Heather - My life

Race update

2012-02-02T11:18:00.001-07:00

I really appreciate everyone's input to the race questions I had from my earlier post! After much thought, and a look at my race budget (which is pretty much non existant), I've decided this won't be a triathlon year. Neither was last year, mind you last year I grew a baby, so it couldn't really be full of triathlons too. Triathlons are much more expensive, both in race fees and training (dropping into pools, bike maintenance etc.), so they aren't conducive to paying a $350 race fee for NYC. Yes, NYC. I would really like to do it. I would love to take a family vacation there, have a little fun, run a marathon (hopefully with my sister), and cross it off the bucket list I didn't know I had.

In order to achieve that goal, I will have to really think about my races and my training. When I was training for the 70.3, I remember saying that 6 months was a LONG time to train for something. I couldn't stay motivated. Thinking about that, I have decided that I won't train for the Calgary Marathon in May. I don't think I could do a bunch of long runs now, and stay motivated to keep doing them throughout the summer and be ready for NYC. I will train for the half, maybe a little harder than I would normally with a few longer runs, and then once that is all done, I can focus on the real distance runs over the summer (urg) and be ready for a marathon November.

I also have decided not to do a bunch of races "for fun" since they all cost money. The Glencoe Icebreaker is an awesome race; small, local (the finish line is .5 km from my house!) and the brunch afterwards is AMAZING. But, 57$ for a fun 10 km isn't really in the cards when I have to pay 347$ for a marathon. I decided that the Mother's Day 10 km would be a great 10 km to do instead since I'm a new mum, have never raced it before, and I can help motivate another new mum friend get back into shape by training with her. It's also not very expensive and local.

The Calgary Half is another one I haven't done, but I definitely think I need a half in the spring to keep me motivated and running all winter. I normally do the Police Half in April, but frankly, I'm sick of terrible weather and race conditions for that run (last year I slipped and fell while pregnant on that race! oops!) and I'm ready for a change.

So I think that about does it. I may or may not do the Canmore race in September, which would be the 4th consecutive year participating in that event. It would be fun, but we will just have to see if it's in the cards financially. We'll keep that on the back burner.

What do you think? Do I make sense? (For links to the races, see the side bar on the left!)

I totally forgot to mention that I am going to be helping out with the Tech Shop's running clinics on Tuesdays and maybe Thursdays. There is a learn to run 10 km, an intermediate 10 km and a half marathon group going and I think I'll be running with either 10 km group. If anyone wants to drop in on thursdays at 6:30, it's free! If you'd like to join the groups and run tuesdays AND thursdays, they start next week and I think they're about 60$. I'm really excited to help out!

11 randoms

2012-01-24T19:37:00.000-07:00

So Kristen tagged me with the 11 random things, so I will give it a go. The problem is that I don't know 11 other bloggers who haven't been tagged. Ooops.

Here are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2, You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you've tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

11 random things about me:

1. I love shopping. I also shop best by myself. Now that I have another little person to shop for, I will really have to control my spending!
2. Although I grew up skiing and snowboarding and loved it, the last few times I have gone, I didn't really enjoy myself, so I think I'm over it. It makes me kind of sad to say that.
3. I hate napping and am almost incapable of taking naps.
4. I have "hippy ish" thoughts about a lot of things, but sometimes I'm too embarrassed to tell people because they are so strange. (the thoughts, not the people).
5. I don't get stressed out when Zoey cries. Apparently that's not that normal.
6. When I was a kid, I had an imaginary friend named Nances.
7. I am extremely vain when it comes to photos of myself.
8. Related to #7, I really wish I had a more pronounced chin.
9. I have a hard time not correcting people's grammar. I don't, but I always notice the mistakes.
10. I don't like chocolate chip cookies. I have only tasted one recipe that I've ever really liked. They were not gluten free.
11. I hate cleaning but get stressed out when my house isn't clean.

Kristen's Questions:
1- When you're in a job interview, what do you use as your "weakness"? (you know, the weakness that you can turn into a positive somehow)
I can be too outspoken (which leads to being able to take charge when necessary).
2- What is your favourite food?
This is a toughy... Carrot cake with cream cheese icing? Rice cake with melted cheese on top?
3- Why did you start blogging?
Because my sister did it and I always want to be just like her.
4- If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?
Europe with unlimited money.
5- If you're a runner, biker, triathlete, or any other sort of racer, what race is tops on your bucket list?
Oh gosh. I don't think I have a bucket list race. Something disney would be fun. Maybe another 70.3 with fewer hills on the bike?
6- What is your dream job? (pretending that it pays well)
TV broadcaster.
7- Who is your celebrity crush?
Ryan Gosling.
8- Did you or do you play an instrument?
Yes. Flute, piccolo, a couple of saxophones, percussion, marching cymbals (HA)... I think thats it. Oh, and I can dabble on the piano, get by on the clarinet, play one scale on the trombone, and make noise on a trumpet and french horn (which not a lot of people can do!)
9- What is your favourite "guilty pleasure" movie? (you know, the one that you like to pretend you didn't love)
There are too many. If it were a TV show, it would be VIP and the Kardashians.
10- If you had to pick a last meal, what would you pick?
Steak, lobster, risotto, roasted veggies and corn on the cob.
11- Ben and Jerry's or Haagen Dazs?
Ben and Jerry's!

Sorry to abruptly stop the random chain, but I honestly don't know any more people!

To marathon, or not to marathon. That is the question.

2012-01-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

If any of you follow me on twitter, you know I've been torn recently. Last year, my sister and I entered the lottery for the New York City Marathon. I just did it for fun, and of course, I got it. I deferred my entry, since the marathon was a month after my due date, and just sort of forgot about it.

Fast forward to last week, where I get an email from the NYC marathon saying "don't forget, you have a guaranteed entry for this year's marathon!" It got me thinking a little.

I have never imagined that I would run a marathon. Yes, I ran a 70.3, but to me, doing three sports for an extended period of time is a lot easier than doing one sport for an extended period of time. Running for over four hours has never been that appealing to me.

BUT, if there was any year to train for a marathon, this would be it. I wouldn't have to juggle training with working. I would just have to pop Zoey in the stroller and hit the path. Yes, the weather could interfere with it (how cold can the temperature be and still be able to run with a baby?? anyone know??) and I may have to stop to feed her on some longer runs (if I couldn't leave her at home with Matt and a bottle), but those things aside, I really have nothing but time this year. One big downside is the price. $347 for international runners. Ouch. But I could probably save up and try to expedia the crap out of some hotels. It would be a pricey trip, but it would be fun to be in the city we honeymooned two years later as a family.

So after looking up some training programs, I saw one that was doable that was 18 weeks. That got me thinking, the Calgary Marathon is 19 weeks away. And a shiny new route is in store for this year (with a big unveiling today!). So, maybe I could run the Calgary marathon this May, and then run NYC in November. Why not run two marathons in one year when I never thought I would ever do one. Am I insane??

What are your thoughts? Can I train with a baby? Can my body handle it? How slow will I be? So many questions!

A look at 2011

2012-01-01T11:33:00.002-07:00

*On my computer, there are random hyperlinks that are linked to ads in my post... I didn't put those there and I have no idea how to get rid of them. So don't click on them.*

2011 was a big year for me! At the end of January I found out I was pregnant. I stopped flying and got a placement in our corporate office working for an event planning team. This also meant that I was home all the time, which was new for Matt and me. We had a little adjustment period but we soon found that we enjoyed having each other around all the time.

I struggled to get in with a midwife but after a little coaxing I got a team of 5 midwives for my entire pregnancy care until 6 weeks post pardom. I was thrilled.

I took a quick little trip to Vancouver with my sis. That was very fun since that marked the start of my second trimester and I got to be really excited about having a baby.

I ran a 10 km and a half marathon in slippery snowy weather. They were my slowest races, but I will definitely remember them!

I had to stop running in May, which led to a severe lack of motivation to exercise. I sort of found my mojo again, but I really just wished I could run.

I learned that I was carrying a little furnace and was perpetually hot from June onwards. That wasn't too fun for me.

Matt and I travelled to Ontario in the summer and spent some time at a lake and watched a Blue Jays game.

As my third trimester began, I really felt the physical effects of pregnancy. I suffered some terrible heartburn, and was pretty much uncomfortable all the time. In the grand scheme of things, my pregnancy was pretty easy (no morning sickness), but it was hard to remember that during the last couple of months.

Matt and I celebrated our first anniversary on October 15th. We had expected to have a baby by then, but the little one held off so that we got to have our day to ourselves.

I worked right up until my due date, which was good in the end since I ended up being 12 days overdue. Those last 12 days were doozies, but in the end, I was granted a VERY fast labour and had baby Zoey at home and without any major complications on October 17th.

Life with Zoey has been an adventure. She is really starting to have a personality and it's so fun to watch her interact with various people and things. I didn't feel like an "instant" mother, since at first I felt more like a machine than a lovey dovey oogling pile of mush, but as the days and weeks progress, I find myself just staring at her in amazement. I miss her when I am somewhere without her, and I eagerly wait my turn to give her hugs and kisses when other people are holding her. I didn't know what to expect before I had her, but I am having fun every day and can't wait to see her every morning. I can't wait for this year to see her learn more things and grow more and more into her own person.

This year I hope to get back into exercise with a vengeance, to keep my relationship strong with Matt, to teach Zoey new things and to appreciate every day I get to spend at home with her.

Bring on 2012!

Feeling like a Mum!

2011-12-09T15:05:00.001-07:00

This week has been interesting!

Zoey has been very congested for about 3 weeks. It started with just a little bit of a stuffy nose, and then two weeks ago it got pretty bad. She was having trouble breathing through her nose (babies are "obligate nose breathers" so they won't breath through their mouth except when crying or when they are forced to), which made sleeping a huge challenge. She would fall asleep, and then wake up soon after because she'd choke on her snot or not be able to breath at all. We asked the midwives, who gave us some solutions and then told us to follow up with my doctor since we were "graduating" from their care a few days later. We then followed up with another doctor from the office (since mine wasn't working that day), and he gave us the same advice and told us to follow up in a week. (The advice was saline drops in her nose, suck out the mucous with a bulb thing, and use a humidifier). Everyone agreed that she wasn't sick, just congested.

When I followed up again with my doctor this Tuesday, she was immediately concerned with how much she had to struggle to breathe. (Side note: I love my doctor. She is amazing. She always takes things seriously, she has called me from her own home twice, she asks opinions, and is generally awesome.) She brought another doctor from the office in for a second opinion, and they both thought I should go to emergency to make sure there wasn't a blockage in her airway. At this point, I wasn't really TOO worried, and to be honest I was a little relived that I could take action to find a solution. It has been exhausting dealing with Zoey in terms of sleep. Otherwise, she is happy, but to hear her breathe just breaks my heart.

