What happened...

..to my life?

I drove home through the market in Ottawa tonight, which is jam packed with bars. I spent A LOT of time there not too long ago.

Tonight though was different. I was driving home (which means I didn't drink) from a BBQ at 10h30 with my dog in the back seat. Man oh man, how life can change.

I feel a little lameo about it, but to be honest; I couldn't be happier.

Night #1 Report

Wow... I totally forgot what it was like to have a dog in the house!

Night #1 wasn't a complete success... but it wasn't horrible either. I think she's just confused to as what is going on. She was having trouble settling down, so I took her for a wet walk/run at about 1am to tire her out. That seemed to do the trick until about 5h30 this morning when Andrew took her out. She's now currently looking pretty content laying on the mat near the door looking out the window.

The other thing, she's never been exposed to cats before. Surprisingly Samuel and Lewis are handling it like pros. Sam has the "fuck you this was my house first" attitude, but he's not being rough at all. The odd hiss when Jersey investigates him too fast, but there have even been some platonic nose smells! Lewis on the other hand has found a new home on top of the ironing board for the time being!

I just wish it wasn't pissing rain out today.

And the news is...

I'm going to be a Mother!






















...to a 10 month old golden retriever named Jersey! :)

We pick her up tonight. Pictures to follow!

Thursday already!

1. I can't believe its Thursday already. Wowsa!

2. I made real oatmeal last night. I had it for breakky this morning, and I'm still full to the brim. Much more filling then the crappy instant kind. I had it with banana and homemade granola this morning. Totally tasty!

3. I have some big news to share tonight. Just want to wait until its official before I get too excited!

Menu du jour:
B: Oatmeal with homemade granola
L: Leftover curry, strawberries
D: Salad and chicken

I love eating healthy. I feel so detoxed!

The Great Curry Experiment

So, tonight I ventured into the world of Indian food. Based on reviews from both the lovely Christy, and gorgeous Mandy I tried this Red Lentil Curry.


I've never made lentils before, nor have I ever really eaten them before. Are they supposed to be mushy? Cause mine were totally mushy! But, they were still pretty tasty. As a result of said mushy lentils, my curry was pretty watery. I decided to beef it up a bit with a can of chickpeas and 2 chicken breasts. I also modified the recipe by using a can of diced tomatoes instead of tomato paste. End result, pretty damn tasty! Next time though, I think I'll use a spicier curry paste. This didn't quite have enough heat for me, but the flavour was still amazing!
Best part: Full of healthy stuff!

Red lentil/chick pea/chicken curry... topped with 1/3 cup brown rice and FF sour cream

All mushed up together.

The times, they are a changin'!

Ok... I need to seriously sit down and plan out some goals here. Bare with me, as this is the first draft.

Eating:
This is the biggest 'must change' in my life right now. I'm getting too comfortable maintaining my weight. I work out enough, that I am quite easily able to maintain and eat whatever I want most days. This has to stop. I've said this over and over again... but I did REALLY well when I followed the Core plan. It took some getting used to, but once I got the hang of it I kicked ass. I will resume the Core Plan; effective tomorrow. I need to go stock up on food before this plan can commence.

Meal Preparation:
I must get back on the meal prep bandwagon. I'm usually pretty good to make a large batch of SOMETHING to get me through the week. This also must resume.

Exercise:
This isn't a really big 'goal' persae. I love to work-out, and to me that always been the easy part of my weight-loss journey. I will continue to hit up the gym 2-3 times a week, and play baseball on Tues nights.

Running:
Upcoming races: HBC 10k on Canada day, Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon September 29th, and MAYBE Niagara Falls at the end of October. Not really problematic, but running the heat for me usually is! Last summer I taught a 5k clinic to keep me running during the summer. There is a half clinic starting on June 17th... so I think I'll tag along with that group. In the meantime, I'll make an effort to get out for at least a 10k once a week, and a few shorter distances in between my gym workouts.

I also want to work on my speed, in particular sprints! I need to improve my base running.

Well being: I need to make a bigger effort to stay on top of my house cleaning. If I just did a few little chores every night I wouldn't need to spend hours cleaning on the weekend.

$$: I need to also make an effort to start saving a little more. I'm horrible with money. This has to stop. We're very lucky, and we're about to pay off most of our debt (aside from the mortgage) so I need to stay debt free. This means goodbye Mr. Visa.

Phew. That felt good. Bring on the goals!

Thank you.

I love you guys.

