Three Things Thursday

I am borrowing this from Leigh – it’s too cute to not share! You should definitely head over to her blog and check out her post.

Three books I’ve read recently:

1. Divergent
2. Insurgent
3. The Passage

Three shows you must watch:

1. Parks and Recreation – so freaking funny.
2. Fringe – especially if you like sci-fi.  Even though it ends in January it’s still worth a watch
3. Mythbusters – this is seriously my ideal job

Three things I’d take if I was stuck on a deserted island:

1. A boat…can I say that? If not then a solar powered, fully stocked e-reader.
2. An unlimited supply of Diet Coke (Stole this from Leigh)
3. Duct Tape – Seriously.  They did an episode on it on Mythbusters

Three races I’d like to run:

1. NYC Half Marathon
2. Trail race in the mountains
3. any Ironman event

Three things I am looking forward to:

1. Christmas
2. Florida, San Diego, and my half Ironman next year
3. Shawn coming home for the weekend

Three things that REALLY annoy me:

1. People who can’t drive the speed limit
2. My neighbours (only on the one side though)
3. Know it alls, complainers, negative people in general!

What 3 races would you like to run??

Paranormal Paleo & Headbands, Oh My

Hello!

My friend Michelle over at Push.Pump.Progress is doing a “Paranormal Paleo” challenge for this week – check out her blog for more info or to join in.

Basically you eat paleo (or in my case, cleaner) for the week, and upload photos or recipes to her Facebook page. I'm using it as an excuse to make myself healthier foods and hopefully get into a good routine again. I was doing really well but have since fallen off the healthy eating wagon. So far (other than the bag of gummies I bought yesterday…oops) I have been doing really well. For dinner tonight I have roasted asparagus and lemon chicken, and a random assortment of veggies, too. I'm not super creative in the kitchen unless I'm baking, so simple is better. I also am not eating Paleo, mostly because I can't live without my (wheat free) oatmeal, and I don't eat much meat other than chicken. And there's only so much chicken I can eat.

On another note I finally got back behind my sewing machine this past weekend. I've been wanting to try making the non slip running headband for a while. I found a few tutorials online and through trial and error made four this weekend.

They work really well, and even stayed in during my 9km run on Monday! No movement and they are so easy to make! I'll never buy another one again. Now I can justify having the massive amount of ribbon hanging around my craft room. At least, that's what I tell myself.

 

Hope your week is going well!

 

The Comparison Trap

I hate the comparison trap.

We’ve all been there. There’s always that one guy or girl that is that much better than you at what you do, or dresses better, is in better shape, or has more friends. You wonder how they do it, and why you can’t do the same.

I’ve managed to learn to deal with this trap for the most part. I am truly blessed in my life and I don’t take what I have for granted. But the one place I can’t get over comparing myself to others is the gym.

With CrossFit, our scores and times are written on a white board, so everyone can see everyone else’s time. Which is good generally – it creates a healthy sense of competition, even with just yourself, and helps you to push yourself a little bit harder. So on a regular basis, I don’t think twice about my name and scores being written for the rest of the gym to see. Unless I have a bad workout, of course.

I mean I know we can’t be “on” every day, and it’s not like the gym is the be all and end all of existence, but I don’t like “sucking”. I don’t like being last, or slowest, or with the least weight or reps. I’m fine being in the middle of the pack, where I normally am, and when I know I haven’t done my best it bothers me.

I had a shitty workout Monday. I felt like I was going to pass out the entire time so I had to go slower, and stop, and take rests, and ended up with a slow time compared to everyone else.

Ah there it is – compared to everyone else.

I need to remember that my journey is my own, whether in life or in the gym, and comparing myself to others in this way is only to drag me down instead of propel me onwards and upwards.

It’s a hard lesson to learn. But I’m trying.

What being an athlete means to me http:/

What being an athlete means to me http://ow.ly/c1DMo @Fitfluential @FitApproach

Happy Canada Day

 

Happy birthday Canada!

Source

Wordless Wednesday

More photos from our vacation <3

Sorry For The Silence

Hey guys! I know I’ve been quiet this week but I am currently on vacation in lovely Alberta, the “sunniest province in Canada”.

I owe a foodie pen pal post (I was spoiled, it was amazing) and the general nonsense I produce but right now I’m enjoying myself too much to turn on the computer.

Promise to wrote a real post tomorrow.

Foodie Pen Pal Reveal!

It’s reveal day for my first go-round with Foodie Pen Pals!

In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. 
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. 

Click HERE to find out more and how to sign up!

I was thoroughly spoiled by my foodie pen pal, Cher.  I told her I had a sweet tooth and liked chocolate and she definitely took that and ran with it.

Here are some photos of the goodies I got (please excuse the awesome photos, I know I’m bordering on photo-taking genius):

I gotta say that I loved EVERYTHING, especially the chocolate covered pecans – I will have to find me some of those! The agave was neat, and I’m glad I got to try it, and will definitely be using this kind as well as the regular kind in baking and in general more often now.

This was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to participate in May’s exchange, too!

#SweatPink

Eeeek it’s official!

I’m sure some of you have noticed the new badge at the side of my blog – the “sweat pink” one.  Well I applied and was accepted as a #sweatpink ambassador for Fit Approach! I love their mission, and I’m proud to represent them on this blog and in real life!

From their site:

Sweat Pink Ambassadors live the Fit Approach mission every day: they sweat hard, play hard, and inspire those around them to achieve their best selves.

Feel free to check out my profile on the Fit Approach website, and definitely check out the other ambassadors there, too – I’m in some awe inspiring company.

Interested in becoming an ambassador? Check out the #SweatPink ambassador program.

Three Thing Thursday

1. I’ve been super stressed out this week due to ongoing family troubles.  I actually have no reason to be stressed but it’s my natural tendency to stress out about anything and everything.  Due to this I haven’t been sleeping well, and my workouts are suffering, and now I’m worried I’m either getting sick, or have allergies, or have some sort of acid reflux issue.  Add hypochondria to my never ending list of problems please.

2. The post injury “come back” race is this Sunday.  I’m looking forward to running on trails and enjoying running again.  Of course, I have a time in mind I’d like to finish by, but since I haven’t done a lot of 5km running in the past few weeks I’ll be happy to finish standing, not limping, and with a smile on my face.

3.  I may have pressed “submit” on my registration for the Guelph Lake Try-A-Tri this morning.  Looks like the next few months will be full of swim-bike-run goodness.  The distances are short – 375m swim, 10km bike and 2.5km run.  All distances I know I can handle, but I need practice in the swim and bike.  So as of Monday morning I’m going to shove myself into my sausage swim suit and try not to look like a whale, and dust off the ol’ mountain bike and try to make this 10km bike less disgustingly difficult than the duathlon I did last September.