More to Life Than This

Century Ride

2012-09-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

I did it!! I actually crossed off a fitness/adventure goal that I had made for myself. I seem to rarely follow through with my plans, so when I am able to actually achieve what I dreamed I might one day do.... well I feel great!

Yesterday my buddy Salman and I set out to Point Pelee (approx 70km away) at 05:00.

We decided that since I had to be back at 4pm we should leave before our originally scheduled time (7am) to give us an extra couple of hours for breaks, sight-seeing, emergencies, etc. It was dark and COLD when we set off, and we made a lot of wrong turns trying to find the Chrysler Greenway. Once we finally, FINALLY found it, it was too dark to risk biking along a pitch black route that we were unfamiliar with. We found a place to grab breakfast and I had some coffee and toast. The coffee definitely helped warm up the hands and freezing noses.

Once it got brighter outside, we set out to find the trail again. It was easy, and it was right there. And once we were on it, we realised how lucky we were, because it was a beautiful 40km straight trail that was shielded from cars, horns, pollution, and noise and would take us over half the way there without us even thinking about directions. We had no problems at this point, and we were merrily counting bunnies and pedestrians that we spotted on our way.

We knew we were getting closer as we'd hit the important bends in the Greenway and certain landmarks on the map. I was getting antsy, and each time my buddy would check the GPS I'd update facebook, in case we were lost or in trouble. Finally it was time to turn off the Greenway and onto the streets of Leamington, following the signs heading to the national park!

We could feel ourselves getting closer and closer, and it was awesome to think that we'd finally made it, and we were half-way home! We passed a lot of restaurants advertising fresh fish that were closed, because it was only around 11am at this point. We paid the $7.50 and toured the National Park a little until it was lunch time. We were able to get right to the top of Pelee Point, which is the South-most part of Canada.

We'd lucked out with a perfectly blue sky, cool temps and few clouds. There were stars when we set out, and we caught the moon rising on our way back. I love that I've managed perfect weather for my 3 longer rides:)

The way back had us take little breaks every half hour. We'd stop to drink some water, hunt around in our backpacks for stray food, and stretch/lie down to relax. It was tough because we knew how far we had until we got back, but we also knew we HAD TO KEEP GOING or we wouldn't get home to more food, water, hot showers, naps :D

We made a final last stop at a Tim's to grab bagels and cookies and then we set off on the last 40 minutes of our ride through town to get to our area. We were exhausted and got into some fights with a couple of drivers, as one almost hit my buddy (turning right on a red-light, failed to even LOOK to his right). We hit our area before my Garmin said 100, so we toured our block a few times (too many times...) to push the mileage to this beautiful number:

And we were done! I grabbed some pizza, soaked in a hot tub and went to bed at around 10pm. I slept like a log and awoke to surprisingly find that I could walk with almost no limp, and my legs weren't as sore as I thought they'd be. I'm so proud of myself, I can't stop bragging and reading about centuries online.
I have another (easier?) goal coming up next weekend, 100km. It'll be an organised ride, my first, so I'm still excited! I need to remember a few things from this ride to help improve my next one, and I'll be set for a great time :)

New Apt

2012-09-09T14:06:00.000-07:00

My new apartment is not what I had imagined it to be... but it's a lot better in a lot of ways.
We don't have internet until Wednesday, so I've been hiking the 10 minutes to school everyday to check my email, watch some TV, send out resumes and talk to people.

I've had to learn to compromise on what seems like EVERYTHING. I can't be a slob at my new place - my boyfriend seems to get anxious if things aren't in their rightful place, and he won't sit down to relax unless all teh dishes are washed and everything is clean. Our new place is quite spotless and organised, but it takes a lot of effort.

I've had to move all of my things to make room for his, but we seem to have found a lovely balance so far. He has claimed the spare bedroom as his office/laboratory and the bedroom is decorated with my posters, holds most of my clothes in the closet, and we're using my sheets & pillows on his (larger) bed.

I have lots of plans for the next month, mainly to BECOME EMPLOYED ~~already~~!
We've been getting into a lovely routine of evening walks to the park, and I've been experimenting running up the one massive hill. It's insanely tall - I finally ran all the way up and almost puked. My aim for the end of this month is to do repeats of it - ALL the way up. We'll see how it goes.

I'll update again with pics (maybe) and more frequency once we have internet! :)

Apartment Decorating

2012-08-20T20:37:00.002-07:00

It's 11pm and after a bath and some tea, I should be drifting off...
But I'm too excited! ~~(and too nervous about the Rise & Shine circuit tomorrow at 0645!)~~
I keep thinking about my new apartment, how I'll get the new keys this week and how it's going to look, feel and become as we move into it.
I think I've found a pretty neat room-mate, second to only my sister. I hope it will be a tidy, quiet, love-filled apartment.

As I couldn't sleep, I decided to look through some decoration, home & living blogs... you know, fuel for my dreams? Anyway, I wanted to share a few more thoughts I wanted for my new places, as well as some cool pictures I came across. I'll put the URL of the place I found the pictures as the caption.