My parade = rained on

Preface to this story: I work with a woman that looks just like Gloria Abbott from Y&R. I call her this all the time, and often sing the song "Gloria" by Van Morrison to her jokingly. At a particularly rough point during my race, I passed a band that happened to be singing that song.. and it totally made me laugh out loud and cheered me up during that particular time and made me push on!

I told said woman this story this morning, and here is how the dialogue went:

Asshat: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure
Asshat: How do you run that far carrying that much weight?
Me: Hunh?
Asshat: Well I run my 2k every morning, and sometimes even I find this hard carrying my extra 10 lbs
Me: Hunh?
Asshat: Well you've put on some weight since you started here.

I was completely floored at this point in the conversation and chose to ignore whatever else was coming out of her mouth.

This woman has no idea what I used to weigh, nor does she know anything about me. I just can't believe she'd say that directly to my face.

Shopping = success!

I am the proud owner of:

3 pairs of shoes
1 pair black capris
a super cute sleeveless teal blouse (love this color)
3 dressy blouses
2 skirts
1 brown short sleeve sweater
another pink blouse
a flow-y maternity looking top

An excellent day indeed!

I'm feeling pretty sore today in the calves. Baseball should prove to be interesting this evening; particularly the running aspect.

I've been thinking a lot about my upcoming running goals. I've decided to run a 10k on Canada Day (even though I despise running in the heat!) and 2 halfs (halves?) this fall! Know what this means Marie? ;)

Back onto the healthy eating bandwagon today. I'm junk fooded out. Yesterday I indulged in a mini pizza for lunch, and a naughty appetizer platter shared with Andrew for supper. I had salad with both, but the fatty deliciousness kinda trumped that!

Menu:
B- banana, mango, yogurt
L- Out for another friggin going away luncheon. Salad will be had.
D- Chicken ceasar salad.

AP's: Think I might hit up step class before baseball. We shall see. This could wreak havoc on my already tender calf muscles!

ps- I free pretty awesome today!

Post-race recovery

Good news is, my body feels great! I still have a bit of a rumbly stomach, but nothing a little shopping can't cure!

Mr. B is off today, so we're heading to Syracuse NY for a little retail therapy. I booked today off in anticipation of the feelings I've encountered after previous races... but nope, I'll be tap dancing up and down the halls of the mall!

Have I ever mentioned how incredibly in love I am with that man? He rocks.

PS- I forgot to tell you guys one awesome thing about my race yesterday! I hired a personal trainer a couple of years ago, that I really didn't gel with. Especially after she called me 'soft' but considered herself to be a hardcore runner. Thats actually why I hired her. Needless to say, I didn't renew with her because quite frankly, she was a total bitch. Guess who passed her yesterday! MEEEEEEEEE!! And while I passed her, I sucked away all her energy (i'm retarded like that!) and was proud that she'd have to follow my 'soft' body the entire way to the finish line. MOO AHA HAHAHAHAHA!

The best part of race day...

Nope, not crossing the finish line... nor the excellent epsom salt bath I had afterwards.

It was my supper! Home made poutine, and an bbq'ed Angus burger topped with 1 slice of bacon, jalapeno cheddar, bbq sauce and caramalized onions. So effing good!

I'd run 21.1k every day if I could eat like this every single day.

Race Report

If I had to summarize this raced in 2 words or less I would have to say: Sucked Ass.

I once again fell victim to the heat. It was about 24 degrees, which dosn't sound TOO bad... but the fact that there wasn't a cloud in the sky really didn't help much.

I finished in 2h39 mins which is actually my worst half time ever. But with that said, being the competitive type that I am I looked up a lot of my training buddies times and everyone was slower then usual today. I know I said I had no goal, but lets be honest. I'm human!

First 10k was pretty awesome. I was lightening fast (as per usual - I ALWAYS start out too fast!) and the energy was high. My amazing husband was there at the half way point, and ran/took pictures for about a kilometre with Tanya and I.

It was after this that the shade ended, and the run became very mentally challenging. This is where I do all my training runs and unfortunately I know the route like the back of my hand. This is beneficial when you're having a great run, but when you'll feeling like ass... its not so good to know EXACTLY how many k's you have left. Lesson learned: I don't think I'll do another long distance race in downtown Ottawa.

At 19k, I was cooked. My 10:1's went out the window, and I told myself I'd run to each km marker sign and then take a walk break. It worked. The last km, I was able to push it mentally AND physically and I even sprinted for the last 300m.

You know, I've been all negative about this. But you know... 5 years ago I weighed 263lbs, and couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs. I need to focus on the positive, not the negative! I rock!

