way through it. Either way from talking to lots of runners every one does it there own way. You need to use the training program that gets you there on race day. If that is your goal.

Have a GREAT day!

Day 30 and 31, Wednesday Feb 12 and Thursday Feb 13

Day 30 and 31, Wednesday Feb 12 and Thursday Feb 13

Wednesday was major leg day. I have to do it mid week because my legs are sore from running on the weekend. In fact I know that during training, a lot of runners do not weight train their legs, but I would rather weight train than do hill training, which doesn't mean I won't do any hill training, I just will do both. My leg day is filled with squats (weighted), machine extensions, lunges (weighted), I don't even know what the one machine is called, and dead lifts. I alternated with abs, and did a 20 minute warm up on the elliptical.

So Thursday was technically a "rest" day, so light exercise day on my challenge. I did a 1 hour walk in Edmonton at the West Edmonton Mall. I made it around top floor, once and bottom floor twice. I noticed a couple things about this choice today. The mall is full of scents mostly perfume and food court smells, the cookies by George is almost overwhelming. The mall is also hard to walk as fast as I would like because I get caught behind families, and shoppers. The mall is distracting because there is so much to look at. But I got my exercise in, and then I did the mall once more because I had my shopping to do! and the upside to all that is you get easy access to bathrooms, coffee, and Yogun Fruz!

Cold weekend blues Feb 08-11 Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues days 26/27/28/29 of a 100

Cold weekend blues Feb 08-11 Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues days 26/27/28/29 of a 100

I don't know where day 5 blog went, its a long way back and I spent time on writing it but it got lost in South Carolina. But we are in the cold cold north. Not regular cold, -33 cold, like can't breath outside without a bula cold. And that is centigrade not Fahrenheit. So that is like -to damn cold in Fahrenheit . I saw runners out there (disbelief) and they didn't look to happy. As a singer I don't run in -15 it makes my throat raw and I end up with a cough and can't sing.

Over one quarter of my challenge. It is working into a habit which is a relief. I am going to re blog day five which didn't make it out there but goes over my reasoning for the challenge, and talk a bit about my running which deserves some mention.

Why a 100 day challenge, and why an hour every day? Before the challenge I was signed up for courses and running sporadically. I thought I was running more, but according to my Nike app I was not. So I wanted CONSISTENCY which I was lacking. Also my schedule can be a bit wonky some days I work all day and then go for stretches at home, and because I am in the entertainment industry I also work weekends, which are times for long runs but the two often conflicted, I couldn't always make my classes because I travel to Edmonton and Jasper. So I wanted to ELIMINATE THE EXCUSES. I figured if I really tried I could fit in exercise every day. Also I have a fairly sedentary lifestyle, other than my hour of exercise I mainly sit and create. I also struggle with depression, and I believe I need to treat it to beat it, so every day exercise is important in MAINTAINING SELF CARE for myself.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495

I am also "pre-diabetic" so I need exercise to help COMBAT BECOMING DIABETIC and relying on insulin. I also overweight, and wanted consistent exercise to help me with my WEIGHT LOSS goal plan. I also WANTED TO BE STRONGER so I have added weight training into my regimen. I also wanted exercise to be a habit and not be a struggle, or something I do occasionally. I want to have MORE ENERGY throughout my day. I have and always will be a busy person, and I want to make sure that moving forward that I can at least say I am now giving it my best shot at leading a healthy active lifestyle and that will help me as I age. My ultimate goal is to be able to wear anything I want without being self conscious, indulge in treats occasionally without guilt, and to be able to do any physical challenge I want without worry.

So I am well into my challenge over 25%. What have I noticed so far?

• I am more energetic after a workout
• I appreciate naps
• I am exhausted in the evenings
• I have to eat better all the time
• I have cut down on drinking alchohol
• my mileage for running is way up (Nov 8.49 km/Dec 5.19 km/Jan 52.4 km)
• I am running stronger, I don't feel "exhausted after a 1/2 hour"
• I am feeling more confident, therefore I am happier
• I am having a harder time sleeping in
• I am more energetic throughout the day
• I am drinking way more water and coffee
• I am enjoying the company of my workout partner
• I am inspired by the people around me
• I am grateful for my body for allowing me to do this

Running this weekend: I hate the treadmill, I can only run a max of 1 hour and that is what I did Saturday , I tried the track at Whitecourt on Sunday, it wasn't much better. Those are the options I have right now, so I am glad that I do have options, I just love the outdoors so much, and miss the scenery, fresh air, sunlight, and company of my dog skip. I have no idea what my running strategy is this weekend. I just hope it warms up a bit.