Candles EVERYWHERE!
Fairy lights.... in the doorways? (I currently have two sets merged together, in my bedroom.)
Bright colours... nice furniture? ~~False!~~ We'll probably just have whatever things people decide to donate to us. I'm currently hoping we have a full set of everything we need, but secretly dreaming of matching furniture and curtains :)
A clean closet. I try and make it a habit to recycle my clothes ~~(and I always buy second-hand)~~ every now and then, mostly when the seasons change. I've been lazy lately and kept all the stuff for donation out in bags/suitcases in the hallway. They're supposed to be in my way to remind me, but I just remember how I'll need a car, helping hands, multiple trips, a desire to do it... However, in a real attempt to get it all sorted, my boyfriend let me know that they'll be used to sound-proof my current roomie's place, as he'll be a metal drummer in a house of girls, so I already know how annoying that can be.
Organised bookshelves! Yes, plural! I had an old balance-challenged bookshelf that I shared with a previous room-mate. Its days were spent holding up lots and lots of hard-back, extremely huge business and psychology textbooks, so it has lower-, higher-, and general back pain ;) Calvin brought me a brand new, magestic-looking one, so I hope to keep both of them in full use, side-by-side.
Excellent food, everywhere! My grocery bill is currently just for me - I buy my own soy/almond/coconut milk, I rarely buy eggs, and most of my weekly budget goes to fruits & veggies. I borrow some staples (bananas, ketchup, onions, garlic, spices) but buy my own pasta and rice whenever I decide I want it. It'll be nice to split up the weekly grocery bill and tweak both our diets a little bit. With a shift for more home-cooked common foods, and less candy, sweets, chips, packaged foods, and processed cheese.
I need to find a new place for my composting worms... they are currently happy and relaxed in a cupboard in the living room, in a quiet, dark, cool place. Having them a couple years, I have been able to ~~keep them alive!~~ expand them to three plastic containers vs. the yogurt cup they first came in. I need to find a place that won't be disturbed often, but isn't so hidden that I'll forget about them.
A wall of plants. Not really - but Calvin has been really excited to mush together a bunch of flower containers into a compressed, space-saving way. I'll try figure out how it's going to work once we move everything in and see how much space we have. Maybe the bookshelf might have space for some pots?

Hanging plant 'pots'.
Candles made from wine bottles!
Storage within a lamp stem.
Storage for the bathroom.

http://www.herdofblack.com/


http://itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.ca/2011/10/bachmans-fall-ideas-house-2011-part-2.html

http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.ca/2012/07/a-lamp-full-of-memories.html


http://itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.ca/2011/10/bachmans-fall-ideas-house-2011-part-2.html

Monday

2012-08-20T14:10:00.002-07:00

Heading to the gym in two minutes... hoping to get a good sweat going. I'm also avoiding strangers coming in to see our house, ha!

Excited for the rowing machine, some miles on the treadmill and a neat bike ride under clouds. Not necessarily in that order.

How's your Monday going?

Anybody else have a sweat-proof sports bra? :)

Edit: ran 2.85 miles before my right ankle felt a bit weird (I was aiming for 4mi). I bought a new pair of rollerblades a couple of days ago. It's been loads of fun to glide down the riverside trail! It's definitely been a huge adjustment, however, as my 22 year-old self isn't as balanced, fast-moving or confident one on blade as my 10 year-old self was.

I then did 2km on the rowing machine, in 9.20mins. It's loads of fun, but I'm worried my technique isn't perfect - something I've read about that can injure one in time. I might ask a personal trainer to watch me and offer tips? I still have a free hour session that's due to expire August 31st!

And the highlight of my Monday? 15 minutes in the sauna - it was lovely :) I can't wait for cooler, fall weather when the sauna will be what I look forward to while on the treadmill :D

New Gym

2012-08-11T13:18:00.002-07:00

Two weeks of August have almost flown by! I've been a member at my new gym for 11 days now, and I haven't been able to honour my challenge and go everyday.
I had planned to go spinning yesterday morning. I had planned to attend yoga this morning. I missed out yesterday because it was waaaay too early (6:30) and I went to bed late, and I didn't go this morning... well because I decided to shuffle my schedule around and go before work.

I woke up at around 8:30 this morning, cleaned some dishes, make some soup, emailed some people and read some things. I also watched some TV.

I decided I had a neat little window between 2pm and work at 4 to hit the gym for a treadmill run. I miscalculated and ended up having time for 2miles and a .5mile cool-down.

9:27, 8:48, 6:07

I was a puddle of sweat by the time I finished, but I'm pleased to say that I didn't stop until mile 2 :) I took my first shower at the gym and noticed a few things:

the showers are super tall. I haven't seen showers THIS TALL/high in Canada since I arrived. I usually have to squat a little to wash my hair, and I'm short! It wasn't a very pleasant surprise as I hadn't taken out my contacts and they got a bit splashed.
the gym has soap! Really nice smelling soap. So I don't ever have to bring mine, which is awesome, because I hate having to put a slippery soap bar in a baggy and take it home... such a mess.
the water fountain is a bit silly. There isn't a very high stream, so it doesn't allow me to fill up my whole bottle in one go, but that's pretty much the standard, I think.

Once I had toweled and changed, I grabbed my deodorant from my bag and started spraying myself... only to find out that it was sun-block! At least I smell like a tanned person vs. a sweaty smelly person, so it's okay, but I have many things to learn until I achieve the perfect gym-shower-work experience.