Oh, and I should note... Jeff, I thought of you today. There were a kazillion TNT runners out today! And let me tell you, do they ever have spirit!

Also to be noted: I'm wearing my medal all day. Here are some pics: enjoy!

Pre-race advil!

My buddy Tanya and I mocking John Stanton

The starting line... 9000 runners!

Half way point; where the route goes from Quebec to Ontario!

Shot of my ass...

And thats where the battery in the camera died. I'll have pics from the finish line from sports stats. Thats the story of my half marathon. It was a slice! :)

Race Day- 6:36am

I'm awake and feeling awesome. Its a beautiful sunny day.... its going to be a little too warm for my liking, but thats ok!

Chowing down on my pre-race banana and PB, enjoying a little 'Amy time' and trying to coax yesterdays food out of my colon. Haha!

I'm gonna rock this sucker!

Tomorrow is the day!

Stay tuned... :)

T minus 2 Days!

Ok ladies and gents, because I always lose my training buddies at races I'm looking for some motivational tunes to get through this raceroonie.

Please note: There is no rhyme or reason to the music I listen to.

For example, on shuffle... first five songs on my Mp3 player are:
1- Jurassic Park Theme Song - John Williams
2- In View- Tragically Hip
3- When the Stars go Blue - Tim McGraw
4- Who Taught you to Live like That- Sloan
5- Fire and Rain - James Taylor

I do also really like dancey hip hop kinda stuff with a good beat. In that playlist, a few songs on shuffle are:
1- Maneater - Nelly Furtado
2- Stonger - Kanye West
3- Galvonize - Chemical Brothers
4- Born to Bounce - Brooklyn Bounce
5- Heaven - DJ Sammy

Help a sista out!

3 more sleeps until Race Day!

1. Yesterday was good. I managed to stay OP after the few slip ups I had. I did have some strawberries after dinner, but whatever, I didn't get fat eating strawberries.

2. I'm starting to get race day jitters. Why? I dunno. I've ran a kazillion races before. I just have to keep talking myself down... its just a run. I know I'm not going PB on this race as I've been training with a much slower pace group. We had a motivational speaker come in and speak to our clinic last night, who talked a lot about the energy of a race. I'm going to suck up as much of the atmosphere that I can, and have a smile on my face when I finish that sucker. How's that for positive self talk? :)

3. I need to start thinking about my future running plans. I kinda sorta want to run the Niagara Falls Half on October 26, 2008. That being said, I hate running in the summer heat.

4. I feel like I need a weekend away. Perhaps to the US to do some shopping! Any US readers, are the stores open on Memorial Day?

My menu
B: ½ a blueberry fritter
S: apple
L: french onion soup, salad, 2 yogurt, strawberries
S: cucumber slices
D: toasted tomato sammies

AP's: zilcho. No running until race day.... weeeeeee! I'll likely hit up the gym for some weights though!

Back to basics. Afterall this is a WEIGHT LOSS/RUNNING blog.

Menu thus far today hasn't been that hot.
B: Tea biscuit (6)
L: Blueberry/Shrimp/Feta salad from Montanas, worst part is I ate that STUPID cornbread. (12)
S: 1 french twist, 1 girl guide cookie, banana (4)

It can still be salvaged. I have a 6k race pace run scheduled for tonight, which will definately shed some calories.

On the menu for supper:
1 chicken breast, broccoli and a tossed salad.

Eating shitty food will not bring my Mom back, nor will it make me feel ANY better.

Possible Explanation: My Dad

Today marks the anniversary of my Mom's death. She died 16 years ago. Despite being remarried, I don't think my Dad has even really gotten over her death.

I didn't realize the date until I went to sign a document this morning.

Maybe this is what has him so upset. Lets hope so.

I called him this morning, and he screened my call. Grrrr.

Wednesday

Not much to say. I'm feeling down in the dumps, because for some odd reason I think my Dad is upset with me. He's not returning my calls or emails. Gah. I'm going to try to give him a call around 8am, when I know he'll be on his way to work.

Baseball was good. We went 1-1.

Food was ok yesterday too.

Gah. I'm upset.

I heart long weekends!

This is going to be a pretty random post... lots to say today!

Mr B and I slept until 11:00am today! I haven't slept in that late since I was in university. Unreal. Ah well, its a damp cloudy day out there... so if you're going to sleep-in it might as well be on a day like today. It felt great having the cool air blow in through the windows.

Speaking of windows, I think I might wash my curtains today.

Not much on the agenda today. We may take a trip to good old Canadian Tire to pick out some flowers. I think all the stores are open in Quebec today.