In Emergency

So off to the Children's Hospital we went. I sat in emergency for a while, and at one point a nurse walked by, heard Zoey breathing, and brought me back to super suck the mucous out of her nose. It involved tubes right up her nose and down her throat, vacuuming, and blood. Oh and lots of crying by Zoey. We eventually got into a room, and they hooked her up to a monitor to make sure she was getting enough oxygen and breathing out enough carbon dioxide. Everyone who saw her was amazed at how healthy she was, but had never heard a baby so congested. They were all puzzled. After a while, they decided to keep her overnight for observation. That was when I started thinking that maybe things were a little more serious than I thought. Matt joined us at that point and we were seen by quite a few really nice and thorough doctors. We got moved to a real room around 12:30 pm and Zoey got the royal treatment with her own little hospital crib, an awesome nurse-strength swaddle, and a cool noise machine. Matt and I shared a single cot!

Fancy/sad crib!

After many theories (structual problems, RSV which caused us to be quarantined and everyone who entered the room had to be in full gown/mask/gloves, multiple viruses in a row...) no one REALLY knew what was wrong with her. They all just thought she was completely healthy aside from being terribly congested. Finally around 4 ish in the afternoon (about 26 hours after we arrived!) an ear/nose/throat doctor visited, put a camera up her nostrils, and decided that she has very small nostrils, a small infection, and that combined with our dry climate is causing her congestion. The solution? A more powerful saline solution, sucking out the mucous with a bulb thing, and a humidifier. Oh, and she has to grow. Sweet. So after all that, poor Zoey just has to deal with it, and every day it should get better with her growth.

Noise machine = awesome!

It was a bit of a surreal experience, since it was her first time in a hospital, and my first night in the hospital since I was born. Also, the fact that everyone had to dress in full bio hazard attire made things seem a little more major. Her poor nose was so red and irritated from everyone repeatedly sticking things up and down it, but she surprisingly was in good spirits in between it all. I definitely felt like a "real mum" after taking my child to the hospital. There was something about it that felt like initiation or something!

So now we wait for her to grow and hope that it gets better every day!

Has anyone had scary hospital experiences? This was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things...

First Run

2011-12-04T13:04:00.001-07:00

So I finally went for a run. I got all dressed, made sure Zoey was fed, and set off with her in tow. My start was a little difficult. Sine Matt had the car (and the garage door opener), I had to wheel Zoey down some stairs to leave the building (instead of going up the garage ramp), and I also had to use the carseat adaptor on the stroller instead of just putting her in the regular compartment (since a piece I needed was in the car). Having the carseat meant that the stroller itself was harder to control and heavier. Nevertheless, I set off and started a slow run. I started huffing and puffing pretty much right away, but it felt really good to be running. I was constantly worried that Zoey was too cold, or getting jostled too much, but she seemed happy (and asleep) and she actually likes being jostled. (When we are driving and she is crying, she will settle if we go over bumps!)

All dressed and ready. (Terrible picture)

I didn't really look to see how long I was gone, but I think it was about 45 minutes ish and I think I covered around 5 km. Nothing to write home about, but I did quite a few walk run intervals, and stopped to check on Zoey a few times. Somewhere along the run she shook off her toque... She really doesn't like hats.

After the run, zonked out.

When I got home, Zoey was fast asleep, and she stayed that way for a LONG time. I guess I know how to make her sleep if worse comes to worse sometime! It's not the best to have her sleep in her carseat for a long time, but I was happy yesterday since it meant I could shower, eat and get ready for my Christmas party in peace!

Although my run was far from my best, I know that I can only get better from here! Now that the first one is under my belt, I'm excited to get out again. Maybe I should bust out my very first training program...

What I'm thinking about

2011-11-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

As much as I don't want to post only about mum related things, it's hard not to since that's about all I'm doing.

Zoey is still congested. I took her to the Dr today and it's only congestion and we just have to wait it out. I'm relieved she's not actually sick, but I wish I could do more for her.
Tomorrow I'm doing a very mum thing: Going to Play a Latte, a playground and coffee shop thing. It should be interesting.
Zoey got a play mat yesterday from kijiji and she loves it! She can't do much with it, but she stares at the toys hanging down, and sometimes bats at them, though I'm not sure whether that's on purpose or not. Side note, my home is becoming a little more kid ish!
I haven't gotten the courage to take her in the stroller for a run yet. I'm not sure what's holding me back, but something is. I need to just bite the bullet and take her out for a short run. (I like how I'm blaming it all on her, and not admitting that I'm nervous to run again and might not be able to run for very long!)
I feel VERY family ish and grown up because I ordered christmas card / pictures yesterday. I have always thought that sending out christmas cards is a very family / grown up thing to do, and have never considered it until this year.
I would love to go to hot yoga again. I need to do that soon!
I also would love to get a manicure, but I don't want to bring Zoey to a nail salon and would feel really lame asking someone to watch her while I got my nails done.
I've become obsessed with finding a well priced Keurig coffee machine. I really want one all of a sudden!

That's about all that's on my mind! Oh, that, and finding some long shirts so that I can wear tights and shirts and pretend like I'm wearing real clothes but really am wearing something that feels like pyjamas.

What's on your mind?

Trying to post with one hand

2011-11-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Poor Zoey has a stuffy nose, so she just wants to be held. Therefor, one handed posting and a list.

Kristen came to visit and it was great.
We did a small blogger meet up and it was fun until Zoey lost her shit and I had to leave.
Speaking of Zoey, she's getting a little more of a personality every day. I think she'll start smiling soon!
I'm relieved that the weather warmed up again. I don't think I'm ready for winter yet.
I think I'm going to have to start exercising again! Kristen and I went to hot yoga once while she was here, but aside from walking around, that's all the exercise I've gotten since Zoey was born. I wonder when I'll be able to run without feeling like my insides are going to fall out? (sorry if that was TMI).
Leaving the house takes a lot longer with a baby. It's also very annoying to drive a stroller indoors. I'm glad I have a good baby carrier!

And now, another picture!

Thoughts three weeks in

2011-11-08T14:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Zoey turned three weeks old. She celebrated by screaming most of the day. That was really fun for everyone. Luckily, those kind of days are not the norm. She sleeps reasonably well, though not in her crib yet. She will sit, alert, with her eyes open for about an hour at a time. She also loves to move. That isn't so nice when I'm dead tired and want to lie down, but maybe I'm to blame since I did lots of activity while I was pregnant. She eats well, which is a relief, because I was worried about not being able to nurse her well enough and having that stress added to having a newborn. All in all, she is a pretty great baby!

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm a mother, and that Zoey is my daughter, but I think that will come. Staying at home with her is different than I expected. I have learned in three short weeks that I need to go out everyday, regardless of Zoey's mood or mine. Being in the condo in my sweats all day doesn't make me too happy. I'm not used to being so sedentary, so I'm going to make a real effort to leave the house everyday.

I'm sure I have other thoughts but they aren't coming to me right now.

Oh! Except Kristen is coming on Friday!

I don't think I get to put pictures where I want so here is a bunch at the end!

Baby Zoey

2011-11-01T11:29:00.001-06:00

I've been a little MIA lately. I'm sure you can assume that means I FINALLY had a baby!

12 days overdue, Zoey Murphy Brillinger made her grand entrance. I won't go into the details, but what was supposed to be a hospital birth under the supervision of midwives ended up being a home birth due to a quick labour (sorry Linda). Matt, with the help of the midwives, "caught" her at 2:30 am on Monday the 17th and got to tell me that we had a daughter! She was 8 pounds and 2 ounces and I think 52 cm long? Since then we have been on an insane learning curve, but we are slowly adjusting!

I'll try to post a little more frequently now that things have slowed down a bit!

For now, pictures!

My favourite sleeper that she has already outgrown!

Zoey's first car ride

Nice family portrait

One Year Ago

2011-10-15T16:20:00.000-06:00

October 15th, 2010, Matt and I got married. Here are some of the highlights from our wedding day.

I really thought I would have a baby on my anniversary, but now that I don't, I'm happy to say we had one year of marriage before we had a family! I love you Matt! Thanks for making this year memorable and the best of my life!

Trying to think of something other than babies...

2011-10-12T11:08:00.000-06:00

I don't have a baby yet. I am 7 days overdue.

Moving right along!

Lately I have been filling my time with walking, coffees and lunches with friends, laundry, watching tv and reading. If it turns out that something that I thought was recorded on my PVR isn't actually recorded, it's as if the world has ended and I may or may not get very irritated. Then I realize it's TV and get over myself.

I have heard a lot about The Hunger Games from a few different blogs (like Healthy Tipping Point and Healthy Ashley) and thought I should give the series a try. I really liked 1984, which is another "big brother" type book, and I also liked Twilight, a teenager series of books about vampires and love, so why not try this seemingly mesh of the two! (I'm sure George Orwell would cringe at the thought of his book and twilight being mentioned in the same sentence... sorry George!) I read through the first of the series in two or three days, and so off I went to get the next two right away. (I tried putting the series on hold at the library, and I was about 200th in line for them for all three, so I just bought them instead.) They're really good, in spite of being written in first person, which I tend not to like. They keep me interested, have a LITTLE taste of a love story (I'm only halfway through the second book right now, so the love factor could get more or less important from here forward), lots of big brother type stuff, and a little bit of Harry Potter esque challenges (which is another series I went wild over). If you like any of these books, I suggest you give them a try!

I'm off to pretend like I don't care I'm still pregnant!

Changes

2011-10-09T13:14:00.000-06:00

This time last year I was extremely hungover. Because a year ago last night, I was doing this:

It was my bachelorette party. We ate some sushi, sang some hilarious karaoke, drank a bunch of shots, then I did a bunch of throwing up, and Kristen took me home. Everyone else continued partying and apparently had a great time!

If I can remember correctly, exactly one year ago, I was standing outside my house with a giant bowl of stuffing that I had made, trying not to be sick again and about to eat a giant thanksgiving feast.

Oh, how things can change in a year!

Thoughts at 40 weeks pregnant

2011-10-05T09:18:00.002-06:00

I would like to preface this post by saying that I have the nicest, most caring friends and family, and what I'm about to talk about does not mean that I'm annoyed by them or am trying to make them feel bad. I'm really just trying to be funny. I really love them and am thankful that they care so much about me.

Today is my due date. I'm 40 weeks pregnant. The little thing has gone from nothing to a full on baby. Crazy. The people in my life are really excited. How can I tell? Here are some common questions / statements I have received in the last week.

How are you feeling? How do you think I feel? Is there a way to answer this question to satisfy you? I feel large, uncomfortable, slow, a little impatient, a little nervous, or my most common answer, "fine!".

Any changes? Changes in what exactly? Would you like me to describe what my vaginal discharge looked like yesterday and what it looks like today? How about the cloudiness of my urine? I really don't know what this question means or how to answer it.

Any baby news? Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? I gave birth last week. It was quadruplets. We named them after the first four Duggars. No there's no baby news. I think I'd mention it. Really.
Has the baby dropped? I don't know. That probably means no. Even if it had, it really doesn't mean that I will have the baby immediately. Why don't you call my midwife and ask her.