I did, however, manage to grab a decent picture of my soaked shirt, so I'll post that once I get home and can upload the photo. It's such a silly tradition, isn't it? :)

Belle River Bike

2012-08-10T14:17:00.002-07:00

My last big cycling post had my longest bike being 36 miles (58km) in almost 3 hours.
I'd like to update that number to 38miles (61km) in 3h15.
I had a few free hours yesterday and the weather was cloudy, cool, and perfect for a long ride. I gathered up some snacks, packed spare clothes and headed out, telling my room-mates I'd be back in 4 hours.
While it did take 4 hours total, I only rode for 3 of those hours. I meant to bike from Windsor - Belle River (19mi/30km according to Google) but made it to about 6km away before I decided I couldn't make it. I was stuck at a left-hand turn for about 10 minutes, waiting for a break in traffic. I never found one, and looking at the highway, I couldn't even see a safe space to cycle on. So I turned back to a restaurant I'd seen on my way there, and had a ~~huge~~ lovely salad for dinner.
The ride was great, and I managed to pick up some cherries and blueberries at a place off the side of the road to enjoy as a reward for making it back. It did rain the whole first half of the ride, and changing into dry clothes at the restaurant felt great. Everyone there was suitably impressed that I'd biked all the way from Windsor, which was obviously awesome :)

My bum hurts a bit today, but my legs feel great! This is the previous list I had made up of my cycling goals:

Bike from Windsor-Point Pelee-Windsor, ~150km roundtrip, but I'd like to camp for a night there.
(Metric) Century Ride, September 29th, 2012.
Bike from Windsor-London (suburbs), 198km (~10hours)

It looks like I'll be on track to do the Pelee ride soon. I bought a 'back roads' map of Ontario and I'm hoping to have the time ~~and energy!~~ to map out a longer ride soon. The very best thing is that 38ish miles burns close to 2000 calories (according to dailymile), and I can't stop thinking of the awesome snacks I could bring on a ride! And all the awesome things I'll see! I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from my ride yesterday - I managed to find two really gorgeous places.

This is where I had my granola-bar lunch

Those houses must have THE BEST views ever

My bike's view while riding :)

Apartment

2012-08-08T17:36:00.002-07:00

I gave in my deposit on the new apartment and had a chance to check it out a bit today.
I'm super excited because I'll get to have a quiet, clean place to set my own schedule in, find running routes from, and learn new things in.

As we've been approaching move-in day, we've been talking about things we're going to do once we move in. I've been keeping a mental list, but I thought it might be time to write it down.
Some of the things might be weird, so bear with me.

bake bread
make jam
pancakes every weekend? (a tradition my mother started!)
start a piggy bank for our (3 year-dating) anniversary
start a separate piggy bank to save up for things
have a weekend guest over, most likely MF.
home-made pizza
purchase a lovely rug.

3ish miles

2012-08-07T08:00:00.003-07:00

3 miles this morning, on the treadmill at my university gym.

Who knew it could ever be this empty?!

10:26 (1min warm-up included), 9:36, 13:20 (jog .5 & .5mile cool-down). [33:23]

Ahahha I don't know how people take pictures in the changing room... I was too nervous that someone would walk in and think I was weird.

Planning on cycling to my new gym tonight, and doing another 5k, maybe.

Thursday

2012-08-02T21:50:00.002-07:00

Today was a great day. I am trained in Standard CPR, level C!
I was able to hit the gym up after my 9-5 training and run 2.8 miles at 6.0mph and walk another mile at 5.0 incline, 3.5mph. Bringing my daily total to:

12.4km biked
4miles jogged/walked

(I don't know why it's appropriate to do cycling in km and running in miles. My brain is just dexterous in both measuring systems?)

Friday, the plan:

wake up late (after 8am!!)
bike to the gym
run 5k on the treadmill for the virtual race
bike back (there's only two fitness classes tomorrow - 'hip & fit' and morning spinning)
hand out resumes
evening running with my new running buddy
celebrating my new work permit (and the weekend) with friends at the house

I think it sounds like a lovely Friday!

No gym Day

2012-08-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, going to bed around 11pm, I was worried that I wouldn't have a great night's rest. I had too much energy all day, I had an annoying, needy, vocal cat staying at my place, as well as room-mates that stay up later than me playing video games.
But it was a restful night, made successful by a pair of beautiful green ear-plugs :)
Once 7:30 rolled around, I was awoken early by the cat and got ready to make breakfast.

Oatmeal with shredded coconut and cinnamon, yum.

I had looked over the schedule at the gym for Wednesdays and determined that I only had time to catch one class around my 9am-5pm First Aid & CPR training. It was from 06:30-7:30, and I might have time to bike home, shower and be ready in time to be picked up to make the training. But after yesterday's two work-outs I decided to make today a rest day and try again tomorrow.

I'm pleased with my decision, as I was wiped once I got home and needed a nap. Two glorious hours - now I'm studying, making dinner and drinking tea. I still have time to go to the gym NOW, but it's already 9, dark outside, and the gym closes at 11. I'd have just enough time to squeeze in some treadmill time and bike home in the dark. BUT:

I'm not that motivated
I'm kinda scared of biking at night (I need to buy a reflective vest)
I don't care enough to go everyday

I plan on making an attempt to go to a yoga class tomorrow evening after training, but it depends on what time we finish. If I don't make it in time for the class, I'd like to hit up the treadmill (maybe) and catch some TV time. We'll see!