I made a pretty kickass supper last night: Roasted chicken with lemon and rosemary, whipped potatoes and glazed carrots. Sooo good!

Desert was angel food cake (Betty Crocker.. so much better then the pre-made ones!) with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries a dallop of FF cool whip and half of a Mirage Bar crumbled into it. Heaven!

Ok... so I have a friend that moved out west a couple years ago. We grew up across the street from one another. She is getting married in July, and was in Ottawa this past weekend for her bachelorette/shower. I saw this on Facebook and was kind of offended that I wasn't invited. I send her a quick message, and she write me this bitchy message back about her emailing me 3 times, and getting no reply from me. I have told her OVER and OVER that I don't use my hotmail account, like I haven't used it in YEARS. I was kind of upset, but then I was a little irritated... Why wouldn't she have either sent it to the email I use, send it on facebook or friggin call me!? I'm not in the wrong here am I? Also, for bridal showers usually invitations are still sent in the mail right?

On the menu for today:

B-L: Miniwheats with skim milk (at 11:00am)
S: Berries with cool whip
D: Pasta with alfredo sauce, chicken and brocoli.

AP's: Might head out for a 4k run with the LTR clinic.

Lessons Learned

Oook.. I work for the federal gov't, and they're really big on "Lessons Learned" after project completion etc. Today I thought I would create a Lessons Learned in honour of my rather shitty run today.

Here it goes.

Today was a 10k at our target race pace for next weekend's half marathon. The lessons I learned today are:

• Stir-fry the night before = bad idea. Too much fibre. I know better, but I thought I could get away with it since today was just a 10k run.
• Shut the bedroom door the night before race day. End result = 2 cuddly kitties walking all over you; licking you face, kneading your leg. This cannot provide a restful sleep.
• Do not always trust your pace leaders... thats why you wear Mr. Garmin to assist in your pacing.
• We finished 10k in just over an hour. (1hr 4 mins) I'm not a mathematician, but if you add 11k at that pace that has us finishing the half in about 2h10 mins. I've been training with the 2h30 min group.
• Today was TOO fast for me. I did it, because I could run at that pace for 10k... but for 21k? I would die. Seriously.
• Lucky for me, I've been running for a while and I'm pretty good at pacing. I think a lot of the rookie runners in my clinic will have a tough race if they go that fast next weekend. Ah well, then they'll have their own set of lessons learned to write!
• Another observation I made today: Some runners are very 'gel' dependent. People were downing gels today... one guy even had 2. For 10k? Hunh? I didn't even bring gatorade. I dunno, I get a little preachy on this topic because to me it seems a little unnecessary to start taking in 100's of extra sugary calories if you don't need to. I will admit, I use either shot blocks or sport beans, but usually only for anything over 16k.

Bottom line is, I'm ready for this race. I just hate the term 'race'. Makes a 21k run into a big deal. Ya know? I just gotta separate myself from all the gel chugging/garmin Nazis in my clinic. I've enjoyed training with them (I hate running alone) but their making running so frickin complicated. I'm going to listen to my body, and enjoy the simplicity of my sport.

Amen.

Good Luck

to 2 of my favorite bloggers who are both running their first 5k race today!

Angie and Lynn, I have no doubts that you'll both ROCK this race today.

A word of caution: This will lead to a running addiction! Not the end of the world though, better then being addicted to cheeseburgers or crack right? ;)

TV land

I kinda sorta knew he was leaving... but frig! I watched this week's episode last night. Felt a little like the Soprano's finale. As long as Gil never leaves, I will remain a devoted fan to this show.

In other TV highlites, The Office was hilarious too. Best part:

Michael Scott:
I am downloading some N3P music--

Jim Halpert:
[quickly] That's not it. Yep?

Michael Scott:
--for a CD mix tape--

Jim Halpert:
Close.

Michael Scott:
--for Holly. And I am looking for perfect songs that work on two levels.

Jim Halpert:
What are the two levels?

Michael Scott:
The two levels being, welcome to Scranton and I love you.

Mmm.. Broccoli Salad!

I used up a good portion of my broccoli making a delicious salad! Recipe is here, but of course I made it my own by tweaking it to my tastes; cutting down the bacon to 4 slices, adding an apple, using brown sugar and balsamic in the dressing, using only 1/2 cup lf mayo. Ok... so I guess I didn't really follow the recipe at all, but it was was tasty! I served it along with a grilled chicken breast and corn on the cob for supper.

