2011 In Photo Review

In 2011 I…

Went to the Dominican for the first time

Went on a cruise for the first time

Was maid of honour in a wedding

Joined Crossfit

Made (and sold a few!) dog collars

Got a new job!

Ran my first (and second) 5k, an 8k, and a 10k!

Raced in my first duathlon (super proud of myself for that one, it was freaking hard)

Fostered “Dainty” (only had her a week)

Fostered Bubba…twice (yes we still have him)

Started half marathon training at the Running Room and signed up for a crazy amount of races for 2012 (ok…2 so far…but there will be more).

And, for me, the most significant thing that happened in 2011 was tied to my weight loss – I went from 190 last December to 147.4lbs today, from a size 14 to a size 8. I will not slip off the bandwagon this time, like I did a few years ago (lost 30lbs and gained 15-20 back). So far so good.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years.  See ya next year!

‘Tis The Season – 2012 Goals

First things first – the workouts!

Ran 10ish km with the Running Room yesterday.  I definitely overdressed – I thought that -5 degree (Celsius, mind you) was going to feel colder than it was, but I ended up sweating through my hat and my sweatshirt.

We definitely didn’t do an LSD pace, it was a lot faster than that, but the route was lovely – all through wooded paths with minimal road running.  A nice change of pace.

A week and a half ago or so I hurt some area on my right leg – it’s not my hamstring, it’s not my glute, but somewhere in between.  It only hurts when I raise my leg, so it’s some how involved in this lifting motion.  Anyway it was definitely aggravated by the run yesterday, and the 2 GIGANTIC hills at the end of the run didn’t help either.  Epsom salt bath and lounging on the couch with old Office episodes definitely did help.

So many bruises

I was a bit stiff this morning, but this evening was a lot better.  I made it to Crossfit tonight for an absolutely BRUTAL workout:

5 Rounds for time of:
10 ring dips
10 pull ups
10 power cleans (65#)

All of this after finding our one rep max for split jerks.

Here is a link to a youtube video demonstrating split jerks – for some reason I can’t link to it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxRU0nsCbFA

I heart split jerks. Needless to say my arms are dying right now. Not looking forward to how they feel tomorrow morning. And I finally got my first Crossfit blister. Far from sexy:

Blisters are hot. That's what I tell myself at least.

2012 Health and Fitness Goals

Well since everyone else seems to be doing it, I might as well jump on the bandwagon, too.

1. First half marathon – Chilly Half Marathon, March 4.  I have lofty time goals for this one, mostly finishing around 2:10, but I also have the more realistic goal of finishing. Anything faster than 2:30 will be a dream for me.  A lot of the time goal will be based on what the weather decides to do that day.

2. 10km trail race –  April 22.  I have always wanted to do a trail race and this one isn’t too far away from home, and 10km will be a nice distance to try it at. I haven’t fully committed to this one yet, but will probably sign up for it before the year is out.

3. Second half marathon – Goodlife Half Marathon, May 6 (I think that’s the date).  Already signed up for this one – it has a fast, downhill reputation, and I’m interested to see how different it is from the Chilly Half.

4. Warrior Dash – Haven’t signed up for it yet (I believe it is July 21?) but the gym is putting a team together and I think it would be an awesome challenge.

Now onto the non-race goals: I really, really want to gain more muscle and lose some fat.  I know it’s vain but I seriously want some visible abs, and I know abs are “built in the kitchen” so I need to start dialing in my nutrition.  I will be meeting with a sports nutritionist in the new year as well as following the Whole Living Detox program for 28 days starting January 2.  It is basically a less strict variation of the elimination diet I did previously but I know it will help jump start my clean eating.

I also want to start going to yoga once a week (or at the very least twice a month), and I’d really like to get back to a spin class every now and then. I miss it! I’m jealous of all of you who live in bigger cities and have all the fancy spin studios.

I have the next 2 weeks to fully flesh out all these ideas and put my plans into motion.  I’m not usually one for resolutions, and I’m not saying that these are going to be “resolutions” but a new year is always a good time for a new start, right?