Are you excited? Am I excited to have a baby? Sure. I'm excited that I will have a baby. Am I excited to give birth? Let me tell you something. I have an app on my phone that gives me a daily description of my body, the baby, and little tidbits of random info. Today when I opened it, when I looked under "size of baby", it said "pumpkin". PUMPKIN. I'm not even joking. I'm really really not excited to push a pumpkin sized baby out of something that I promise has never housed anything close to pumpkin sized.
Take advantage and sleep now! On what planet does one sleep well when they have a 25 pound beach ball between their legs? I have to flip sides every HOUR because my hips are so sore. I can't sleep on my back or my stomach. I have to pee every two hours. It takes me a good minute to get out of bed, and when I get back in, it takes another minute to arrange myself into a moderately comfortable position. Yeah, I'll get right on sleeping my little heart out.

The wait between when you're in labour and when the baby is born is going to kill me! Really? REALLY? Kill YOU??!! Put yourself in my shoes. Oh wait, I won't be wearing shoes, or pants, or underwear, and I'll have people staring at my crotch watching me push a pumpkin sized baby out of my vagina. I really feel for you. Maybe I'll call you midway to see how you're holding up.

(Said by someone who is pregnant and due later) I'm so ready to not be pregnant. I hope my baby comes early. Shut the f&%k up. Thanks.

Are you sure your due date is October 5? You look like it will be another 10 days or two weeks! Oh, I don't look like I could give birth on the 5th? According to you? Ok well I'll just change up my calendar, let my medical professionals know, and sit tight for two more weeks. Also, do you think this is something a 40 week pregnant person WANTS to hear? Because I really don't want to hear it. Really.

That's KIND of how I feel today. Except I'm not actually angry or bitter like this implies. I'm healthy, as far as I know the baby is healthy, I don't have to go to work, I can go for coffee with random friends whenever I want... I'm really not in a bad place. But every single time one of my friends or family members asks me how I'm feeling, I kind of want to kick a puppy.

Photoshoot Success

2011-10-03T16:27:00.000-06:00

I'm quite pleased to report that we didn't do terribly on the photoshoot. I think everyone is their own worst critic, and Matt tends to "not see" a bunch of things I think are deal breakers when it comes to good vs bad pictures, so my idea of a good picture and his were quite different. That being said, we walked away with a handful of pictures I liked, and that's that.

New Look

2011-10-02T13:52:00.001-06:00

I've wanted a new look for my blog recently, and although things might change a bit more once I stop being pregnant and start being responsible for another human, I figured I had more time now than I will in then. I didn't have to guts to take the plunge and write "mother" or something crazy like that in my "about me" section, but that can come later.

I messed around with the new dynamic layouts that blogger provides, but they just didn't really seem to work the way I wanted them to. I'll chill with this one for a while and maybe tweak it a bit.

Since I've finished working, I have done the following:

Had last minute coffee dates
Slept in (if you can call 7:30 sleeping in...)
Made some granola
Had a romantic dinner date
Walked to the new gluten free bakery and bought some amazing bread
Forgotten to go to a friend's house and then rushed to get there an hour late after she called to see if I was still coming
Made some chocolate quinoa crepes
Gotten acupuncture
Panicked a little about the thought of potentially having a baby in the extremely near future

On the docket for today is trying to take a few pictures of me in "my condition" as keepsakes. I'm not really into getting pro pics done in a studio, especially the seemingly intimate ones that people tend to get when they're pregnant. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting intimate pictures taken, pregnant or not, but I do find it weird that people show them to everyone. I don't ever want to see a picture of a close friend or family member lying on a bed with a sheet hiding their privates, pregnant or not. Sorry. Little side rant there. We will stick to fully clothed outside pictures in the nice fall colours. Matt and I don't have the greatest history when it comes to taking pictures (we aren't good at taking pictures of each other... I think I may have alluded to that in my belly pics post) so I'm hoping today works out!

Any tips for my new blog design??

A weighty issue

2011-09-26T19:22:00.001-06:00

I've never been one to know how much I weigh. I can normally guess, give or take 5 pounds, but normally my indicators are how my clothes fit. I've always had a little extra around the gut area, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more than a little, but I normally have a handle on what to do to get rid of it and it's never been awful. (The exception being before I knew I had celiac... that was awful because I was working super hard to get rid of it and it just wouldn't go.)

But now, I have to weight myself all the time. During my first and second trimesters, it was once a month, with the goal of seeing numbers rise, and if they didn't, I got scolded and asked to gain a little more weight. At the start of my third trimester, I weighed myself every two weeks, and for the last month it's been every week. I can honestly say I have never weighed myself every week before now. The concept is just foreign to me, because I can honestly tell you I have never cared what the number on the scale was. I know I'm getting bigger. It's pretty freaking obvious. Now, to be fair, it is a little startling to see numbers I never dreamed I would see on a scale, but I know that it's for a good cause, so I don't really mind.

Throughout my pregnancy, I have noticed a few things. Let us look at a point form list, shall we?

People call me tiny. It's odd, since I weigh a lot more than I ever have and I have a huge belly. I think the skinny jeans and the fact that I still continue to have no ass are contributing factors to that optical illusion. Tiny has never been a word people have used to describe me, except for that unfortunate time in high school when I had tonsillitis multiple times in two months and lost all sorts of weight. I really WANTED to eat, I just couldn't.
My weight really differs from morning to afternoon. When my appointments are in the morning, I will have gained a pound or stayed the same since the previous week's appointment. When they are later in the day, I'll be up two or three pounds. Can we tell I may be retaining a bit of water throughout the day?
People flat out ask me "how much have you gained?" I find that crazy. In what situation would someone ask that question other than pregnancy?? Crazier? I'll tell them. I won't tell them the names we have picked out for our baby, but I'll easily spill the number of pounds I'm up.
Other people tell me about their or their wife's weight gain. I really don't want or need to know how your wife has ballooned like a blimp, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you to share that with me either. If your wife had gained 60 pounds and she wasn't pregnant, would you tell me then? I doubt it. Granted, I have asked people about their weight gain during pregnancy, so I am equally guilty of this odd behaviour.

I think the main reason for my reasonable weight gain is that I haven't given myself a free pass to eat whatever I want. I know a lot of women do that during pregnancy, and that's fine, but I didn't want to be left with this enormous task of losing it all post baby. By no means am I dieting, and I am giving myself many more liberties than I normally would, but I am still conscious of what I eat and when I eat it. That being said, today might not be the best example of my healthy diet, since I've had three chocolate chip cookies (someone made them just for me; I HAD to eat them), two little brownies (I made those... no excuse) and some ice cream. I'll just give today a pass and work on tomorrow.

I also think genetics have had something to do with my weight gain. My mum didn't gain much when she was pregnant with both my sister and me. She also wasn't sick during her pregnancies, which is especially lucky, since she has an abnormal aversion to being sick, and she point blank said to me "good thing I wasn't sick when I was pregnant with your sister, because you probably wouldn't be here!" I am thankful for her lack of nausea which in turn has allowed me to experience the same. The fact alone that I haven't thrown up once made me a little nervous at first that I WOULD gain lots of weight, since I had a fine appetite and could eat until the cows came home, but luckily that wasn't the case.

All in all, this obligatory emphasis on weight has been a new experience for me, and I hope to go back to my old non-weighing no-number-knowing self after the baby is born. I'm in the "safe zone" for pregnancy weight gain as it stands (and maybe today's treats gave me an extra pound or two for my weigh-in on Thursday) so I don't need to worry, and hopefully the baby will be healthy, and I can go back to not stepping on a scale aside from my annual physical soon.

Do you find pregnancy makes people a lot more open about their weight?

Race envy

2011-09-24T11:15:00.000-06:00

I'll be honest - I have some major race envy right now.

My sis ran a race last week and is running another tomorrow.

Caitlin raced a tri today and I think a tri tomorrow!

Meghann and company are racing a 70.3 tomorrow.

Kirst is running the harvest half tomorrow too.

I just want to race! I know I have great reasons to not race, and I don't want to come off like a complainer, but man o man I can't wait to lace up my sneaks and get training!

I figured in order to keep my envy under control, I'd take a peek at a few races that I might like to do in the future. I don't want to sign up or commit to anything at this point since I really have no idea what my body and life will be like after this little baby comes, but I figured it couldn't hurt to look.

On February 11, there's the hypothermic half. That's an option.

In April, the Glencoe Icebreaker 10 km happens and then the Police Half comes about a week later, both of which I did this year, so those are both possibilities too.

I don't think I want to look at anything in 2011, though maybe a late 5 km could be an option. Since I had to stop running what feels like years ago, I don't want to have any thoughts of grandeur thinking I can bust out a nice 10 km a month after delivery, but I could do something like the santa shuffle which I believe is a 5 km, if my body cooperates.

I hope everyone racing this weekend has a great time and does their best! I know weather poses issues for lots, but remember that you just can't control it, so don't waste your time worrying about it!

Anyone else racing this weekend? Anyone else feeling a little green with envy?

Well hello blogger traffic!

2011-09-21T17:07:00.002-06:00

Today Meals and Miles linked to me and my page views went up by over 300%! She referred to my 70.3 post and called it "inspiring"! How nice! I still can't read that race report without my eyes welling up a little... I just remember how freaking hard that day was, and how much I wanted to stop but couldn't because I am too stubborn. Hopefully that theory will cross over to childbirth, though I don't really have the choice to give up! It's crazy to think that last year I raced a 70.3 and this year I am a big ole pregnant lady!

So hi! to any new readers. My name is Heather, I'm 27 years old, married almost one year, two weeks away from my first baby's due date, a celiac, a runner, triathlete, flight attendant turned temporary office worker and a healthy blog reader! Welcome!

BUT, I actually have a race report to share today!

Last weekend, we (Matt, Kaitlin, Jordan and I) went out to Canmore for our third annual trip to the Canmore Rocky Mountain race. My mum and I set out to walk our little hearts out for 5 km! I will admit I haven't walked very far or very quickly in a while, so I wasn't 100% sure how I would feel (and I haven't run in what seems like forever since I got work from my midwife that I am not allowed to run). My belly was tight and a little uncomfy by the end, but it was great to participate in the event and be in the mountains.

So this baby has officially run a 10 km, a half marathon, and walked a 5 km all before birth! I wonder if it will be a runner or hate running. We will have to wait and see! (Side note, both my sister and I HATED running until we participated in our first race together in 2007, so even if it hates running as a child, it might develop a liking to it someday!) (Is that right? 2007?)

10 km! Can't REALLY tell I'm pregnant.

I think this (the police half marathon) was the last time I could squeeze into my CW-X tights!

Here I am laughing that they announced our names as we were about to cross the finish line of the 5km

So there you have it! My final pregnant race report, and now I can focus on having this baby, recovering, and getting back into running!

Wednesday tid bits

2011-09-07T18:03:00.000-06:00

I cleaned the dreadful mirror.
I am making breakfast for supper, which is one of my favourite suppers.
The baby's limbs are distinctly poking out of my belly a lot and often and it kind of hurts.
I really am totally done with working; too bad I still have 13 days left.
I'm going to Canmore this weekend to walk a 5 km race. This will be the third year in a row that Matt, Kaitlin, Jordan and I have participated in the event. This also means that I will have done every distance for this race; kind of cool.
I can't believe that I only have four weeks left until this baby is due!

