Three Things Thursday

Ok, so it is that time of the week again where I state the three things that I am greatful for.

1. Stubborness
I am happy been stubborn and I am greatful that I am this way. Just a little over 9 years ago my mole on my arm started bleeding. I went to the doctors and they said that there was nothing wrong with it - I made them take the mole out and it ended up being melanoma. I had to go back in and had 2 more surgeries to remove more skin around the mole. If I had not have stood my ground it would be a completely different story being told today, I would most likely be 6 feet under. I was the youngest diagnosed in the skin cancer clinic that I went to. I was 19 years old.  I am overly cautious now with my body, and when I don't feel well, I try to eliminate the cause for my illness, and if I can't figure it out I will see a doctor. I know that I am now at a higher chance of getting cancer again, so I have to be extra cautious now.

2. My Parents
My parents brought be back from the brink of destruction. When I was living by myself and going to uni, I had a pretty horrible housemate and she blamed me for many things, among them her bulimia and also being drugged when she went out (I was not a party goer, but I was meant to look after her or so her parents said!!) After my housemate moved out, I started finding comfort in food, and before I knew it, I was obese, and was slowly eating myself to death - chocolate & deep fried foods were my best friends. My parents came and picked me up and I moved back home with them, and mum and dad put me on a diet, slowly I began to lose weight and regaining self confidence. I still have about 20 pounds to lose to get to my idea weight, and sometimes I do slip back into my old ways, but they are becoming less these days.

3. Music
I started playing the piano soon after I learned how to read by myself for the first time. I find that music has a calming effect over me. I wish that I had of stayed playing the piano, but when studying for finals at school it was hard to keep up and concentrate on both. When i was younger I dreamed of writing my own music and performing it for others, these days I am rediscovering the joys of singing and listening to music again. One day I will write a song, not in the next few years, but eventually when I get my immediate goals settled!!

Hope that you enjoyed this edition of three things Thursday!!

It is getting very close to the BMO Vancouver half. I will be working at the expo on the Saturday and running/walking on a treadmill for an hour, to show that anyone can get exercise when they want to :)

Tedious Tuesday

Tuesdays really wear me out - Tuesdays and Thursdays are the worst days in the week as far as I am concerned. It is something about the T's. Went to the gym this morning and wasn't very successful in my workout! Lacked energy completely. I only managed to do 10 minutes on the treadmill and then 10 minutes on the bike, before I decided that it was enough and I couldn't possibly do anymore. I am not even sure why I am so un-energetic. I went to bed early last night and before I knew it the alarm went off at 4:58am - maybe I should try working out in the afternoon - but I am worried that I will be too energised to sleep.*sigh* what to do. Anyway -  I think I am getting too sleepy to even complete this blog....

Weekend Wrap Up

After a tiresome week, and then having a relatively unhappy Friday night, I was ready to embrace the weekend for all that it was.

On Saturday the weather was kind of sad - it was raining and a little cold. MJ & I got up early (well early for a Saturday) and then went for a short run - really short we ran to the video store and then back to my house so that I could pick up my togs for a swim and then back to MJ house for brunch. In the afternoon I met up with W for the beginning of our training for our triathlon (which is next year - nothing wrong with getting in early and it is a great source of cross training) at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre for a quick few laps and then we wanted to explore the hot tub and possibly the sauna. After about 6 laps we decided that the hot tub was calling our name, so we went there to only discover that the pool was filled with about 12 men, so we went back to the pool and swam some more laps. After swimming about 700 meters we decided that was a good attempt for our first outing and for a two - nie, it was great value!! Afterwards we went for a lovely afternoon tea and split in preparation for the run on Sunday morning.

On Sunday I ran 11.26kms (could have done a lot further but didn't want to push myself too hard) in 1 hour 11 minutes (but I stopped for about 5 minutes for a bathroom break) - I am not as confident as I should be for the 1/2 but it is all preparation for the full in 8 weeks time and I am going to concentrate on that. In the afternoon MJ & I played some frisbee in the park - until I was too utterly exhausted to exert anymore energy on throwing a frisbee!

Was meant to get up early for a gym session - but decided last night that today will be my rest day and I will get back into it tomorrow morning where I will hit the gym and do inclines on the treadmill - Prospect Hill will not defeat me this year!!

That sums up my weekend - I thought that I would end my Monday posts with 5 songs that motivate me during a run:

1 - Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
2 - Hungarian (Bond)
3 - Weapon of Choice (Fatboy Slim)
4 - Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)
5 - Whyyawannabringmedown (Kelly Clarkson)

Have a good Monday night!!

Goals for the Weekend

Yay - TGIF - the sun is shining and hope that it stays that way for the rest of the weekend!! Tomorrow it is early morning gym session with the BF & then off to start my Tri Training with W at the pool in her complex - we are starting out with a small pool, to prevent any chances of drowning!!

On Sunday it is taper day at the GTS with the team so they go down from 18km to 10km, a distance which I am confident with. With just over 2 weeks till the BMO Vancouver Half it is full training ahead!!!

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great weekend!!!