Yoga, not

2012-07-31T17:24:00.005-07:00

I've been a member of my new gym for about a day now, and it's pretty awesome! Below is a long-winded and boring group of sentences describing my first impressions, as well as a detailed description of my failed-but-saved evening work-out. Feel free to skip this one, but I want to remember the experience of being brand new to a gym :)

I love gyms that exist for the sole purpose of making fitness/exercise accessible and fun. My new gym has squash courts (one day!), towel service, lots of group classes, 4 different weight rooms (upper body, lower, free weights and heavy, heavy weights), towel service, a steam room and a sauna (in the past any facility had either or, not both), and a cardio THEATRE! including a stair machine. They probably have more, but that's what my short tour to the changing rooms included, haha.

I know this is still a little gym and I don't think it's a franchise, but their sole purpose is to create a space for people to workout. Compared to my university gym, this one's spacious, less crowded, friendly and consumer-focused. It's refreshing for sure :)

In my last post I talked about trying the Rise & Shine circuit class. This evening I was determined to try out Yoga Flow. I made sure to have a snack, fill up my bottle and leave plenty of time to bike the 6km there. I kept forgetting things and I turned around twice. I was caught waiting after a train that seemed to be going backwards and forwards. ~~Against all odds, haha~~ I made it to the gym with 10 minutes to spare and sweatily asked the front desk lady where the class was held. Oh - there's no yoga today. ~~Oops - I must have gotten the schedule wrong.~~ For some reason they already switched their schedule and are operating on the August line-up and now there's an earlier class on Tuesdays.

Saddened, I decided that I was already there, so I might as well make the most of it and try out their cardio theater. I sneaked in a lock in the changing room (I'll pay the $6.50 for locker rental next time) and shoved my bag and helmet into a locker. I dropped some soup on my ipod in the bathroom and I only realised once I felt the gooey-ness heading to the cardio room. I made my way back to the bathroom to wipe it off, leaving my water bottle on the sink counter. My ipod is super clean now and working great, but I obviously forgot my water bottle there.
Skip ahead, because I'm already bored. I did 2 miles @ 6.0 and another .6, walking, at 5.0 incline. I figured out their TV system too late - I'll use it next time. You plug in your headphones to a little receiver thing that connects to the TVs, and you can switch which 'channel' TV you're connected to. It's SO NEAT! No more watching silent news and trying to guess who won which medals from facial expressions again, ha.

Anyway. I biked home. I didn't fall down. No more train waiting. I was sweaty. The end?

Oh - I found a running partner! In real life. We have a running date this Friday, so we'll see how things go. Having a newbie that will keep me accountable and entertained shouldn't be too bad.

Circuit training- 45 mins

Cycling- 24km - ~1h20min

Running/jogging/walking - 30min

Total: ~2.75hours in one day! Excuse me while I take a nap for two days...

Circuit Training #1

2012-07-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

Last night before bed I set 6 alarms for the morning, ranging from 05:30-06:00. After terrible dreams and lots of un-restful turning over and over again, I awoke to a dark sky and determined that I was not going to get up, and I felt okay with my decision.
Trying to get back to sleep I realised I was thirsty. So I got up and turned the kitchen light on, poured some delicious water. Got back into bed. Then the cats started being annoying. Then I felt bad for being a slacker.
So I got up, got ready, had a banana and headed off. I was about 10 minutes behind schedule but I knew I'd be mad if I woke up this early for nothing.

So off to the gym I headed, where I was just in time to join a female instructor and 3 lovely gentlemen for circuit training. For 45 seconds each, with 15s to get to the next one. We did the circuit 4 times, with 60s rest in between.

One was a 25lb barbell plate on a towel, and you had to push it across the room.
Tri dips
Medicine ball, throws on each side over your head
Step-ups with a bar weight
Bosu ball and bicep curls (6lb then 12lb, 12lb, 10lb)
Plank on an exercise ball
Dumbbell shoulder press on an exercise ball

My favourite was the medicine ball! Getting to throw that thing around was fun and it made a super awesome sound. Pushing the plate on the floor was neat too - the record is 4.5times around the room, and I managed 4. It's hard, yo. I'm convinced that the towel gets sweaty each time someone's on it and it gets more friction each round. My least favourite was the tri-dip station - ouch! I ended up having to use a tiny (10lb?) weight instead of my body weight. Planks are another thing I could really improve....

I am extremely happy I went! It kicked my ass and my arms feel like jelly. I also biked there & back (12km roundtrip) so I've already worked out AND showered before 8am, which is earlier than I would usually wake up. Time for some yummy oatmeal (with shredded coconut) and a movie.

After 45mins circuit training + 12km cycling

August 2012

2012-07-30T16:19:00.001-07:00

As we step into August, new and exciting things are happening!
I received an unexpected surprise in the mail today: my work permit! I was hoping to hear back via email, but this is so much better. Bright and shiny, it's mine for 3 years. Meaning a job is next, as are adult responsabilities. Which leads to signing a new lease in September. We found a neat 2-bedroom apartment for a decent price, and we're moving at the end of the summer. Perhaps pictures will follow, maybe not.