I managed to get in my speed session tonight. I did 4 x 1 mile intervals at 6.2mph, with a 4 min walk in between each mile. Good workout. Knocked the crap outta me actually. But, its done and I feel great.

Bring on the long weekend! :)

Bring on the loooooooong weekend!

1. Baseball was great last night. We won both of our games, and the best part is... my swing is on its way back! I was hitting the ball well last night, but there happened to be people standing there most of the time! I'm pretty consistent on where I hit (I'm a lefty, and I usually send it to mid right field) and they figured that out, so they'd move to my sweet spot! Unfortunately I'm not good enough to strategically place the ball... I can put it in the air or on the ground, thats about it!

2. I'm incredibly happy that its the long weekend, and I have absolutely NOTHING on my schedule. Only plans thus far are to attend to my flower beds, run 10k on Sunday morning (race pace... eeek!) clean my house from top to bottom and sleeeeep in! I have a couple new books that I'm going to get a start on also.

3. I have been friggin starving lately. WHAT GIVES?

4. I'm kind of campaigning to get a dog. Good idea or a bad idea?

5. Not much else to say. I feel kinda cute today in my jeans, blue tank and black cardigan. I have my hair up in a mini ponytail, and it looks pretty cute I must say!

Menu:
B: Mini wheats with skim milk
S: Fibre One (I actually already ate it)
L: Sushi and salad from the grocery store
D: Chicken and brocolli. (I have a ton of each that needs to be used up. I shall find a new recipe to try!)
S: FF Brownie Breyers Icecream

AP's: Must get in that speed session. I think I'll do it on the dreadmill tonight, rather then outside.

Running sans GPS/Time

Mr. Garmin decided to die today before my run even started. Apparently I forgot to shut it off last time, hence the dead battery.

Turned out to be not that bad. I had my gf drop my off exactly 6kms from the office, and I just ran the whole way back, judging my pace by the way I felt. Usually I ALWAYS run 10:1's, but today was a steady run. (Skipped the speed session, its no fun anyways!)

Go me!

Now its off to baseball! Woo hoo! :)

Getting back to normal... well kinda!

What a week this has been!

We had a double header in baseball on Tuesday night, and it didn't end until 11h45! I am not cut out for this on during the week. Thank god I have an early game tonight!

I missed running last night. Grrrr! My conference ran late, and by the time I got back to the office to pick up my car and go home, the traffic was brutal. I made the mistake of forgetting my stuff at home. Andrew arrived home from the gym, and we went upstairs to change into our pjs. We layed down on the bed around 7:00, and we didn't wake up! Good way to cut down on the points eh? Sleep through supper!

Tonight we also have a double header, but at least it starts at 6:00! Feels great to be playing ball again though.. although I seem to have lost my swing over the winter. May need to hit up the batting cages this weekend!

I had Quizno's for like my second time ever the other night. Gotta say. Not really impressed. Is it typical for the sub to come without veggies? He handed it to me without any on it! I was kinda irritated at the entire experience. Maybe it was just bad customer service!

Menu du jour (its sucking because we've been too busy to get groceries!)
B: Skinny latte, oatmeal
S: Apple, grapes
L: Out for lunch... salad somewhere. I'm craving veggies!
D: Subway or Wendy's before baseball, or maybe, chicken and brocolli when I get home.

AP's: Speed session (making up for what a missed) and 2 baseball games.

Conferences = An Eating Nightmare!

I'm away at a 2 day conference this week.... not the end of the world, but holy frig, is it ever hard to eat healthy!

I had breakfast before I left so I was able to resist the delicious pastries and mmmuffins. Lunch was another story though. It was a full course Italian meal. A had a huge salad, about 1 cuo of pasta, a drizzle of alfredo sauce (with lotsa red pepper flakes to make it tasty!) and a bun. I COULD NOT resist the desert... I had a maple eclair and a chocolate chip cookie. All in all, not the end of the world... I just like saving my points for the evening.

Tonight this will not be an issue however. Its opening day in Baseball! Woo hoo! Since baseball is right near my work, I'm still here. We're meeting my team at 7pm for a drink, then heading to the ballpark for 8h30.

Guess what the good news is? I just got back from a 6k run! I find that if I'm not completely warmed up, I tend to pull my quads or something.... at this point in my half training I cannot risk an injury, so I'm really just going to take it easy.

Andrew is coming to meet me, and we're going to have Wendy's for supper before the game. Likely a baked tater and a side salad, since I was Miss Piggy at the conference today.