Do you have any Wednesday tid bits?

I'll leave you with a little photo from the west coast!

A little baby room update

2011-08-31T19:05:00.003-06:00

My sis has requested some pictures of the baby's room since I've been working hard for the last little while. I took out my big girl camera and took some real pictures, so here's the progress so far.

Crib, little shelf, and a "placeholder" chair. (We have a different one in Kirst's basement that will hopefully live in that corner soon)

Curtains!

Donkey!

My big ole belly in the extremely dirty mirror!

Easy hoop art ~~inspired~~ directly stolen from this blog

Crib, crib skirt and chalkboard accent wall

Mobile that will move from this spot

Dipes!

Duck towel!

Ok, enough cuteness and exclamation points. So there is a mattress leaning against the wall in the corner by the window. You can just ignore that. We definitely need a few more things on the walls, but that will come. Matt can't wait to get his hands on some chalk for the chalkboard wall. I was hoping to get a big frame that we could put on the chalkboard wall to break it up a little. What else? There are more things, I'm sure, but I can't really remember them right now.

So there you have it! Baby's room exactly 5 weeks before it's due to be born!

Anyone sick of baby business?

2011-08-29T11:22:00.000-06:00

Too bad. I have more!

First, I made the curtains! BUT, it's really hard to take a picture in front of a window, so I'll have to try again at night so that I can actually show them off.

Also, I had a really nice baby shower, where I got spoiled. I was so thankful that people got me things I would need and have to buy anyway, like my awesome diapers, a changing pad, crib linens and more. I also was so thankful to my friends and mum who worked hard to put it all on.

Now, I have a question for anyone who has had babies: How many newborn sized clothes do I need? I have heard they outgrow things so quickly, so anything I've gotten, I've chosen size 3-6 months. While I was putting things away in the dresser, I realized that I only have one sleeper and one two piece PJ in newborn size. This just doesn't seem like enough. So what should I buy? How much do I REALLY need? I have a little sweater that a family member knit that can work as a "coming home from the hospital" jacket, as well as a sleep sac that can keep the little one warm in the car, but otherwise, I have jut the one sleeper and PJ.

Help??!!

Crib Skirt Success!

2011-08-16T15:06:00.000-06:00

I made a crib skirt! Craft #2! I just can't even believe it!

I followed this tutorial, courtesy of Young House Love, pretty much the best blog ever.

Here are the results:

And I didn't even sew!

It definitely isn't perfect. But, it's made, and it looks pretty good, and that's good enough for me!

Side note, my sister wrote the nicest post ever for my birthday today. She's just the greatest. Love you!

Baby Project - DIY mobile

2011-08-09T18:55:00.001-06:00

I am not too crafty. I try to be, but usually my projects end up looking like a five year old did them. I'm not really sure why I decided to then embark on a crafting mission for the baby's room, but that's what I did.

First, I decided to make a no sew crib skirt and some no sew curtains from Young House Love, but all I've actually done is purchase material and supplies. More to come on that.

I then decided to make a hanging mobile for the room since most store bought ones I find either very expensive or very cheesy. After google image searching "diy baby mobile" and looking through 15 pages of results, I decided to go with this one. It even was already the colour I wanted.

This is the goal!

So I went to a craft store, bought some yellow card stock, clear thread (or fishing wire), a wooden needle point ring thing and some yellow ribbon. Unlike the example on the website, where she used a wooden circle for the top and then painted it, I decided to use a ring and then wrap it with ribbon. Here is the project, from start to pretty much finish.

1. First, I traced the circles using a bunnykins egg cup and a pencil.

2. Next, I cut them out using extremely heavy cutco scissors. My fingers had indentations in them for a while.

3. I cut a long piece of clear thread and tied a double knot on the bottom.

4. Then I poked a hole in the centre of a cut circle with a safety pin. (I didn't take a picture, but I actually erased all the rogue pencil lines from the circles after I cut them. I have discovered that I am a terrible cutter.)

5. I then thread the circle onto the thread.

6. Then I tied another double knot a little bit higher than the first circle. I got a little creative here and decided that every other string of circles would be longer, so for half of them, I tied the knots further apart, and for the other half I tied them closer together.

7. I then poked another circle and thread it on to the thread.

8. Each thread got nine circles.

9. As I finished each string of circles, I tied it around the wooden ring. (I just wrapped it around and tied two knots. It was kind of tough to do it on my own, but much easier when Matt held the ring up for me as I tied.)

10. Yay I'm done with the circle strings!

Matt wanted to be on the blog.

11. I gathered all the tops of the strings and tied them in a knot. It was very difficult to get it level.

12. I put a glob of Aleen's Tacky Glue (it's even the same stuff as they use on YHL! It's as if we're best friends already!) on the inside of the ring and held my yellow ribbon there for a minute or so and then got to wrapping. Here is where I realized a small mistake. I DEFINITELY should have wrapped the ring with the ribbon before I tied nine strings around it. Whenever I got to a string, I had to really maneuver around it and try to not mess up the wrapping or hanging integrity. It was annoying. Along the way I put a dab of glue here and there for good measure.

13. Ta da! I'm done! (It ended up being much more level than that, which is explained in the notes.)

So there's the mobile! Not too far from the goal really! She has a much cleaner background so you can see it a lot better, but I did this in my messy living room so background clutter is what you get!

A few notes:

I don't know exactly how I will hang it from the ceiling. I will probably string another piece of clear thread under the knot of gathered threads so that I can choose the level I would like instead of just having to go with what I have to work with. I think I have a little hook thing that I can screw into the ceiling.
I actually ran out of ribbon about two centimetres too early. Luckily, I had more ribbon. Still, It was very annoying to need just a tiny piece to finish off the ring.
While wrapping, I inadvertently moved all the strings around so after I was all done, I had to untie the big knot and re-level everything and then re-tie it. I wasn't too thrilled with that. Definitely wrap the ring first if you try this.
I did this over two nights of trashy reality TV. First, Big Brother, and second, Bachelor Pad. Bachelor Pad? Really? I was ashamed but couldn't stop watching. Vienna and Jake are both idiots.
I can't believe that this actually worked. Seriously.

So now, attach to ceiling, and also decide where exactly to put it. I'm leaning towards over the change table instead of over the crib. My sister pointed out that *if* it falls, it could be a major hazard over the crib. I agree.

Now hopefully the crib skirt goes as well. Or better really. The curtains? I'm nervous.

7 links

2011-07-30T08:15:00.001-06:00

I definitely had challenges with this post! First, I started blogging when I was 20. My "voice" has changed significantly since then. I also was in university, drank a bunch, partied all the time, and thought I was pretty cool. Now, I'm old, married, about to have a baby, and still think I'm pretty cool. Most of my older posts make me cringe since I sound like such an idiot. I think I'll stick to more recent posts for this!! (Except one).

So, without further explanation- my 7 links:

Your most beautiful post

While my This Sucks post itself isn't beautiful, or even well written, it was definitely filled with emotion. My sister got married and then moved across the country two days later. I wasn't a flight attendant then, so flight benefits weren't in my vocabulary, and the thought of not seeing her for 10 months was awful. To me it's beautiful because I love my sister so much that anytime anyone mentioned her or her wedding for the next week, I burst into tears.

Your most popular post

My most popular by far was Ironman Calgary 70.3 Race Report. I think it got a lot of traffic because of people googling the race, but I'll take it. I was a hard one to write too. My next most popular is about the Steve Nash Sports Club, which must be due to googling as well.

Your most controversial post

My accent vlog post was quite controversial because Kristen and I couldn't agree on how to say syrup. Also controversial because I hated my new haircut, and I had found out that I was pregnant only days before.

Your most helpful post

I think my post on how to make delicious and not terrible for you gluten free granola is quite helpful. When I make mine I always open this link for the recipe.

A post whose success surprised you

The Bell Commercial post got a lot of hits... Must be the googling again! I'm not a very popular blogger, so my hits come by accident!

A post you feel didn’t get the attention it deserved

Selfishly, I'm surprised that my "I'm pregnant" post didn't have as much action. I guess the world doesn't revolve around me after all!!!

The post that you are most proud of

I think I'm most proud of my 0-100 post since I it documents me buying a condo, getting engaged and turning 25 in a very short time. (And winning 10$ in a lotto ticket. Can't forget that). In reality, I think my 70.3 post is a little higher on the proud list but since I already used it, I'll go with my second choice.

That was really tough. I can't elect anyone else to do it since I found it so difficult. I hope you enjoyed it!

It's your birthday!

2011-07-11T04:00:00.001-06:00

Well, not everyone's. But Kristen's!!!

Happy birthday to the greatest sister anyone could ever ask for.

I only wish I got to see her every day!

Fit Abs 3000 in 35 challenge - update and more

2011-07-04T06:05:00.002-06:00

It's day four of the abs challenge, and so far so good. I've severely neglected my abs for a while and while this is proving a challenge, I've always been sort of "good" at abs stuff. I normally can keep up well in classes or yoga when they throw in a few at the end, and I can normally hold planks for a while without too much practice. That being said, I have never seen an actually defined "ab" on my stomach, and I have a feeling that this challenge will not finish with that result either! I just hope to keep my muscles strong so I can have a strong delivery.

I've been in Toronto for the past few days, and we've had some action packed times already!

Day one, we arrived, and went downtown to meet some friends who were hanging out in a park. We then headed to Fresh for supper. I was happy with my meal, and also pleasantly surprised that the other 5 people liked theirs too, despite some of them not really being "healthy" eaters.

Day two, we were up pretty early and headed back downtown to watch the Jays game. I squeezed in a quick coffee with another friend and his adorable puppy before the game and then I caught up with everyone else and we went to the ~~Skydome~~ Rogers Centre for some ball.

Way too cute

It was hot. Like really hot. I also was having some major discomfort in the baby area. These days I have felt like there just isn't enough room in me for the baby. I think it's growing pretty quickly and I'm not sure that my body is at the same speed. When the baby turns, it hurts in the strangest way. Anyway, I wasn't feeling super awesome, but once the sun went behind a cloud and the breeze picked up a little, I was much happier. The ball game itself was full of action. Someone was arrested in the section beside us, another fan ran onto the field, and the pitcher got thrown out of the game after yelling at the umpire and throwing his coach out of the way (in order to yell more at the umpire). It was pretty crazy. After the game, we walked forever, stopped for some great and cheap sushi, and then walked forever again, finally got to the car and went home. I was so flipping tired, I collapsed into bed.

Day three, we had a good old fashioned pool party, so we got some food, got some friends, and hung out on the deck and in the pool all day. It was great.

Now, we head "up north" (wherever that is) to spend time at his parents cottage thing for the week. I have no idea what we do there, but there will be water, so if it's too hot, I can just jump into the lake.