I participated in a volleyball fundraiser yesterday. It was a lovely, sunny Sunday and 5 beautiful people were able to dedicate their day to being on my team. Together we raised about $200 for the cause and we came 5th of 8 teams. Considering some of the team members hadn't ever met before, I think our team worked extremely well together and everyone reports to have had fun, which is all the matters!
There was a raffle draw, and I split my tickets between a 1hr massage, a gym membership and a printer (because Calvin really wanted it). I won the printer! And was able to make Calvin happy by handing it to him. Then I won two of the one-month memberships, which is kind of silly, so they drew again. But I was allowed to keep a one-month $100 value membership to a local gym. While it doesn't have a swimming pool, it does have amazing machines, NO STUDENT CROWDS, and lots of group fitness classes. I signed up this morning and left with the schedule - I'm allowed to be in AS MANY of the classes as I want for 4 whole weeks. Of course, I plan to go everyday. There's 3 or 4 different kinds of yoga that they have (flow, hatha, power, and an all-ages beginner one). I want to try circuit training and MAYBE pilates. I want to try a spin class, although I'm worried about not being able to spin fast enough and the music being too loud.

I'm super excited! The place is about 6km away from me, which is great for cycling, and maybe even possible for running. It's my August goal to make the most of this prize as possible, and I hope to be able to update you after trying everything!
Oh and I also have ONE personal training session which I don't know what to do with! Weights? Core exercises? I've been thinking about this all day: what are my fitness goals? I kind of just have cycling goals right now; I'd like to get faster at swimming? I'm taking an unofficial break from running just to let me knee chill out.

I'll keep thinking. Thanks for reading my rambles, haha.

Swimming!

2012-07-20T17:08:00.002-07:00

This isn't really going to be a post about swimming goals, but it IS an attempt to record a delicious swim I experienced this afternoon.

So swimming at my university gym is scheduled and they have the STUPIDEST times. Noon-2pm on some days, with lane swimming on 3 days in the evening 7:30-8pm and 'normal' swimming most afternoons 8-9:30pm. A swim last week proved that the evening sessions were getting too intense and violent for me, when I left after 8 minutes in the pool and being kicked, unintentionally groped and scratched on the face. NOT HAVING IT! I was tempted to angrily scream at some kids at the front desk and demand my money back, but we pay through tuition and having worked there, I'm pretty sure we don't give money back. The whole system is geared to steal money from students - most don't even know that some of their tuition money goes to paying for a 12-month membership EVERY single year they attend school, even if they're part-time.

Anyway. I decided to try out the after-noon swim, as I was free and what the hell.
It was awesome! I mean, it started out uncertain - I jumped into a seemingly free lane, only to have a kid stare at me and his dad rudely say that his kid was swimming there. Umm... nope. That lane was completely free until I stepped in and they decided to take it over. I even waited a couple minutes and they weren't SWIMMING, they were talking about swimming. So I looked around for another free lane, but it looked like most people were actually swimming laps, and I didn't want to take that away.

Until this elderly gentleman (anyone that is polite and helpful earns that title) yelled at me that the person in his lane would be leaving soon, and I should join their lane. Fantastic! The pool is split into 3 big sections, with 3 swimming lanes each. In real life, each of the sections can have 4 people swimming nicely next to each other. Apparently this guy goes swimming so often that he knows everyone's schedule. Sure enough, that person left and I took over his lane!!

I did a couple laps in great time (around 50 seconds per 50m) and noticed a (somewhat) fatty looking for a space. I offered to share my lane with him, and everything worked out beautifully. He was a FAST swimmer, and was really mindful of keeping in a straight line. Let's just say that everything worked out, my face isn't scratched, I had the best swim I've had in a while and all is right with the world. My love for swimming hasn't been smooshed, and I will go back.

1600m (1mile); 34mins.

Might as well try to screw back the gym and go everyday... twice a day? Get my money's worth?

Cycling

2012-07-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone ~~that still reads this space~~!
It looks like my last post was over a month ago and I'm sorry about that. The truth is that I haven't been running too much and I haven't made it a priority to come into this space for a while. I do miss some of the lovely bloggers that I read regularly - and I will catch up with you all tomorrow.

What's been going on lately? Calvin was working in Windsor for a whole week, and then had a week's vacation so that accounted for half the time. We usually spend our time watching TV, going for walks, running errands, playing pool and fighting over which movies to watch on Netflix (documentaries often win, as well as not-too-dumb comedies).

Looking back through my posts I've noticed that HM training only reached week 4. While it has almost definitely ended (for now) it's hard to pinpoint why. I guess my dumb speed challenge side-tracked it as my knee had a rough time after it. And then it became clear that I wouldn't be in town for the race weekend of the race I'd chosen. I might start again for a September race if I feel like it, but don't hold your breath :)

I've been keeping active by cycling though, as I bike to almost everywhere I have to go. I've run out of bus tickets and biking sure beats paying $2.50 each time I jump on the bus. As I spend about 20-40minutes cycling everywhere everyday, I decided that I wanted to do a long ride with a friend. This is the same friend I went to Malden with another time and fell and hurt my hip a little and acquired a massive bruise on my thigh. Anyway, we've done a couple of trail rides together and we've been waiting for HIS hip to heal from a fall he had ages ago. We decided to head out at some point this week to say we rode to Amherstburg. We had to settle on Thursday, as Ramadan starts on Friday (tomorrow).

