has it really been this long

since I last posted?  A few things had been keeping me busy over the past month and a half. The Easter long weekend took us to Pennsylvania where I have family on my mother's side.  We drove down Thursday after work and got into town around 11:30.  Friday we took off to Virginia to attack the Cabela's store which was about an hour a fifteen from where we were staying.  I think this was the first time he has ever out shopped me.

Saturday we made our way into downtown Pittsburgh.  I recently became a big fan of the Penns while watching the HBO 24/7 Special they ran for the build up of the Winter Classic, which is the outdoor hockey game they play on New Year's Day.  I figured since we were going to be so close by it was the perfect opportunity to go and buy something from the Arena.  On Friday we learned the Penns were playing Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at HOME at NOON! 

We made our way into the city through the tunnel and parked across from the arena.  The vibe was awesome with so much excitement in the air.  We didn't have tickets but thought it would be great just to be there during the playoffs.  I ended up getting Marc-Andre Fleury's jersey.  For those of you who don't know, he is their main goalie and happens to be Canadian (along with about 50% of the rest of their guys lol).  The game was about to start in 10 minutes so we thought we would just walk around as far in the arena as we could get without tickets, just to check out the place.  We passed an older lady working in front of the ticket booths and she asked us if we had tickets we just laughed, being from Toronto where the tickets are hundreds and hundreds of dollars a piece to see the Leafs and none are ever available we just assumed they were sold out.  She said to us "you're right here, why don't you just ask and see?" and we were SO glad we did!  We ended up getting two tickets in the lower bowl in section 110. 

It was incredible, we just laughed and laughed that we actually got two tickets together for a playoff game when we knew that NEVER would happened back home.  It was extra special for me, since it was the first time I had been to an NHL game and it was for my new favorite team, during the playoffs in their new house!   I was like a kid in a candy store running to my seat as I could hear the intro music the Penns start every game with.  Unfortunately they lost the game but all in all, an amazing day.




***

Since the beginning of May, I have not been able to work out but I am pretty much good to go now and look forward to getting back on the work-out wagon. 

I just got back from spending my 5th anniversary in Europe where we walked and walked and walked and walked but it was an amazing trip with lots of sight seeing and lots of just experiencing life overseas.  It was our first time making the trip across the pond and I loved every minute of it.  Today and yesterday has just been time spent getting rebalanced with the time change, but tomorrow will bring exercise back to the forefront.

"this is for you today Marc Rigby"

The alarm went off at 4:45 Saturday morning, I know for some this is a regular occurrence, but it isn't for me.  I usually crawl out of bed around 7 am.  I got up, made a couple eggs and toast and boiled the water for a tea.  I already had my clothes and shoes laid out from the night before and while the water heated, I got ready.   I closed the clasp on my heart-rate monitor and strapped the watch to my left wrist.  Breakfast was ready and I ran out the door as the rain was coming down hard.

As I approached the on ramp to the highway  I needed to hear one of my favorite songs to get my energy pumped.  It was about 5:10 by this time.  I punched in number 28 and found my song and cranked the volume and without evening thinking about it, I said in a loud confident voice "This is for you today Marc Rigby", and then I got a chocked up and a few tears appeared. 

For many years Marc participated in the WWF CN Tower Climb.  He was a big lover of animals but raccoons especially.  If you were a facebook friend of his, this picture might look familiar as even his profile pic was of a cute and cuddly looking raccoon.  I think if I remember correctly, he may have even safed a few of these little critters. 

I somehow had convinced one of my colleagues to take part in event and during the lead up to Saturday we helped motivate each other.  Thanks again Anzira, I am so grateful you were there to climb too!  I made my way to her house as her very nice husband had got up with her to drive us into the city so we didn't need to worry about parking etc.  We got to the Sky Walk through the convention centre and within a few minutes where registered and in line to run through the rain to the entrance of the tower.   We ran down the hill and around the corner, went through security, there was no turning back now!  We followed the line and went through the second security check and got into line. 

To get to the starting point there were a couple of sets to climb and this served as the warm up.  I made may way to the table, handed over my time card and started my heart-rate monitor.  I made my way up the first few flights of stairs and my immediate thought was "I DID NOT properly train for this!!!"  It had been not even ten flights and my legs were burning already. 

I took a few breaks and caught my breath and after the first twenty flights or so I seemed to get into my groove.   I noticed the first few flights it had spiked to over 175 and I knew that was too high to maintain so I started paying more attention to that and my breathing.  While I took a quick rest on the platform I found stretching my legs made a huge difference and I started breathing through my nose to keep my heart-rate down.

I found the flights between 50 and 80 to be the toughest but it was great to pass the half-way point at 72.  Digging down I just kept thinking "just do it", "just do it" and I thought about Marc.  Marc was truly my inspiration for climbing the tower this year, especially after I learned he climb while battling cancer last year.  It was such an amazing experience to be encouraged and help encourage complete strangers while we all climbed, I feel so lucky to have had the chance to participate in such a great event.  I continued climbing and resting every 4-6 flights and finally made may way to finish.  I handed up my time card and as I reached the end of the official climb my time card was punched. 

Within 39 minutes and 32 seconds I had completed my climb.  I was so proud and happy to have finished in under 40 minutes.  Next year my goal is to finish in less than 30!  After I finished I still had a few more flights to climb to get out of the stairwell and it was like walking into a different world when I got to the main level after climbing stairs in what felt like a castle tower where your vision was limited to the couple of flights above and below you. 