One thing that I'm still not used to and not sure I ever will be is the attention I get from people because I'm pregnant. Since I haven't seen any of these people since becoming pregnant, the attention is more prevalent than it is at home. I don't really know how to deal with it and I'm sure I come off as snobby or distant. I just get really uncomfortable when people coddle over me. I'm trying not to be that way, but it's a little challenging. I will continue to try so that I don't offend anyone, but it's not the easiest. Oh well.

And I'm off! Hoping to catch a little Tour de France before we leave!

Exercise Blahs

2011-06-30T15:40:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I had to stop running. Since then, I have done about 10 yoga poses and 40 crunches. That's it. I'm feeling completely un motivated to lace up my sneaks and go for a walk. I want to run. But I can't.

So, I need a plan. A new, non running plan. First, I am going to swim. I must swim. I will do that by going to the pool and swimming. (There, that's a plan, right?)

Secondly, I will do at least 10 minutes of yoga every day. I will do that by following a couple of different pre-natal podcasts.

Third, I will do a very modified version of the FitBlog AB challenge, 3000 in 35. By no means am I going to have rock hard abs and a flat stomach, but stronger abs will help me deliver, and make me a little stronger for post baby, so I'm on board. I'll listen well to my body and just push myself a little. I checked it out and I know it's ok for me to do whilst knocked up. We'll see how it goes! Also, I just like to do whatever my big sister does. That's what annoying little sisters are for!

So that's what I'm doing. And I will try my best. Help.

*I was totally going to put in a picture of a big ole belly beside that nice abs one, but after google image searching "pregnant belly", I am way too scarred so you can just imagine it. Man there are some nasty bellies out there. I really hope mine doesn't turn into one!

Finally

2011-06-13T19:19:00.000-06:00

I have FINALLY found a dress to wear to an upcoming wedding. I have probably tried on 30 dresses. I'm not even kidding. Today, at my second store of the day, I put this on, it wasn't too long/short/unflattering/revealing/hot/casual/dressy, so I bought it. It happens to make my boobs look enormous, but otherwise it's the best I've found. Thank god I can stop looking. Now if only I could find a swimsuit.

Almost 6 months gone

2011-06-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

That is insane. I can NOT believe how the time has flown by. I just can't believe it.

We saw our midwife this past week, and a few things have developed.

First, Matt has positive blood, while I have negative blood. This means I have to get some kind of shot in order to not have my body attack any future babies to be. I'm not really so knowledgable on the subject but I'll roll with it.

Second, my belly measured exactly the size it should be for how far along I am. That's good, I guess? Not sure if it really matters. I've also gained about 12 pounds so far. I think that's alright.

Third, no more running. I've had some pressure and pain in the under side of my belly when I've run, and she said "just stop". I asked about the support belts, and she said "nope, stop." Considering for most other issues, she has said "whatever feels good" or "you can try this or that" and has never been super firm on anything, I decided she meant business on this subject. It's a bit of a bummer, but I can still walk vigorously and work out in the gym, just no high impact stuff. I'll just have to figure it out. The day after this verdict my cool new interactive road ID came in the mail (courtesy of my sis)! I can't wait to use it... in months! I'll wear it while I'm walking just for fun.

This past week was the first time I have felt any real negative pregnancy symptoms. Sunday night I had the worst heartburn I've ever had. I was up all night, sweating, and with acid reflux to the extreme. I stayed home from work that day to recover and catch up on sleep, and felt fine that evening. After I went in to work the following day, I started to feel really nauseous and funky in the stomach. I went home (since I actually thought I was going to be sick, for the first time my whole pregnancy), and had a 3 hour nap, something I pretty much never do. After the nap, I felt a lot better. Over weeks 22-24, apparently the uterus moves around a bunch and it's common to have weird internal issues since all the organs have to shuffle. I still have a lot of heartburn, but I've been taking a spoonful of apple cider vinegar every night before bed and I carry gaviscon with me in case I get anything in the day. On Friday, I woke up with a wicked cramp. I felt like it was my time of the month, but then I remembered that pregnant women don't have a time of the month, so I got a little worried. I was quite uncomfortable during the drive to work, I just wanted to stop sitting. Driving doesn't work so well in any position other than sitting, so it was a bit of an issue. Luckily I had an event going on so I didn't have to spend my day at my desk. When the cramp was still there after lunch, I decided to contact the midwives on their emergency pager, something that I hadn't done and was a little nervous about. Was my issue and issue? Was it normal? I just didn't know. After her asking me all sorts of questions and making me twist and turn and press here and there, she decided it wasn't an issue. Because it wasn't coming and going, it wasn't a contraction. Because I could still feel the baby move, it wasn't a big sign of distress. She gave me a few instructions and made sure I knew to call her back if it went away and came back, if it got a lot worse, or if my water broke (!!). I'm glad I called her, since it really reassured me that it was most likely a normal pain. She also stressed that I was right to call and that I shouldn't hesitate at all to call again. It hurt for most of the next day as well, but it got better.

I think I'm getting to the part of pregnancy where I really FEEL it. My back is sore, I feel pressure in my lower belly a lot, and the baby is moving around like crazy. Sometimes I can see my belly move when it kicks. I'm walking a little differently too. So strange. I'm getting a little closer to being able to picture myself with a baby, but not quite. It still doesn't exactly seem real. I know I've had such a great pregnancy up until now, and I can only hope things will stay the same. I had a few blips this week, but still nothing major.

I've decided I need to start preparing myself for labour a little by reading some books. I'm hoping to have a natural childbirth, but I know I need to learn some coping skills to get me through it. I also think I might plan to wear my 70.3 shirt for the delivery (or the part of it when I can wear my own clothes... I don't know how long that is). Since it's an enormous oversized cotton t-shirt that I wear to bed, it should work great for when I'm huge. When I'm having a tough moment during labour, I can remember how much I suffered and overcame during my race and maybe I'll find some strength to overcome the pain. Who knows. I've borrowed a couple of books from the library and so far the first one is a whole lot of cheese and a few great tips. It involves a lot of drawing, and I'm just not into it. I'm glad I didn't take the class it was based on. I think I would roll my eyes a lot. I normally can jump in to hippy dippy things and embrace the cheese, but this one is a little much. Hopefully the next will be a little more down to earth but still enough hippy dippy for me.

I took another iPhone picture... I don't think I'll ever get good at them. In it you'll see my new iPhone 4 with my fancy dancy case. I was so paranoid that I would drop it so I'm relieve to have a little more protection. It also looks like I'm not wearing pants, but I am.

Almost 24 weeks! 6 months!

That's about it! For now anyway!

A little bit of bad luck

2011-06-01T20:34:00.001-06:00

There has been a little bit of drama in the Brillington household these days.

First, a week ago on Sunday Matt dropped his iPhone on the sidewalk and shattered the screen. After learning that both of us had to wait until October to get an upgrade, he decided that packing tape would do until then. Surprisingly, despite the crazy shattering, the screen still works perfectly, so he was willing to suffer until the rumoured iPhone 5 comes out.

Matt's sad iPhone

The following Friday, I was at work working and event for work purposes and my iPhone got stolen. It was in my pocket for 9 hours straight, and I took it out to use the washroom (so that I didn't shatter the screen like Matt did) and it got stolen. Barf. So I had to get a new phone. I looked into buying a crappy phone, but I would have had to pay around $200. Knowing that a) I would be livid every time I looked at it and b) I would just go spend the money and get an iPhone 5 when I was eligible in a few months, I decided to bite the bullet, pay to get an early upgrade and get an iPhone 4. (I still saved significantly over buying it outright, but spent more than I wanted to.) (Come to think of it, I didn't want to pay anything because I DIDN'T WANT TO BUY A NEW PHONE).

My new iPhone that I feel guilty for owning

So Matt has a crappy old thing that he can barely see and I have a shiny new iPhone that I have mixed emotions about. I am happy I have a new phone, but I wish I didn't have to have it, and I wish Matt had a new phone too. I'm also mad that someone else has my phone. (And in case anyone was wondering, I have gone through ALL the steps I can to recover/find it, including calling it, believe it or not*) My work is looking into it much deeper than I expected, so that's nice. There's a chance we will be able to figure out who took it, in which case Matt can use it in the interim.

Another little piece of drama? Our roof is leaking. Oh bother. Luckily it's the condo building's fault, not ours, so we won't have to pay for any repairs. We will have to get repairs, but at least our insurance premiums won't go up.

In other news, I'm feeling almost fit as a fiddle and I can feel the baby moving around like crazy these days!

Taken two and a half weeks ago. RIP old iPhone.

*This comment is in reference to a suggestion I got a day after it was stolen. Why yes, believe it or not, I DID call it.

*And I'm saying it out of a place of love.

Unexpected Vacay

2011-05-11T08:52:00.000-06:00

My sister wrote a great post for my grandfather recently, and you can find the whole story here. I don't think I'd be able to say anything as well as she did so I'll leave it at that. On Thursday my mum and I flew to Montreal to meet my sis and Jordan and the following day we drove down to Vermont. As much as I don't really care for road trips, the drive down to Vermont is incredibly beautiful. I was reminded the whole way that a lot of it is thanks to my Grampy who made a bill or law or something making it illegal to have billboards in the entire state of Vermont, so the lush green countryside always looks extra lush and green.

I learned a lot about him this trip, and I wasn't aware he had such an environmental focus. He helped create the first ever "green-up day", which is a day where everyone picks up garbage and litter and leaves it in these green bags that get collected. It happened that his funeral was on this year's green-up day, and my aunt, uncles and father had all participated in the first one many years ago.

I heard lots of stories that I had heard before, and when they were told, both around the kitchen table and at the funeral, I could hear them in my grandpas voice, who loved entertaining us with his tales from when he was younger. I also got to read a letter he had written to my grandmother shortly after their first date. He was working as a journalist at the time and he typed out a letter describing his weekend (washing his car, telling her that he had a whole heap of fun and that she was real swell. It was one of the sweetest things I had ever read.

One thing I think we all knew about my grandfather was that he loved my grandfather with all his heart. He always wanted to make her happy, and it was clear that he just loved her to bits. It's an inspiring thought to know that someone can love another person so much for so long.

Another nice thing about the weekend was getting to see my eastern family again, now the fourth year in a row. I didn't figure I would get to see them again before the little bambino is born. One of my uncles is a little grandbaby crazy I think, so he was very happy to know a little one is on the way, even if it isn't his own grandchild. My cousins were all excited and it felt nice to know they are all there supporting us! We took a family picture and I could just hear myself telling a little kid "that was before you were even born!" Kind of a neat thought.

All in all, the unexpected trip to Vermont, even though it was to say goodbye to my Grampy, was very nice. I could spend all day just sitting on my Aunt and Uncle's porch reading, listening to the wind chimes surrounded by green. I'm glad to have gotten the chance to be there.

Office Life

2011-04-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

Since I haven't ever worked in an office except for four months in university, these last few months have been interesting.