I woke up at 0530 and we headed out at 6am. It was a perfect day with clouds overhead and a few showers as we reached each destination. There wasn't really anything to see in Amherstburg at 07:30 in the morning, so after a stop at Tim's we headed back. We managed 36miles (58km) in just under 3 hours, which is just as good a starting point as any. My bum quite hurts, but I'm pleased to say that most things worked out. For next time, I would try to remember that Gatorade doesn't sit well in my tummy after an hour and that I'd like to bring sunglasses if it was sunny outside.

I have been waiting to see how this ride goes (I should really wait to see how my legs feel tomorrow morning) to set down some goals, and here they are! They make up a list of goals I'd like to see accomplished on the bike, but I am setting no order (other than logic, shorter/easiest first) or time limit on them (perhaps before snow falls?).

Bike from Windsor-Point Pelee-Windsor, ~150km roundtrip, but I'd like to camp for a night there.
(Metric) Century Ride, September 29th, 2012.
Bike from Windsor-Lambeth, 198km (~10hours)

I would like to buy a pair of padded shorts soon, as my bum HURTS after 3 hours on the bike. I'd also love to have a new bike, preferably one who's front tyre doesn't wobble and with brakes that work perfectly. While this bike is in good enough condition that I feel confident cycling with it for 50km, I feel that a road bike would be infinitely smoother and a little faster :)

I don't suppose anyone has a road bike they don't use sitting in their basement, and be willing to ship it to me?

Lots of bugs

2012-06-17T07:37:00.001-07:00

June in Canada is when all the bugs come out. There's flies that come in through open windows, mosquitoes on the porch, may flies that get stuck in noses, and apparently moths that try to kill people as well.

I convinced my boyfriend to go for a relaxed bike ride with me along the riverside last night. I thought we'd be out about a half-hour, but we ran into friends and enjoyed some time catching up. We all decided to head home once everyone had had enough of the mosquitoes (special note: I usually have no problem with them - my blood must be special - and I was NOT bitten last night :) ).

Biking along in the right direction to my house, I suddenly hear Calvin stop talking to me and start coughing. He swerves his bike (we were going side-by-side) and I turn to see if he's okay. But he smashed right into my bike and we both fall over. There were a couple guys behind us (walking) that ~~must have started laughing~~ were worried about us and gave us a hand straightening ourselves up. What had happened was that a moth had flown into Calvin's mouth. He felt it crawl around right before his gag reflex made him swallow it. And while he was being freaked out because this was going on, he forgot to keep steering his bike and he crashed into me.

While the scraped knee I am now a proud owner of is not life-threatening, it was annoying to keep turning in my sleep and touching the sheets - it stung!

It may be a while before Calvin comes with me again, as he is traumatized from being attacked my nature.

In other news, I have a degree! And my mum is visiting me in Canada so I have to show her around and let her clean all my dishes and make all my food. I'm kidding, but it's been great having her here! I'll leave you to a picture before I head off to make more plans for the day.

Have a great Sunday! :)

Sore Throat

2012-06-11T23:28:00.000-07:00

... it always happens at the best of times, eh? Once the weather gets nicer, you get sick. When exams start adding pressure and stress to your life, your body gives in and allows a sore throat to take over. I've been known to get stuck in bed with a fever on holiday.

And now my mum's visiting (for my approaching graduation) and I'm feeling a sore throat starting. Actually, it's already started and been there for a couple of days. I'm going to add garlic to everything I eat tomorrow (garlic cereal, anyone?!) and hope for the best. Perhaps I'll squeeze in a nap if my mum's jet-lagged and drink tea after tea.

Maybe the excitement of my mum being here did it. Or the fact that I didn't sleep for a whole two days. Or that I was trapped in a bus/airport with loads of other people and germs. Anyway, time to deal with it.

But we walked in the rain today, saw a rainbow, and made plans to see friends in a couple weeks. Good times ahead!

I've been eating a lot of asparagus

2012-05-24T11:27:00.000-07:00

I've turned 22 since the last time I posted. I'm in London this week because it's Calvin's birthday on Friday!
Of course, I've been conducting myself as a proper adult should:


Seatbelts, always

We've been having campfires - burning marshmallows, melting chocolate and singing crackers to make s'mores. I had an awesome dinner of grilled asparagus, onions, peppers and broccoli last night. My pee smells funny now.

We haven't wasted the sunshine - I spent yesterday's afternoon at the beach in Port Stanley and got a dollar pressed to remember it. I learned that sunblock is actually very effective and if you don't spread it properly you may end the day finding weird sun-burn patterns on your back. (Haha, sorry no pictures!)

We've also been spending time outdoors between all the TV I watch. We went geocaching a few days ago. We didn't find the two we went after... we were using the free app and it wasn't 100% accurate, and I think the ones we picked were quite old and someone might have removed them.

We really just posed as the rest of our group searched.

We did find a volleyball net in the field - it's a bit off to the right of the picture if I remember well. The future includes a trip to the store to buy a ball and a trip to that net to play a wicked game with friends.

Anyone know why asparagus makes your pee smell? I'll look it up eventually....

Kincardine

2012-05-07T16:10:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone!
I'm back from Kincardine and am a little sad about it. It was the polar opposite of my Reading week there a couple months ago. Instead of being shut in the hotel room for 23.75 hours of the day like last time, studying, watching TV and wishing exams would be over, this time I was able to explore the crazy awesome trails,

get lost inside a lovely maze-garden,

read The Hunger Games at the beach

and peak into people's gardens as I walked around enjoying the sunshine :)

It was a lovely, relaxing (and cheap!) week topped off by a friendly poker night with friends on Friday, a viewing of the Hunger Games movie on Saturday, and a surprise visit on Sunday, from both a bunch of cold-inducing germs (I am constantly sneezing now and have a runny nose :( ) and a friendly couchsurfer!