All in all, an amazing experience and it was a great way to remember a special person.  Thanks for the opportunity, motivation and inspiration you provided Marc!  Without you, I would never have had the chance to do this.

less meat = less bloating?

Is it possible for my stomach to be flatter from not eating dairy?


I just wonder if by cutting out the cream and cheese I would usually have makes that much of a difference when it comes to bloating? I just feel flatter in the belly area. Maybe it also stems from the omega oils I am taking with my meals and added fibre from the berries in my mid morning snack and salad lunches.
I think I have jumped on to the vegetarian bandwagon...at least for 3/4 meals per day.  I will probably never give up steak because it is just too yummy on the charcoal bbq! This weekend my goal is to find another yummy recipe to have for lunch next week for some more variety. I feel like my body is remembering how it felt last summer and is bouncing back with every work out I do and I like how I felt last night when looking in the mirror seeing less "spare tire" around my hips.  If that isn't motivation to eat less meat, I don't know what is!

***

On another note, I had camp last night and I was already limping when I got home.  The stairs took a little longer to climb than usual, thankfully I live in a tiny bungalow with not many stairs!  I think I will be putting my flats on sooner than later but for the time being, I am not in a rush to get out of my chair  of lol

Gott'a LOVE booty camp!

LYM Challenge – still in week 1

Week one officially started on Monday this week and the main goal is to “be healthy”. This was great timing as Booty Camp started again this week. We did some different upper body work and my shoulders are tight and sore today but I am looking forward to getting them moving again tonight. Tomorrow night I will get back on the mat yoga wise and Friday will include a good long walk (maybe a little “ahem” light jogging? Ali…what do you think?). Yesterday was my rest day so I will see what I feel up to doing on Saturday and Sunday…I like decided that day since my week is usually pre-planned.

I have been making changes to my diet, mostly going back to my better eating habits which include tracking and overall reducing the amount of junk food I eat. I find it funny that just by the thought of “oh I don’t want to eat that cause then I have to track it and I know it will push me over my limit of calories or fat or sugar for the day” has reduced the amount of bad or unhealthy food I eat. Why do I need a little daily report to keep me in line and to not eat something I KNOW I shouldn’t eat? I have incorporated my frozen berries with protein powder as my mid morning snack so my first three meals of the day have been vegetarian which also happens to fit in nicely with my LYM challenge . I have only had a couple of ounces of animal protein over the past few days. I switched to a different travel mug for my morning coffee reducing the amount I drink by about a cup and I am using vanilla almond milk instead of cream and brown sugar instead of white. Lunch this week has been the black bean mango salad with the coconut rice, it is pretty tasty but next time I won’t use as much garlic. I feel bad for my colleagues who I meet with after lunch and my dh asks me every day…”what have you been eating!?”.

On another note, the CN tower climb is next Saturday so I guess that means at least one day this week will be a stepper day.

That’s all I got for now.

Look out CN Tower

I went to the Marlie's game with my dh this afternoon. After we got home I decided I should get a little activity in this weekend so I hopped on the stepper. 

1744...is how mandy steps it is to the top of the tower...

I know it will be harder climbing real stairs on the 16th.  I would rather train on my little stepper getting my legs ready than just relying on running and that is why I kept going...

And now it is time for a shower and a yummy dinner of charcoal bbq steak :)

Living My Moksha: Week 1 - Be Healthy!

I don't remember if I mentioned this already...actually thinking about it now I probably did.  Anyway, tomorrow marks the start of the Living Your Moksha challenge I signed up for at my yoga studio.  I have been looking for "more" and this challenge couldn't have come at a better time. 

To kick start the challenge I made a couple of new recipes to have for lunch this week.  I have been introducing more vegetarian meals into my diet over the past year or so but usually it was either eggplant parm or chickpea stew.  This weekend I branched out and made coconut brown basmati rice and black bean mango salad. 

 Black Bean Mango Salad

Can of low sodium Black Beans (I used blue menu)
1 organic Mango
1 red pepper
half a sweet onion
fresh garlic
fresh ginger root
Fresh cilantro
Honey
Rice Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Olive Oil

Coconut Rice

A can of Coconut Milk
Brown Basmati Rice
Water

Cook according to the directions on the bag of rice

While at the local grocery store this weekend I picked up a few new herb plants for my kitchen windowsill.  I know if I leave them outside I will complete forget I have them and buy more "fresh" herbs so they have to stay within eye sight.  Plus I just love the fresh look they give the kitchen, not to mention hot GOOD they smell :)  I got Basil, Rosemary and Cilantro...I use to HATE cilantro now I add it to as many dishes as I can!

My pillow lost this round

I wasn't feeling well last night and was up till almost midnight.  I had already set my alarm for 6:00 to get up and run but when the time came I really didn't want to get up.  The alarm went off at 6:00am, I hit snooze, it went off again at 6:09 and guess what, I hit snooze!  It went off at 6:18 and I reset it for 7am. I I figured I deserved the 40 minuets extra in bed, it would be so nice.  I'm tired and I deserve to stay in bed since I didn't feel well the night before plus it's Friday!   Then, the guilt set it as I remembered reading a comment posted by John in Adena's thread saying that the first few weeks, its all about training your brain not your body.  So after that thought popped in my mind there was no way I was lying around any longer, I got up shut off the alarm and went down to the basement.

I went for 26 mins and burned 260 calories, not the longest or most intense workout, but at 6:30am, it is still a workout!