A few items to note:

I'm lucky to work in such a beautiful building. It's very light, there are lots of windows, every floor has a little kitchen, there is a Starbucks, a Sunterra Market and a gym in the building, and it's full of friendly people.
There are ALWAYS treats. It's either someone's birthday, some kind of campaign, someone went on a trip and brought back chocolate, or it's been easter. Regardless, there is always something sweet around. Luckily I can only eat about 30% of treats, otherwise my baby bump would be an all over fat fest.
I don't like non apple computers.
I need to pee a LOT. I never would have noticed at home or on the plane, but since I have to lock my computer and get up from my desk to go, I feel like I go all the time.
I'm lucky to have a pretty nice team of co-workers. I haven't found office politics to be an issue.
My butt hurts from sitting all day.
I don't like having to dress nicely every day. Actually, it's more that I don't have enough nice clothing that fits to dress nicely and not wear the same three outfits over and over. Oye.
The Jays wear a lot of make-up for men. Oh wait, that's a noteworthy point from America's Next Top Model, not office life.
I hate driving to and from work every day. It's the worst.

And there you have it. My thoughts from the office after three months! Is your office life like mine?

The joys of photographs

2011-04-14T17:39:00.001-06:00

Lots of people post belly pictures on facebook when they're pregnant. I'm not too sure that's exactly my style. I generally don't post pictures of myself un-shirted at the best of times, so when I'm continuously getting fatter, it doesn't seem any more appealing.

BUT, I have decided to take belly pictures. I feel like it's a way to remember the journey into motherhood. (I think that's the cheesiest sentence I've ever written.) I'm also trying to keep a little journal that I will eventually give my child, just like my parents did, but I'm finding it a little tough. I don't know what to call myself, and the one time I wrote "your mum", I felt like I was talking about my own mother, not me. I also have a hard time knowing exactly what to write, and I don't want to be too cheesy like my dad was! (He's just so emotional!) I just blather on like an idiot for a page or two and hope for the best, really.

Back to the belly pictures. They are WAY harder to take than you might think. First, taking them after a haircut you hate is terrible. Exhibit A:

Bangs belly pic (5 weeks)

Taking them when there are two people laughing at you, and one of them is saying "stop sucking in!" isn't much fun either. Exhibit B:

I'm NOT SUCKING IN! (10.5 weeks?)

Taking them yourself is pretty much impossible. Exhibit C: (ps: HELLO baby bump! Nice of you to make an appearance!)

DIY belly Pic (13.5 weeks)

Having someone take one of you with you iPhone at a race seemed to work ok! (And this was one day after the previous picture. Maybe the all black had it's slimming effect on me!) Exhibit D:

Too bad I'm not facing the other way! (13.5 weeks)

The next impossible thing is having your loved one take a picture after you've been crying over nothing. (For example, why isn't there any more cereal?!?!?!??!. It happens more often than I'd like to admit). Also, telling him that he's terrible at taking pictures and then pretending to smile doesn't work well either. Exhibit E:

I think I'm thinking "kill me you now! (14.5 weeks)

Then, taking one right after a workout really just isn't flattering, if you can call any picture where you pull up your shirt and stick out your belly flattering. Also, can you believe this is three days after the first one? I think I may have just eaten, but still, I feel like I'm growing every hour!!!! Back to the pictures. Exhibit F:

I need more concealer. (15 weeks)

Common themes? Pimples. Oh god, the pimples. Also, I hate taking belly pics. Hopefully we can get this down to a science before the baby comes. Otherwise, it will be an album of pictures I would like to burn. Oh, and now I'm sharing them with the internet.

Oh, and I will definitely take an "after" picture of my tattoo. I REALLLLLLLY hope it's still pretty leaves and not giant blob leaves.

Soooooo......

2011-04-11T19:27:00.001-06:00

So lots has happened in my life recently.

I stopped liking Reece's Peanut Butter Cups or anything related to them, which is a tragedy.

My love for strawberry milkshakes has been rekindled.

My running pace has dropped like a hot potato.

And I'm pregnant.

Woah.

I'm pretty excited, scared, nervous, and all the other feelings that go along with having another human growing in you. Speaking of feelings, there are lots of them, all the time.

Luckily I wasn't sick at all during the first three months, just very tired all the time. I also drastically reduced my caffeine intake (from two a day to less than one a week), but since reaching the second trimester, I've allowed myself one small one a day or so.

I'm still running, but not quite as much as before. I'm keeping under a certain heart rate (as directed by my doctor) so my pace is dictated by it. I ran "the baby's first race" last Sunday and it was very hard to keep it casual and not "race". We had fun, but it was a struggle to cross the finish line a good 11 minutes slower than I did last year at the same race.

Baby's first 10 km!

I'm also not flying anymore, instead I'm working in the office for a great team that puts on events. Unfortunately, my job isn't as glamourous as event planning, and more about printing labels and stuffing envelopes. BUT, I get to be safe and sound and get a good night's sleep in my own bed every night. I'm thankful that I get to put my semi-risky job on hold and get to do other duties and still get paid!

What else? I'm having a hard time finding maternity clothes that don't make me look like a doily. I'm also consumed with the decision of whether to buy an infant car seat or a convertible car seat, don't ask me why. I'm also avoiding thinking about transforming my second bedroom aka the place where we store EVERYTHING into a baby's room. I can't even think of where to begin.

So that's that!

Granola

2011-03-07T18:09:00.001-07:00

I just love granola. I love oats, nuts, a little bit of sweetness... it's just all delicious. Unfortunately, since discovering I have celiac disease and going gluten free, my granola choices have gone from plentiful and delicious to slim and gross. Most GF granola doesn't have any oats, since most oats are contaminated with wheat and only a few select brands are certified wheat free. Also, most GF granola has cereal (NOT good in granola or with yogurt in my opinion) or crazy random clusters of weird. They also normally contain a large amount of fat. From oil, not nuts. Oh yeah, and they all cost about 10$ for a tiny package.

A while ago, I made my own granola. And it was delicious. I haven't made any since then. I have been granola deprived! So yesterday, just because, I decided to make some more.

I didn't have 12 cups of oats though... I had something more like 6. So I used the 6 cups and decreased the liquid a bit. And instead of grapefruit juice like I used last time, I used Happy Planet Abundant-C smoothie. And I didn't add raisins. Oh, and instead of flax, I used chia seeds. I'm not sure if you're supposed to bake chia seeds, but I did.

It's just delicious. I've had it twice today.

If you'd like the recipe, just click the link! A healthier, cheaper, modifiable and did I mention delicious granola! Enjoy!

Accent Vlog

2011-02-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've seen a few accent vlogs on some other websites, and I thought it would be fun to add in my two cents! I'm born and raised a Calgarian! It's weird to see myself on film. Also midway through, my eyes start to water because I'm embarrassed. They ALWAYS do that!!

If you want the list, here it is!

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped
body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry
groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

Deep Breaths

2011-02-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

I know that complaining about the weather really isn't an efficient use of time and energy, and that a lot of places around the world are getting it worse than we are. BUT, I have to say, this hot cold hot cold hot cold thing is getting PRETTY old. I know it could be cold all the time, and that would be awful, but the hot melts all the snow and makes it slushy and gross, then the cold comes and freezes said slush and it's impossible to walk anywhere. Please decide, and lets keep the temperature variation to about 10 degrees, shall we?

End of rant.

2011 goals

2011-01-26T18:47:00.000-07:00

Where has January gone??

The rest of my New Year's Eve was quite uneventful. I went to bed at 10:30, and Matt woke me up at midnight, gave me a kiss and a piece of toblerone (seriously, I think I got 20 different toblerones as christmas gifts) and I went back to sleep. I woke up in the morning with chocolate still in my teeth. Don't tell my dentist.

This month has been interesting. My step-dad had a big surgery on the 5th, the same day that Matt started school (part of his electrician's apprenticeship). The surgery went well, and Matt is half done his school already and is doing well there too.

My dad took some big healthy steps towards some weight loss, and I'm trying to support him by taking a few yoga classes with him when we can fit them in.

I made some goals for 2011, as did most, but I decided to share them now and tell you how I'm doing.

I split them up a la healthy tipping point into three categories: Personal, Health, and Financial. And a la the things i know I will update these periodically.

Personal:

learn Italian - haven't even started. Oops.
communicate better with Matt - this is up and down. The start of the month was bad, recently has been better. We try. It's hard at times and I love being right.
pay and file bills and letters immediately - 50% better than I used to be.
clean the house on a more regular basis - epic fail. I can't see this being an easy one to achieve.

Health:

run 100 km per month - So far I've run 52.81 km this month, so unless some MAJOR running is happening for me in the next 5 days, I think I lost this one. BUT, 52 is a lot of kms, so I'm still proud of this. There were 8 days where I honestly flew, got to a hotel, had 9-10 hours of rest and flew again. Working out just didn't happen. Sleep barely happened. Eating happened.
run a great half marathon in April - stay tuned.
run a speedy 10 km in september - ditto
do yoga 3 times per week - I think I've done an average of 1.5 per week, so not there, but better than zero.
drink more water - enh.
eat dessert less frequently - much better at this. I seemed to have gained some weight over the holidays (whaaaaaa?!?!?) from perhaps a little more alcohol than I'm used to, so I would love for it to go away. I'm actually going to try to cut out alcohol except for special occasions, so we'll see how that goes.

Financial:

buy less coffee out - I have cut down. Sort of.
put more cashola on debt - not yet. we have one pay check at the moment (because Matt's in school) so this be a little more promising in a month.

Those are them for now. I think I will add some more soon, but these seem good for the time being. Some are exciting and I want to do them (like running and yoga, oh right and the communications with my husband one), and some are terrible (like cleaning and bill filing), so obviously I'm putting time and effort into the fun ones and not so much into the terrible ones. I should make a new goal of putting effort into the stupid goals.

I'll leave you with a couple of fun professional wedding pics!

An Amazing New Year's Eve

2010-12-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Though it's still early evening, I've had a pretty cool New Year's Eve already.

I headed down to Cochrane to run Martin Parnell's last 10km of his 250th marathon this year. He is raising money for Right to Play, a children's charity, and I thought it would be cool to participate in his last run.

This is me and Marathon Man himself!

He is inspirational, to say the least, and I was so grateful to get the chance to run with him. I asked him if he was looking forward to tomorrow, and he said "more than anyone can know. I can't wait to do anything but run!"

He had 400m left to run before the final 2 km, so he told us all to wait while he ran up this parking lot and across a bridge and back!

The next time I feel like I can't keep going during a race, I'll be able to think about this experience and I'm sure I'll find the strength to continue!

Update

2010-11-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

I have been absent again!

I don't really have an excuse this time... I didn't get married again or go on another honeymoon. Ooops.

I've been running a little more than I was before, I've been yogaing a little more too, which I'm enjoying.

I've been living with my husband AND his brother, which is interesting in a small condo.

I've been flying, sometimes to Maui, which is a great escape from the cold weather.

I also bought a new winter jacket, which I love.

What else? I took Matt to Vancouver for his birthday, and we went to the Vancouver Aquarium. We also ate some delicious sushi for a lot less money than Calgary's sushi.