Monday has brought cooler weather, a huge to-do list and a slap back to reality. I wouldn't have it any other way :)

Speed Update

2012-04-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

As it's Saturday, it's time for the end-of-the-challenge report. I was able to beat my previous fastest time for the mile.
Nov 27 - 9:07

April 17 - 8:48
April 23 - 8:21
April 24 - 8:17

And just to compare, it would take me roughly 38 mins to swim 1mile, but I have never tried for speed :)

So this challenge was supposed to be for a week. I had to run 1mile as fast as I could (on a treadmill - cheating?!) everyday for five days. I knew it was a silly idea... I mean, running ALL-OUT is hard in itself. If your muscles don't hurt, you're probably doing it wrong. If you don't hurt or feel terrible afterwards you were definitely not going hard enough. And 2 days into the challenge I realised that I was hurting. My knees were definitely feeling the increased pounding and my muscles were tired. I wasn't pushing myself as hard as I could - I finished that last 8:17 knowing I could do more, but not wanting to. The fact that I was able to improve so much over such a short period of time shows that my body CAN do it, but it's my mind that's telling me that it hurts... it's not important... if you stop you'll feel so much better.... why do you even need to go fast?!

So through this I've learned a few things:

I'm faster than my friends, as none of them run!
I can improve my mile time, but this is not the way to do it.
Speed - stronger impact - more knee pain. I was smart to back off, so I'm not sorry I stopped the challenge.
I can absolutely do a sub 8-minute mile, and I WILL!
It's a fun way to challenge myself and I will try again in the future.

I want to do a real timed mile at the track in May. It will be approx two weeks from now, before my trip. I'll update on here whenever it happens :)
I went for a 20minute Vibram run on Thursday and my legs are just killing me now... I was also dumb enough to sign up for a 5k that is one hour away from my house via bike. So I will bike 1 hour to get there, run for a 1/2 hour, and bike 1hour back. Then I will round up the day by sitting in a bus for 2 hours, as I'm going to London to visit the boyfriend.

I never claimed to be sensible, or to think things through well :)

This week's (speed) challenge

2012-04-23T19:24:00.004-07:00

I was talking to Calvin (the boyfriend) about wanting to get faster at the mile distance. As I excitedly chatted away as his eyes glazed over, I realised he may not be the best person to talk to about miles, treadmills, or anything cardio related.

[He has recently started lifting weights. So we're allowed to talk about weights, muscles, food as fuel, races I've signed up for in order to sync schedules and electrolytes.]

I decided the conversation should be ended right there before he gets completely bored and learns to associate speed and running terms with having a bad time, and then he will NEVER come to my races :( So the conversation will get shifted to this blog.

I have some time off since my last undergraduate semester has ended. I'm still waiting back for one grade, but things are smooth. My room-mates are relaxing, everyone is partying as they say goodbye and go back to their own homes. My days have actually been refreshingly slow and boring. I am still volunteering a little. I am seeing friends when they ask me to hang out (Hi Fadey!!) and I am planning a big trip to BC for my birthday.
But one thing my time off has been lacking is a schedule, and some discipline. I wake up late, do nothing, and then go to bed late. I've been completely missing the morning, and therefor half the work day. I have a few errands to run, so I need to get my act together. I've also stalled on my half marathon training plan and should definitely get back to it!

So here's the plan: In order to keep busy, accountable and motivated, I am going to do a speed/consistency challenge for a week. I am going to run ONE MILE everyday. I am going to try beat my time of ~~8:48~~ 8:21 and get faster until Friday, when Calvin gets back. I've told him to ask me how fast my fastest mile is, and I'm already able to say that I'm faster than the last time he saw me :)

So Monday's already been a success!
(The second part of this challenge is to also fit in my normal HM training in with this challenge. I would like to get the mile done in the morning as soon as I wake up and then go to the gym 3 evenings this week to do my weekly mileage in. My long run will still be on Sunday, unless the weather suddenly turns beautiful, in which case I will switch around my days)

HM Training, Week 4

2012-04-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

This week, there has been 0 running. I missed my first run of the week, and it wasn't a big deal. My knees still felt a bit weird from my 'long run' the Sunday before, so I thought it'd be best to take it easy. I missed my second weekly run because I had no time due to school work, the radio show, and placement. I figured I would do a 7mile elliptical (equivalent mileage, less impact) on Friday, but the gym was closed due to it being a holiday.
My long run will still happen tonight, there's 5 miles on the plan :)
UPDATE: I ran 5.5km and 3.3km tonight, so 5.5miles in 55mins! (Broke it up in two runs with about a 2-3min break in between to change and check the map.)

I have recently been trying to change my diet: I wanted to cut out sugar, processed foods and general junk that I don't need. I've been trying to be mindful to eat only when I'm hungry, rather than when I am bored. I also want to eat smaller portions. (I have a tendency to drag a meal and over fill my plate, as it's an excuse away from studying.)