Until tomorrow my friends! :)

In a mood today

1) Office politics absolutely baffle me sometimes, as a result I'm a very grumpy girl and its only 8h16am

2) My legs are in pretty good shape today. I thought for sure between the combination of strutting around in my heels and being on my feet all day Saturday and running for 2h 51mins yesterday I'd be a goner today. Nope, I feeel grrrrrrreeat!

3) I've been training for this race for 16 weeks. Do you know that I haven't lost a single pound OR inch? How is it physically possible to run the amount I do (yesterday was 2 hours and 49 mins) and still be at the same weight? I mean, I'm not too concerned about the weight... its more the inches I'd like to lose.

4) I got a lovely Mothers Day card from my furry little children Samuel and Lewis. They were particularly cuddly yesterday because I think they missed their Momma on the weekend. Mothers Day is always a hard one for me. This year I spent it alone... which made it kinda rough. But Andrew was being a good son, and spent the day with his mom.

5) I've had a headache for about 4 days. Brutal.

Congratulations Jenn and Luke!

It was a wonderful day indeed... Didn't she look absolutely radiant? Can't say a single bad thing about the day. It was truely perfect.

I managed to stay away from the booze! But, I was feeling pretty ill last night. I don't know if it was a case of being over tired, not eating enough or what.. but man, I felt like death. This feeling was still present when I woke up this morning. I 'bucked up' and got in my car and drove to the Running Room. I told myself I'd run 10k and that would be it. Once I hit the 10k point, I was still feeling good... so I toughed out the entire 20k. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for getting myself through the run. I totally drugged myself with Pepto Bismal, Immodium and 2 Advil... BUT, like I said.. I DID IT! Go me!

Not a bad start to the day!

• Despite being off today, I was still up at the crack of dawn. I have a ton of shit to accomplish before I head off to my home town!
• I got up at usual time and popped in my Shape DVD and did arms/abs for 45 mins. I was going to run, but my legs are a wee bit sore for last nights 8k, so I think I'll sneak in a 5-6k run tomorrow morning before I have to be at the hairdressers.
• My breakfast today was awesome: 1 source strawberry yogurt, 2 kiwi and 1/4 cup granola. This flavour combo is great! It didn't quite fill me up, so I added 1 slice of WW toast with PB.
• I'm a little concerned about my eats for this weekend. I have a 20k run on Sunday morning, so hopefully the meal at the wedding won't be that rich/greasy etc. Usually on Saturday nights I dine on WW pasta with plain tomato sauce. I'm also hoping my heels don't cause too many blisters which make even the shortest run ever seem like a marathon!
• Oook.. I better get moving here. I'll be back on Sunday! Have a great weekend!

Today is my Friday!

1. Taking tomorrow off to assist with wedding preparations. My great Aunt passed away on Wednesday, so it works out that I'll be able to go to her funeral with my Dad since I'll be in the area anyway.

2. Gas hit 134.2 in Gatineau today. 128.2 in Ottawa. Despite my car being cute and little, it does have a big sporty engine so its not even close to being fuel efficient.

3. Speed work was brutal again last night. It POURED rain the entire frickin' time. So by the end of the 1.6k, I was hot.. but then during the 4 min break I'd get shivers! Came home and made pita pizzas for supper.

4. I've had some inquiries of late about what I'm training for. I'll be running the ING Half Marathon. Its a pretty cool weekend here in Ottawa!
Check it out here: http://www.ncm.ca/

Fat Cat

Shopping was NOT a success. Nothing was fitting. I mean I have boobies, yes, but seriously. Why will NOTHING fit me?

Even Lululemon was a failure. :(

My latest addiction:

Good news is, its actually good for me!

Health Benefits of Mango :
Mangoes contain phenols, this phenolic compound have powerful antioxidant and anticancer abilities.

Mango is high in iron, pregnant women and people with anemia are advised to eat this fruit regularly.

Mango is effective in relieving clogged pores of the skin.

It is also valuable to combat acidity and poor digestion.

Mango is high in antioxidant and low in carbohydrates.

Mango is a rich source of vitamin A(beta-carotene), E and Selenium which help to protect against heart disease and other ailments.


Other cases where Mango is beneficial ;
Kidney problems including nephritis.
Fever
Respiratory problems
Constipation

Nutritive Values : Per 100 gm.
Vitamin A : 6,350 I.U.
Vitamin B : Thiamine .06 mg.;
Vitamin C : 41 mg.
Calcium : 9 mg.
Phosphorus : 13 mg.
Protein : .7 gm.
Calories : 66

Short day for moi!