Soon, it will be Christmas and Kristen and Jordan will be here! Hurray!

Wedded Bliss

2010-10-27T09:59:00.000-06:00

I have been absent, but busy.

I got married.

Went to New York City on my honeymoon.

And ate lots of Gluten-Free deliciousness.

And loved it!!!

Hot Hot Heat

2010-09-24T08:20:00.000-06:00

Bonjour!

The time is ticking, and the wedding is getting closer! Three weeks today at this time I will probably be drinking coffee on my deck with my husband to be before the madness of the day starts! If it's too cold, maybe it will be coffee in bed. (which, coincidentally, is what we were doing when he proposed!)

So much has happened it's hard to even get it all out! I had an amazing surprise shower thrown by the best besties in the world (a recap can be found here), and then I ran the canmore half marathon (which k did a great recap of as well). Matt and I ran together, so there was no pressure and we didn't have any time goals. We finished in about 2:15 and I was pretty sore. Once I got past 16km, I could tell where my training lacked and my hips were toooight! We had a good day, but next year, I think we'll drop back down to the 10km race. It's a lot more fun to do with a group (Matt's cousin and her husband did it with us both years) and not quite as taxing... we can still have drinks the night before, not have to get up, eat and have a strict schedule.

I've been doing hot yoga more since the race, trying to get a little more toned. I still am doing some weights when I'm on the road, but in Calgary, I don't have a gym access so I'd rather pay to do yoga instead of pay to lift weights. I've been going to hot yoga and I can definitely tell I'm working hard! My arms today were shaking since I've been twice this week (when normally I go once a week MAX). I'm enjoying the 60-90 minute sweat fest.

Other than that, it's little wedding details and that's about it! Time to relax and enjoy the time with all the visitors coming!

Recovering

2010-08-18T08:08:00.000-06:00

Life since the 70.3 has been great. I am still in disbelief that I finished and that it's over, and it's strange to not have this HUGE ENORMOUS deadline looming over my head.

Oh wait, I guess there's our wedding that's in less than 2 months. Most of the important things are done, but I'm still trying to get all all of the little details figured out. Luckily there isn't anything so pressing that it doesn't seem manageable.

I also signed up for a half marathon on September 12 in Canmore, so I still have to run and make sure I can finish that one well. I know I can finish finish, but it would be nice to have a strong race. I haven't been SUPER into running, though I just got a birthday present that should pep me up a bit! Matt (and my parents) got me a Garmin 310XT!! I took it out for the first time yesterday, and so far it's cool, but I just kept looking at it the whole time. I can see how people rely so heavily on them, since they are just plain cool and it's interesting to see all sorts of stats, but I'll just let the "newness" of it wear off and hopefully just use it as a compliment to my training.

What else? Matt and I have continued to go to hot yoga, which has been great, and I'm working on some strength training when I'm on the road (and have the use of free gyms) to tone up my upper body for the wedding. I worked out with another flight attendant who does fitness competitions, and while that's definitely not something I'd ever want to do, it was fun to do a strength training routine with someone who knows what she's doing. She is STRONG! I've never been much into strength, aside for a few little weights here and there and some core stuff. I definitely was out of my element. One thing that she commented on was how determined I was, and how she didn't have to push me to finish a set or exercise. I told her that even though weights were foreign to me, pushing myself and persevering is what my sport is all about! Funny how two very different athletes have the same thing at their core. Anyway, though I don't think I'll be sporting a spray tan, a string bikini and clear heels anytime soon, it was amazing to see her lifting 40 plus pounds doing tricep something-er-rathers (while I was lifting 8!)

And that's that. How's everyone else doing?

Ironman Calgary 70.3 race report

2010-08-04T12:23:00.001-06:00

So I finished. And that was my only goal.

I'll start the day before, when my sister, mum and I went out to Cochrane to drop off my bike. Nothing too noteworthy happened except I met a very nice volunteer who was very informative and helped me put my number stickers on my bike. She told me how and where I would exit the water, grab my T1 bag, get dressed, and run out to the mounting line. Nothing too crazy. I walked down to the water and tested it out. It was cold. I wish I had gone for a swim, but I didn't.

Race morning I woke up at 3:30, made coffee and oatmeal, made sure I had all my stuff, and we (sister, Matt and I) left to go pick up my mum. It was raining, and there were thundershowers in the day's forecast. We arrived in Cochrane, and the line for the portapotties was already very long. I don't exactly remember what all happened and it what order, but I dropped off my water bottle, pumped my tires, lent my pump to someone else, went to the bathroom, got body marked, applied sunscreen, re-marked my numbers since they came off with the sunscreen, got on my wetsuit, and dropped off my dry clothes bag. Also, I got about 500 mosquito bites. Then I waited. The pros started and finished, the women started, the men started, and then I went into the water to "warm up".

As soon as I put my face under the water, I started gasping, breathing in (which you aren't supposed to do under water), and panicking. I have never had any water "issues", I've never panicked, I've never freaked out, and I don't mind open water or cold water. I'm not sure if this was nerves, temperature, or both, but I could NOT find my breath. Of course, the fact that I was having these issues is making me panic even more, and all of a sudden, the horn went off. I still couldn't put my face under without gasping in and out, so I just tried to swim some kind of front crawl without my face under. It wasn't too effective, and before I knew it I was one of the last people. I think I did the first quater or third of the swim like that. In my head, I was thinking "ok, well this is it, I'm done the race, I can't do it, I'll just stop", but then I just sucked it up, tried to calm down, and eventually found my stroke. I made up quite a bit of time, passed quite a few people, and finished the swim strong in 46:24.

I ran up the boat launch, tried to get my wetsuit half off, then ripped off my cap and goggles, got stripped by the strippers, couldn't find my T1 bag, a volunteer found it for me, changed, took a Gu, and ran into the bike place and grabbed my bike. I took some swigs of water and walk/jogged to the bike mount. My mum, sister, and Matt were there, taking pictures and cheering me on. I think I said "that was very hard" and then hopped on my bike. I knew this was going to be hard. And it was.

I passed a girl not two minutes into the bike who had already gotten a flat tire. I said to her "terrible luck!!" and she replied "I know, right?!?" as if she couldn't even believe it. I remember thinking "I hope I don't get a flat!" and kept on going. I biked along, getting passed left right and centre, one guy saying "those beers are going to taste amazing tonight!" as he went by. It rained a bit, making my feet wet and cold. I tried to remember to drink, eat (I managed to eat my Gus without falling, which was great) and just kept cycling. The course was devastating. I felt awful. The hills were tough. I managed to speed down the hills, which I wasn't sure I'd be able to, only breaking when the officials told us there was a sharp turn coming up, and I tried to keep strong, but it was hard. I couldn't get into aero position much during the first half of the race, since there were so many up and down hills, requiring me to change gears, and my aero bars don't have gear changers on them. When the course was a bit flatter in the last third, being in aero hurt my crotch so much that I couldn't stay in for long. My dad drove out to Cochrane and cheered me on with major gusto at two spots. When he drove by me on a hill, he stuck his hand out the sunroof and cheered like crazy. He really helped keep my morale up. Coming up to the second aid station, I had finished my aero bottle of sports drink, so I decided to take my spare water, pour it into the aero bottle, chuck it at the aid station, and get a new spare water. I have never really ridden with one hand for that long, so I was really going out on a limb thinking I could do it. Slowly but surely, I managed all those steps, and when I was finished, I felt so proud! How silly! I even looked around hoping someone had witnessed it! I got up to the aid station, called out for water, and my favourite volunteer from Saturday's bike drop off ran beside me and handed me a bottle! She encouraged me, congratulated me, and told me to keep riding hard! I found out later that she went to the finish line and even recognized my family and told them that she had seen me out on the course. How nice!! For almost the whole course, I was alone, only passing about 6 people total, and being passed here and there. Anytime I saw the official vehicle drive by, I was scared there were going to pull me over and tell me I was too slow and I had to stop. I saw a few people on the side with flat tires, and again hoped I wouldn't have to be in their shoes. When I finally got onto Glenmore Trail, I tried to remind myself that I was supposed to be happy, since this meant the bike was almost over. Instead I was mad. I was mad because I thought I had been too slow and wouldn't get to run. Then I was happy because the day would be over. I didn't care that I couldn't run. I just wanted to be done. Then I was sad because I wouldn't be able to finish and would have to tell everyone I didn't finish. I finally turned onto 37th street, (what a bumpy road!!! my crotch was KILLING ME!) powered down the road, and saw a group of people at the end screaming and cheering. I heard my dad yell "YOU MADE IT!!!" and saw my mum, sister, matt, my friend katie, and her sister yelling and cheering. I unclipped, got off my bike only to find that one foot was still clipped, almost fell, and walked over the timing mat. I was sort of crying out of happiness, exhaustion, disappointment (that I had to keep going), and as I walked to my transition area, I heard my mum say "well, she doesn't look very happy!" and then I got changed. My final bike time was 4:05:21. Ouch.

I was thankful to have spare socks since mine were SOAKED (hehe just in case Leana!!), got on my runners, my hydration belt, went to the bathroom and peed for what felt like an hour, and set out on the run. As I passed my family again, I said to my sister "don't ever let me do one of these again!!" and started running. I think I took a Gu. My quads were completely cramped. When I stopped to stretch them, my calves would seize. It felt terrible. I ran, walked, walked, ran, and at about 4 km, I met my new friend Perry. He had gotten four flat tires on the bike and cruised into transition one minute after me, being I think the last one to make the cutoff. He said "we are pretty much at the same pace, if you try to walk as fast as you can when you're walking, we can still make a good time, so lets just run together". So we did. The course looped in such a way that we passed the finish line a couple of times throughout the run, so we got to see my family a lot. When we passed them around the 4 km mark, the group had grown to include Kirsten and her three kids. Kristen ran with us for a few kms, talking to us, telling us we were great, cheering for us, and being awesome. She then left us and found someone to run up the weaselhead hill with who was on their last 5 kms of the race. We ran, walked, talked, drank water, and before I knew it we were at the turn around, meaning we were halfway done. I definitely wasn't running my fastest half marathon, but I didn't care. My quads were sore, and I was mentally done. Perry and I took turns being the strong one, making the other run a little longer. He has done 35 triathlons, 6 of which were 70.3 and one ironman. He had done this race last year and finished in just over 6 hours. He was nursing a rib injury, making his race a tough one, not to mention all the flat tires. About 9 kms to go, my mum's good friend Leah rode up on her bike and cheered us on. She rode behind us for quite a while, chatting, telling us how great we were doing, offering us and anyone who came by some sharkies, granola bars, and water. She was such a great moral booster, and we were happy to have her as company. During the whole run, we passed probably 30 people, so that felt nice. When we got to the bottom of the weaselhead hill, Kristen, Katie and her sister met us at the bottom and encouraged us to run up it. My quads didn't like that idea, so we walked up. At the top of the hill, we were met with cheers by an even bigger group, including Matt's cousin Kaitlin and her husband Jordan, and my friend Vanessa, who had worked all night and woke up to come to the end. Also, my step dad Kevin was there. It was amazing. We ran some more, still with 4 km left of the race, walked, ran, walked, and I was really loosing steam. It was so hard to keep running. Finally, FINALLY, we had one km to go. We had originally said we would run the last km, but I just couldn't. I ran, then walked, then ran it in. People were lined up, cheering, and it just felt amazing. Perry and I crossed the finish line together, hugged, and then I just cried. We finished the run in 2:24:32.