Three Things Thursday

Each Thursday I am going to write about 3 things that I am greatful for. The reason for this is that sometimes, I get so caught up in the negatives, that I don't often get time to think of the positives in my life. So here is the first installment of the 3 things that I am greatful for at the moment:

Joining Team In Training
I joined TNT in November 2008 just 6 weeks after arriving in Canada. I needed to make friends (and was only travelling with one other person at the time, and they didn't like to go out and meet people) and learn how to get out of my comfort zone and learn how to run. The people that I met were amazing, and I know that they will be lifelong friends. I am now a mentor with TNT, and am also training to run my first full marathon, and next year will be training with them again for the Lavaman Triathlon in Hawaii.

Taking Dance Lessons
When we arrived here, my travelling friend decided that she wanted to take dance lessons here- it was a toss up between West Coast Swing and Pussy Cat Dolls dancing. I thought that it would be more of a challenge to dance with a partner so we enrolled in West Coast Swing. We were probably the 2 most uncoordinated people that ever participated in the class, but it gave me the opportunity to meet new people. It also was where I met my darling BF, and the rest they say is history :)

My Travelling Buddy Leaving
I know that this sound a little odd - and perhaps a little cold hearted. The thing that suffocated me the most when we arrived was only having each other to depend on. Don't get me wrong, we were really best friends before we started this trip together. But after time, it seemed that she relied on me too much and to put it simply used me until her friends arrived from home. Once they arrived, she told me that we were packing up and moving to Toronto - I am stubborn and wouldn't budge, so she left with them. The reason why this is turned into such a great thing for me, is that through the help from the BF, I am living in the most wonderful place possible, living the full Canadian Dream. I live with 4 other people, all whom I get along with really well, and it has turned my world upside down, and makes me so incredibly happy to be sharing home with them - and the dogs.


So there is a little insite - there will be more to be revealed over the coming Thursdays!!  

Goals for the Week

This weeks it is time to put training first. Every second day I will be running in the gym, and on the alternate days I will be lifting weight. Saturday this week will be my rest day. I can't believe that the half marathon is only 19 days, it has gone by so quickly, and I have been focusing all my energy on making sure that my mentees are being catered for that it is sometimes, hard to remember that I also have to train (the celebrated their half way party on Sunday - so I was cheerleader for the day), needless to say that now that I am in full panic mode it is time to pound the pavement, and this year I just aim to complete the race, and I am not too concerned with what my time is. After the half marathon, I will have to continue the training as then I will have to focus all my energies on the Marathon in June, which I haven't seriously thought about yet!!! (give it a few weeks, and then I will be freaking out about that too!!)

My blog has been generously updated, by my adorable boyfriend, to make it more attractive.  You can check out his work here.

So off to bed now, early morning tomorrow off to the gym to do weights.

Too Much Chocolate

I am not going to lie. I enjoy chocolate and always have to have some form of chocolate lying around house. I have to stop eating it!! At the moment I have a chocolate induced tummy ache, and have pledged not to eat anymore chocolate until I complete the full marathon in June - that is some kind of crazy!! From this I exclude chocolate milk - and will only include solid chocolate. The reason for the chocolate milk is that I heard that it helps the recovery process, so I am going to see how that goes!!

Training wise - I freaked out about 30 minutes ago realizing that time is quickly running out for me to be ready for the Vancouver Half - my original dream of running it in 2 hours 15 minutes, is fading fast, and my goal is to do one minute better then last year or at least get to 2 hour 30 minutes. Today was my rest day after 2 days in a row at the gym, tomorrow I am going to hit it hard and work on my inclines - this year I will not be defeated by Prospect Hill!! And now that I am aware of it, I am going to do everything that I can to ensure that I run up it!!

I will be working at the BMO Vancouver Expo this year which I am quiet excited about, working on behalf of Team in Training and promoting their fall season which has some pretty awesome events!!

Time to head to bed - going to do a big run tomorrow morning at the gym!

Weekly Goal

No that it is under 30 days to the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, I thought that it would be now or never to take my training more seriously. Last week was a bit of a non workout week - went to the Gym once and then went to Hot Yoga once - 2 workouts in one week is kind of a bad effort. This weekend MJ & I went to Seattle - we managed to get one run in. It was a good chance to do some hill work in slight preparation for the hills that I will be running in a few months time (which I will freak out about later....a full marathon, how crazy can I be??). But now all my energy has to be focused on the next couple of weeks so that I can be prepared for the half marathon.

Today after spending a very aggravating 2 and a half hours in the Doctors Office, I went to the gym to hit the treadmill and the bikes. Ran 30 minutes on the Treadmill and rode the bike for 20 minutes - it felt like a really good workout, and built up a good sweat.

My goal for the rest of the week is to go to the gym once a day and use Saturday as my long run day - and celebrate with the team on Sunday as they have reached their half way mark!! I will also start to do some weight training - use the book of exercises that MJ photocopied for me, so that I have some guidance.

So it is off to bed for me, after drinking my bottle of water to hydrate myself, and be ready for the early start tomorrow morning.