So what are your goals for 2012? Any new races? New PRs? New sport to try? 

Hiatus Over

Well…I’ve been gone a long time, eh?

Sorry about that (to the like 6 people that actually read this!). I was on a fitness roll there for a while, between Crossfit and half marathon training, then work got in the way.  Working 49 hrs in 5 days, all overnights, kinda put a damper on my desire to get my sweat on.

However this has been rectified.  I PR’d my deadlift again today – 210lbs! I have a lot to work on but my coach says my strength is good and my form is ok.  He gave me some exercises to start working on to hopefully allow me to reach my new deadlift goal in 6 or so months – 250lbs.

Of course it is also holiday season so we have been to a few Christmas-y things too, which have kept me from updating anything useful.  At my work’s Christmas party on Wednesday I actually won the 50/50 draw – after winning the Bic Band the other week I think I should start playing the lottery, my odds are pretty good right now!

                                                 I clean up ok!

Otherwise we still have Bubba – he started school 2 weeks ago and it’s a bit of a struggle for him.  We were learning hand signals in class last week – really useful for a blind dog, dontcha think?

Anyway – running 10km tomorrow morning with the Running Room and I’m looking forward to running in the cooler weather, although it is not supposed to be below zero this whole week leading up to Christmas.

I promise not to leave you hanging again!

Random Friday Facts #3

What a week!

1a – Ok it really hasn’t been that dramatic, but it sure has felt that way.  I haven’t had a day off in what seems like a long, long time, so working the weekend, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday kinda left me more drained than usual.

1b – I work 12 or 13 hour shifts at my full time job so while it seems like I’m whining about working a normal 5 day work week I really worked 57 hours in those 5 days. I’m allowed to be tired (at least in my own mind)

2 – I also so far have only made it to Crossfit once on Monday night (but going today, I promise!) and have only ran once this week. Crappy, crappy training on my part. One of my goals for the new year is to make a training schedule and actually stick to it, and include some more yoga. My hips miss it.

3 – The one run I have done was awesome. I’m hurting a bit today from it but we really pushed it last night and the pain is worth it!

4 – Speaking of pain – tomorrow is our fundraiser at the gym, and the dreaded “Fran” workout. I also have a long run with the RR on Sunday. I’m not sure how I’m going to manage the run but thankfully it’s long and SLOW so I should be able to shuffle along for 9km.  My poor body is so nice to me to put up with the crap I put it through!

5 – Today is our last full day as a 2 dog family (until Bubba finds a home again) so I am going to fully enjoy the “quiet”.  It’s not quiet but 2 dog busy is a lot different than 3 dog busy.

6 – I WON A GIVEAWAY! Skinny Runner was having a BicBand giveaway on her blog and I was one of the winners! I cannot wait to get it in the mail, I’ve been coveting them for quite some time! Pictures and review when I get it and get to test it out

7 – I have all these goals I want to accomplish in 2012. That is a whole different post but I’m hoping to have it up before the end of the month.  2011 has been a huge life changing year personally for me, and I want to expand on that in 2012.

8 – Other blog posts and changes I plan on working on – How to pick a puppy 2&3, strength training, be more organized when it comes to posting workouts, less emphasis on weight and more on being healthy, Christmas post (coming this weekend!), what I wish Canada had but we can’t get here, etc. Randomness but really by now would you expect anything less?

9 – I have had this little blog for a month now! I’m so happy to have a place to write again, to rant, to connect with other people with similar interests.  Excited to see where it goes in the next year.

10 – I’m heading to the One of a Kind show with my sister in law this afternoon to shop and/or ogle gorgeous handmade loveliness.  I have bought 2 necklaces there a few years ago and I love them.  Here’s hoping I can find some treasures there today.

11 – I have eaten all my candy canes.  I am accepting Hershey’s chocolate mint candy canes if anyone would like to send me some.

12 – TGIF! No work for me till Tuesday! Enjoy the weekend, especially those of you running RnR Las Vegas this weekend!! I hope to be there one day!