1. Half day for me today!! I'm taking the afternoon off to spend with the bride-to-be, shopping! I'm in need of a little retail therapy, so this little shopping date came at a perfect time!

2. As lame as it sounds, I'd like to hit up Lululemon for a new outfit for race day! Also, I think a stop at Ricki's is in order. I need some new spring/summer blouses.

3. Speed training tonight... 3 x 1.6k at a ridiculous fast pace. Last week only doing this 2 times made me want to hack up my lung, so tonight will be interesting.

4. Oh, and I should note... I changed my profile name to just plain old 'Amy' and added a goofy pic of Mr. B and I. I decided it would be best to remove my last name.

Menu
B: XL Coffee from Timmys - kickin' my Starbucks addiction!
S: yogurt, mango, banana, 1/4 cup granola for crunch
L: Out for lunch with the ladies
D: Je ne sais pas

AP's: Running way faster then my body enjoys for a total of 4.8k... plus a couple warm up km's and a few cool down ones. Oh joy, Oh bliss.

I'm on a roll...

...with food porn!

Tonight's meal was inspired by Kath's post found here. Walnut and goat cheese smothered chicken breasts, steamed broccoli and 1/2 cup of rice. Frig, I'm on a roll with delicious suppers lately! I just wish I had the capability of taking a decent picture of my food...

Step class kinda sucked tonight. Its the start of a new session, and the instructor is a little off. SO slow... but lucky for me, I got my 6k run in prior in addition to an upper body workout with light weights/high reps. Not the end of the world!

Feeling better today

1. I think a quiet night with my husband was exactly what I needed to get my outta my funk. I'm feeling MUCH happier today. Our satellite was down most of the night, so we watched about 395 episodes of One Tree Hill. Yes, I'm 27... but I'm addicted to this stupid teeny bopper cheese ball show. The acting is beyond brutal, the plot is predictable, but for some reason I can't stop. (Sorry Jenn, I know you love this show!)

2. Day #2 of the new Counting Crows CD. Its weird. I'm finding that he's reused some lyrics. I have no concrete example right now, but it all sounds the same. I don't care, because I friggin LOVE them. There's less piano in this album which is too bad, because I think their use of piano is what really defines them as a band.

3. Not much on tap for today. On the training front, just an itty bitty 6k tempo. I think I'll do that from the office (new territory to run in!) then hit up the new session of my step class at 6h30. 18 sleeps until race day! AHH!

Menu du jour:
B: Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte (this is becoming habit forming... MUST stop!)
S: granola, mango, banana and yogurt
L: French onion soup from Costco, 2 cups of sliced veggies, fibre one bar
S: une pomme
D: Je ne sais pas

AP's: Shit load of cardio via running and aerobics. Tuesdays are usually my upper body day, so maybe I should do some of that too!

Nothing says summer like...

...BBQ!

I arrived home completely exhausted. I went up to bed to read a bit of my new book The Boelyn Inheritance. Gotta say, its pretty good thus far. Unfortunately (read: FORTUNATELY!) Mr. B joined me,managed to distract me and I completely missed my aerobics class! ;)

I thought I'd show the delicious meals I've been whipping up the last 2 nights!

First up: Grilled sausage, zucchini boats and home made pasta salad.

The salad was WW pasta, avocado, yellow pepper, tomato, cucumber tossed it a homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

Secondly, Grilled chicken breast, corn on the cob and mixed grilled veggies.

Last summer while at the veggie market, one of the vendors suggested that I add a cup of milk, 1/2 cup of sugar and a bit of salt to the cooking water. SOOO good. It totally brings out the sweetness in the corn.

Best summer desert ever: Strawberries, watermelon topped with ULF Cool Whip.

I have a sick obsession with food, don't I?

F'ing Monday

1. I'm feeling in a funk today. Like a miserable unhappy funk. Why? I have no freakin' idea. I'm really just not feeling happy lately... and I think a lot of it has to do with missing my girlfriends. My 3 closest friends all live in the GTA... and even though I talk to them on a regular basis, its not the same. In my mind, its like we're still all away at school. Unfortunately this isn't the case, this is life. And its quite likely I will never live in the same city as my best friends ever again.

2. Another reason I suspect my funk is imminent is the fact that Mothers Day is just around the corner. Never an easy time of the year for me.

3. Anyone a Counting Crows fan? They have a new CD out. I plan on sampling it here at work today, which is quasi exciting to me!