So far, all I can say is that it's a goal and I'm continually working towards it. I've made a couple soups this past week that turned out well. After a few days of eating no junk, I experience headaches and an intense craving for candy - symptoms which I attribute to sugar withdrawal. I have always had candy/sugar available around the house, so I usually give in and have a treat. The plan was to eliminate the candy around the house, but since it's Easter, all the room-mates have brought chocolate back! So this is still a work in progress.

I have decided that I will make a smoothie with honey and strawberries every time I get a craving for sweets, as it should do the trick.

Today, I tried Gardien's Chick'n Marsala, which is made of no meat. There were two pieces and each one comes with a packet of sauce. I had it plane, with no sides, and I didn't mind the taste. I thought the texture was great but a little soft, but my boyfriend didn't like it, saying that it tastes too fake. I feel that the 'chicken' would go great as a substitute in a different meal, as I didn't care much for the bland sauce.

I would buy this again, but not every week, as it's quite expensive. I feel that I'd only use it in a stir-fry, as I'm not fancy enough to think of anything else I can cook it with. Firm tofu would be a cheaper equivalent for my needs, so I may just stick with that.

HM Training, Week 3

2012-04-02T11:54:00.004-07:00

I've jumped into a half marathon training plan that has me running 3x a week, and 2x cross training. I have successfully completed week 3, and have 9 to go. I've chosen to do an early June race, as my past two halfs were in May, and I like having a race around the time of my birthday. I've chosen a race that's close by, and if the RD's speedy responses to my emails are any indication, should be quite small, but well run (haha, get it?).

Tuesday - 3.5miles in 37min

Wednesday - off - good thing too, as I was super busy with school and radio :)

Thursday - 3.6miles in 35min

Friday - (XT) 4.4miles in 40min

Saturday - off - good thing, as the weather was grim, cold, and rainy!

Sunday - 5miles in 52min

I felt great during my 'long run'. I had to break it up, 1 mile + 4miles, as I had to switch treadmills. I had some chafing from my cotton shirt, under my arm. It sucks, but I've learnt from it, and I'll be applying some body glide if I get an indication that this will repeat. But I wont wear THAT shirt again while running :)
My knees felt a bit rough after my run.... and I have a bruise on the inside of my right knee today. This is extremely weird. They don't hurt, but I'm worried about the bruise, as I haven't had this before. Any comments/advice/suggestions would be welcome!

I'm approaching this race with steady training. I am determined to follow a plan, but I am also ready to take it easy at the first sign of a problem. (I haven't registered for the race yet, as I think it's a jinx to have something planned before you're trained for it...) I ran my first race unprepared, and my second injured with tendinitis. I'd like to place a goal for myself that I will run the entire distance, and then time will be a secondary goal. I've managed to do all my training runs at around 10min/mile, which is speedy for me! I hope to incorporate some Vibram/barefoot runs on days that XT is suggested, to keep my legs relaxed and have a break from the treadmill. I'm so excited to have something to work towards, and it's nice to think that each workout now has a purpose other than to feel good and stay healthy. I'm excited for this direction, and thankful that I am able to run with relatively few problems :)

Have a great week!

WOD

2012-03-29T15:15:00.001-07:00

I'm a little intimidated by all the Cross-fit talk, but it seems like it's just groups of people working really hard at circuits.
And as I like circuits, I think I'd like CF.

So... anyone tried it? Any tips on how to start?
There's an information session in my city every Saturday, but I'm always busy at the time they run them. I've been looking for some simple, no-equipment-needed WODs for days like today: cold, cloudy, coffee days.

So today: 10 air squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 dips, 10 rounds.

Spring

2012-03-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

The weather's been awesome the past few weeks. Temperatures in the teens and 20's (Celsius) and sunshine all around.

I spend last weekend in Toronto, having mixed fun and paperwork. I had to renew my passport and it took a couple of days. I also went on an adventure with my friend, and we met a lot of cool new people :)

School is gearing onwards to exam season again. I've always found this semester to be more difficult than the September one because it ends in perfect weather. There's always a few days at the end that are gorgeous and I look around and notice that half the class has decided to enjoy the sunshine rather than sit in class and review final papers. Priorities, I guess!

I've been a bit slack lately about workouts. I've had some things going on, so I've only been going to 1x yoga class a week. I've squeezed in some runs - a couple were outside in the pretty weather, others were inside the warm gym. I've run a couple of miles under 9:00min/mile pace and am extremely excited to say that my knee is having no issues.

I find that there are 3 components of importance in a run. Heart, Muscles and Mind. On my runs lately, my mind's the one that's quit and I cut my quicker paced race short. I think there's still a mental block there telling me I can't run more than 1 mile at a fast pace. I'm working on it, and increasing that speed. I'm also working on finding tricks to keep me entertained on the treadmill, as sometimes I can't change the channel on the TVs.

I've also found a U-lock for my bike! I've pumped the tyres, dusted the seat and set it in motion for meetings and such. I'm going to figure out a way to keep my work pants from getting stuck in the chain, and how to fix the chain falling off 3x every ride, and then I'll bike to placement regularly. I'm excited, as it'll cut down on my travel time. Right now I walk to + from placement, and it takes me about 25 minutes each way.

That's about all that's happening right now. I'm trying to stay motivated for exams, limit mindless internet browsing and increase workouts and plan smartly for the future! :D

Have a great weekend!