A Week Worth! Day 22 to 26 Monday to Friday Feb 03 to Feb 07, 2014

A Week Worth! Day 22 to 26 Monday to Friday Feb 03 to Feb 07, 2014

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character"

I cried when the Canadian Olympians came out on the Olympics today. Such a National Pride moment. It's hard not to think of the athletes that our Country produces for the winter Olympics :)

This week was so cold outside that it hurt to breathe during my walk on Sunday. As a  result I have spent a solid week at the gym. I'm not going to break down the week into days and activities, but give a general idea about how my week was spent.

January seemed all about getting that hour in, establishing routines, figuring out my plan and getting organized. February on the other hand seems, at least so far, about going hard. It's like I want to see how much I can get done in an hour. I'm lifting heavier, so my days are breaking down into leg day, back and biceps day, shoulders and abs, cardio day, arms and abs and the weekend for running. I don't have that same exhaustion that I was dealing with in January, so either I'm getting normalized with the activity or the supplements are working, or I'm eating better. All three I'm guessing. I also had a fairly easy week with work mostly working from home and no travel. That makes this much easier to manage.

I read an interesting article about an Olympian today and her journey to a gold. It is interesting to note that most successful athletes always talk about someone in their journey who was a better athlete and more talented. So how come they wouldn't be at the Olympics? Somewhere along the line the going gets boring. An Olympic athlete trains for an average of six hours a day. SIX HOURS! and it get boring. The mental tenacity it takes is huge. Some people don't have the mental goods to make it all the way. Talent and Athleticism is not enough. Dorothy Hamill mentioned that she constantly had to remind herself why she was doing what she was doing in those moments that become rote. She had a huge love of skating and that love of what she was doing kept her going. It is interesting to note that when athletes of Olympic caliber quit competing, they often quit training in their sport. They no longer enjoy the sport for fun.

So this month I am going to remember to have some fun! I do enjoy the company, surroundings, exercise and running that I am doing so I hope it never becomes "work", but don't confuse that with working hard!! I am having fun seeing how far I can go!!

New Month and 1/5th the way through my challenge! Day 20 (Friday, Jan 31) & 21 (Sat Feb 01)

LOL, yesterday was a challenge getting out of bed. I actually woke up when I was supposed to be leaving, I had to text my gym partner for a bye. I did go to the gym but much much later than I usually do. Then I had a funny experience>

I was very tired, so I didn't want to "think" about my workout too much, so I decided to do a full hour on the elliptical, picked a program, grabbed a few magazines, started working out. Have you ever watched that video on facebook about inappropriate gym goers? Well there is the "singer" and that is who I had beside me after about 10 minutes into my program. He was an older guy with the big Bluetooth headphones. It was kind of funny at first, and then I realized after about another 10 minutes he was doing a cardio day :( Most guys get on the elliptical for 15 minutes (if that) then go lift weights. This guy decided to camp in beside me. He started off "ooing" and singing out the occasional word, then amped it up into sing full verses. Full voice. It was really annoying. It was the only time I wished (badly) that I hadn't forgot my headphones. So note to self, buy a pair of headphones to leave in the gym bag. Besides he was a bad singer.

Today was my long run day, and I did 10km. I also need to remember on my run: Kleenex, and my bula. It looks sunny out there, but I need something to cover my ears, that wind was deadly today. I'm not sure what other things you need out there when you are running but I do need to plan a little when I get up in mileage. I drive my route and drop off water, (I HATE) carrying water, I make sure I wear my good smart wool socks and I have a great lotion I wear on my feet, ever hear of Mary Kay extra emollient lotion? it is like the best smelling lotion and I have used it on my feet for years and never get blisters. I also use coconut oil on my face, just keeps it from getting chafed by the wind and works as a mild sunscreen. I also put peppermint oil on the back of my hand, and I when I need a little boost I take a good whif, a little aromatherapy! Let me know your tricks and tips for running, we all have them :)