4. My legs are in tip top shape today which is quite excellent. We did the same 18k route we did last week, but in reverse. The last 2k were uphill which was pretty tough. Yesterday, I lost my 'mental mojo'. I chatted with the girls for about 1.5 hours, and then I kinda lost it. I turned on my music to make myself forget about what was happening... which worked for a while. The last 30 mins of the run just about did me in. I was constantly checking my garmin for pace, time, distance. BRUTAL. I never look at my garmin ever. I hate knowing how long we've been out etc. I guess that is kind of the advantage of running in a group, I never need to be aware of this. Ah well, the end is near. Next week is 20k, then we taper down until race day.

5. Not much else to say.

6. I should also mention I have a brief love affair with Drumstick ice cream this weekend. Verrrrrrrry good!

B: Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte
S: Granola, mango, yogurt
L: Homemade pasta salad, watermelon
S: Fibre One Bar
D: Chicken breast, roasted veggies and corn on the cob

AP's: Cardio Kickboxing Class

Product Review: Smartwool Running Socks

I ran a wet and rainy 18k in these puppies this morning. Not too shabby at all. What I liked about them, is that they are a relatively thin sock. I currently run in a double layer sock, but these seemed to do the trick.

The benefits of a wool sock you ask?
- They wick better then a synthetic sock
- They help to regulate your body temp, keeping you warm in the winter and cool in the warmer weather
- Wool fibres assist in odour control
- Wool socks also keep feet drier because wool absorbs as much as 30% of its own weight before it begins to feel damp

I got mine at my local Running Room for $13.99 a pair.

Random Pictures

The lovely Mandy's picture post made me want to post some random's also. There is no logical order to these pictures... just a few of my favorites.

My Nanny and my brother Patrick at our stag and doe.
One of the perks of my job... Cops and cars! :)

My favorite cousin in the whole world. Look at those dimples!

My friend Amie and I giving my Dad an "Amy Sammich"

After a party hosted at our house... Samuel and Johnathan both passed out on our hideous pink carpet.

FRIDAY! Yay!

1. I ended up being at the hairdressers for 3 frickin' hours last night. I was not impressed to say the least. Especially since I missed ALL my shows. Ah well, its supposed to rain all weekend... so I'll be able to catch up then I suppose.

2. Speaking of hair, it looks pretty much the same. I didn't want to go too crazy since I have the wedding next weekend. Its a little lighter, but thats about it!

3. I think Mister B and I are going on a date tonight. Its been a while since we got to spend an evening together alone. Between working late and running, I'm not home very much these days. I'm craving some spicy food. Not sure what though.. any suggestions?

4. Not much more to say today. Looking forward to the weeeeeeekend.

Plan for the day
B: Watermelon, 2 yogurt
L: Out for a luncheon at Boston Pizza. I'm going to have salad and a french onion soup I think
D: Out with my mister... maybe Thai. Its NICE and spicy!

Something is off here!

My usual ritual is to work from 6h45am to about 6pm and then head downtown to meet my running buddies at around 6h30. Which means I often don't get home until 8h30 or 9pm.

Tonight with my hair appointment being at 6h30 my ritual just couldn't happen. At 4:00 I decided to pack up my car purchases for the day and head out for an 8k run.

Its 5h54pm, I'm showered and ready to go to my hair appointment. I gotta say, its a nice change of pace.

The downside? Running alone. Running alone makes me go FAR too fast... which dosn't always make for a pleasant run. As I mentioned this morning, my chubby body is not aero-dynamic, nor does it enjoy moving any faster then a 6:45/km.

Enjoy your evening everyone.

We will not be discussing hockey until further notice.

1. Speedwork was friggin' hard last night. We only did a 1.6k loop twice. Sounds like no big deal. BUT, with that being said, my chubby body is not designed to move at the speed of sound. I find it to be quite challenging.

2. I'm getting my hair done tonight. I must have pretty hair for my friends wedding. Did I mention that she made me an appointment to get my hair done? My hair is at my chin... there's not many options as far as getting it 'done'. Ah well. What the bride wants, the bride gets.

3. I made another batch up hummus last night, but this time I used a can of mixed beans since I was out of chick peas. I gotta say, its pretty damn tasty!

4. My hair appointment is at 6h20 tonight, so I brought all my running gear. The tredmills at the gym here at the office suck, so I plan on going my 8k steady run outside. My arms are still wicked sore from my upper body workout.. so maybe just a wee ab workout post run.

Menu
B: Oatmeal and a banana
L: Costco French Onion Soup, pita, veggies mixed bean hummus
S: 2 yogurt, fibre one bar
D: Subway perhaps. I don't feel like cooking tonight!

AP's: 8k run, aberoonies