I got my finisher's medal, a belt buckle, a large finisher's shirt that comes down to my knees, a superhero cape (those metal blanket things) that I've always wanted, pepsi, water, and went over to find my family. I just couldn't stop crying. I was so glad it was over. I cried and cried and hugged people and I was just so relieved. My final time was 7:28:30.

My final thoughts? I have an amazing group of family and friends. I couldn't believe how the group just kept growing and growing. My sister would have run the whole half marathon with me if she needed to. Matt decided I needed to have a jacket (since I didn't buy anything at the race expo) so he, Kristen and my mum got one for me so I would have something to wear. They cheered and cheered and just were amazing. Also, the race was really really hard. I feel amazing, but it was hard.

I did it!

2010-08-01T16:35:00.000-06:00

It was very very hard. But I finished in about 7:3something. Wahooooo!

5 days

2010-07-27T12:13:00.000-06:00

Because my race is five days away and I'm extremely nervous, I decided to post my list of required items for race day instead of writing about how I feel (TERRIFIED). Also, if anyone sees any huge gaps in the list, you can help me out!

Swim:

wetsuit
goggles x 2
swim cap
race issued swim cap
ear plugs
watch
tri shorts
sports bra
tank top
body glide
towel

Bike:

bike (though it will already be there, so I shouldn't have to remember it)
bike shoes
socks
helmet
sunglasses
race number belt
1 package of gu chomps
3 gu gels (plus 1 that I'll take as soon as I get to my transition station)
5 salt pills
aero bottle filled with sports drink
regular bottle filled with water
extra water bottle to rinse my feet
bike pump (a big one to pump my tires before I swim)
co2 gun thingy
2 co2 cartreges
2 spare tubes
tools
sunscreen

Run:

runners
socks
hat
hydration belt with sports drink
2 gu gels
body glide

Post Race:

sports bra
tank top
shorts
compression socks
new runners
FOOD (though I will rely on my race supporters to provide that for me!)

So most of that stuff I'll bring with me as I'm racing, though a few items will be left in transition (like body glide, sunscreen etc.) I'm wondering if I should have two sunscreens, one for each transition, or rely on the sunscreen "station" that I've heard will be in the transitions. Because this is a point A to B race, I won't have access to the things in my T1 bag for T2, so anything I'll need twice I'll have to have two of. Kind of a pain, but no big deal. Luckily there were a few body glide samples kicking around the shop, so I snagged one for my T2 so I won't need to buy another body glide (since I JUST bought a new one). I'm bringing mainly sports drink with me since I like to have what I'm used to drinking, and I'll get my water from the aid stations along the way. I'm really not sure how I'll do with the aid stations on the bike, but I'll try my best, and bring lots with me so if I'm too uncoordinated to use them, I won't be stuck without nutrition.

I hope that about covers it. Definitely let me know if you see something missing!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Getting uncomfortably close

2010-07-01T11:41:00.000-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while, one reason being I was busy, one being I didn't know what to say except I'm getting extremely scared.

First, the half marathon. It went well. I came in at 1:59:4something. I barely squeaked by and achieved my goal of coming in under 2 hours. It was a very challenging run. First, I had forgotten how long we had to stand around and wait for the start. I don't like that anticipation too much, and the fact that it was pouring rain didn't help. Secondly, IT WAS POURING RAIN. I was soaked. Thirdly, it was hillier than I remembered. I hoped it would be the opposite, and that the course wouldn't be as hard as I remembered the first time I ran it, but no, it was hilly. Just when you think you've hit the hardest hill, a harder one comes along. And then people tell you "it's flat from here on in!!" from the sidelines, just in time for you to turn a corner and see an enormous hill. Honestly, spectators, don't ever yell it's flat unless you are 100% positive that there are no more hills. It's just not nice. While we're at it, don't you dare yell "you're almost done" unless I can see the finish line. Telling me I'm almost done with 3 miles to go is just plain false. Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. The fact that I was soaked mixed with the hills made the race really tough on my feet. I have been dealing with some forefoot tenderness that I thought I had under control, but the up and down and the soaking feet and shoes full of puddles made me feel like I was running on cheese graters. Ouch. It was mentally tough, physically tough, but I remembered I was running for my grandma and for alzheimer's, and I pushed through to sneak in under 2 hours. Great! Everyone else who ran with me did amazing, and I was so happy for everyone.

Next up, the 70.3. Just writing that gave me butterflies. I'm scared. Really really scared. I don't know what else I can say but holy freaking crap why am I doing this?!?!?!?!?! I feel like I'm a 5 year old going in to take the SATs. Ahhhhhhhh!

And that's that! Sorry I've been absent!

The home stretch!

2010-05-27T20:59:00.000-06:00

Life has been a whole bunch of working and training!!

I swam lots this month, and it really improved my speed and technique. I'm feeling great, and hoping I'll make my swim well within the time cutoff for the race. Biking has been another story... Not too many rides on the real roads so I'm really going to focus on that after my half marathon.

Speaking of the half on the 6th, I'm getting really excited for the race! Matt and I are heading out early and taking my gramps to a red sox game, and we'll have a little time in Vermont to relax before the race. I'm told there's a little lake nearby, so I plan on doing a few swims there for training. My running hasn't been exactly where I want it for the race, but I feel confident that I'll do well, and if I don't get under 2 hours, which is my goal, it's not the end of the world. I know I have it in me, but if the weather is too hot, I think I may fade a little. I went for a training run in the heat a couple of weeks ago, and it was BRUTAL. It's very hot in Vermont right now, so it's not looking amazing, but I'll wait and see. I'll do my best, and that's as well as I can do! This race is about Team Alzheimer's, family, and enjoying myself, so if I can't perform the way I want, I will still get lots out of it.

After the race, it will be ALL about the bike. I will have my ass attached to that seat as much as I possibly can. I am slightly worried about the bike time cutoff for the half ironman. I am not allowed to continue racing if I finish the bike over 5 hours after I start the race, which means the swim plus the bike can't equal more than 5 hours. I really don't have an accurate estimate of what I'm capable of, but I just feel like I could take 4 plus hours to bike 94 km. I guess once I get out for a few long training rides, I'll know a little more what kind of time I'm looking at. I am a little nervous though, I'm not going to lie.

That's about that! Next week will involve a lot of flying and driving, but then fun and relaxing with the fam! Wahoo!

I'm a fish.

2010-05-10T20:49:00.000-06:00

Today was a great day for workouts! I got up this morning, went swimming, and had such a confidence boosting swim! I did a warm-up of 600m, with some kicking, pulling and regular swimming, then I did 1650m of continuous swimming. Instead of just swimming and counting up to 1650, I started with 275, then I did 250, then I did 225 etc. until I got to 25 and I was done! I didn't stop between my sets (except a few goggle readjustments), so I still did 1650 continuous, but it helped make it a little more do-able for me, and also helped me not loose count. My biggest problem swimming is that I loose count of my laps and end up doing too few. (funny how I never do too many...) I then did a 200m cool down and called it a day. I just felt amazing having finished such a long swim in about an hour. The 70.3 swim leg is 1900m, so I was only 250 shy of the total. It made me feel so much more confident that I will actually be able to finish the swim part, and within the time cutoff too. My whole workout took an hour, so I know I'll be able to do 1900 within the one hour cutoff. I felt so good leaving the pool. I started to feel a little tight in my shoulders during the last 200m, but with time I know I'll be ok.

I worked all day at the shop, mostly taking returns from the big sale we had this weekend, but the time flew by and before I knew it, I went home and got ready for my run. I really didn't want to, but I sucked it up and went. I did 14km around the river, and I definitely overdressed. I got dressed, and even thought to myself "I think I'm going to be too hot", but went out anyway. I was wearing full length tights, a tank top, a long sleeve (I almost wore a thermal long sleeve instead, thank goodness I didn't), gloves and a thermal headband. I definitely didn't need all those clothes, but I wasn't BOILING and I survived. It tends to get windy around the river, so I think that's why I thought I should wear everything, but I could have at least worn capri pants, no gloves, and a normal head band. My head was very sweaty!

This week is all swimming all the time, so I'll smell like pool and have super dry skin. Fun!

Feeling a little guilty

2010-05-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

I have so much to say, but not enough time to say it! I've been working and out of town for what seems like forever. Every time I see my blog I think about how much I want to post, but I haven't had any time on the computer!

I will start with a bike ride. My third attempt on the bike went well. I went on a path that was technically closed, which worked very well with me because it wasn't busy, and I had to stop, unclip, and walk my bike over parts that were under construction, and so I got all sorts of practice getting on and off my bike! I even went in and out of aero position lots! Yay for me!

Next was the Glencoe Icebreaker 10km race. I saw Leana at the shop for package pick up, and she introduced herself and then we talked about how terrible my fall was. It was nice to meet her! Then Saturday before the race I went to a wedding reception, had more drinks than I intended, wore 4 inch stilettos, and had three hours of sleep. I wasn't super excited to get up and race the next morning, but I gave it a go! I took it a little easy during the first 5 km because I wasn't sure what my body would do. I have a sensitive stomach, so cramps and stitches were definite possibilities. Luckily, I felt pretty good and even powered up a hill and passed a bunch of people. (Nothing feels better than being strong on hills!!) I saw Leana at the top of the hill and again little later, which was nice! At half way, when I was still feeling good, I decided I would pick it up a notch. Then, at 6km, I grabbed a quick sip of water and picked it up again. Since I was feeling good still, I decided I would pick it up more at each of the remaining kms and hope for the best. I got to 9km and just powered through to the end and ended up finishing with a time of 51:23! A new PR! Wahoo! Normally I take walk breaks when I run, but for this race I didn't, with the exception of my quick water stop. I can't run and drink since my stomach is so sensitive and I end up swallowing so much air. I don't think I've ever run 10km without walking, so this was a new experience and it ended up working. I couldn't have run 10 more km at that speed or without a break, but it was nice to know I could do it this time. I really liked that race, and though it wasn't my "A" race, I am very happy to have a new PR.

What next? Oh, my brother in law ran a stupid ridiculous boston marathon time!!! I yelled out in the middle of the mall when I saw his finishing time on my iPhone tracker thingy! Under 3 hours is just unimaginable to me! Go Jordan!

Matt and I went to Toronto for a very weddingy weekend! Kristen came too, and we had a big family shower in the afternoon and a Jack and Jill party in the evening. It was strange for me, since I didn't know many people there, but it was fun and I was very grateful to have Kristen there with me! She's such a good big sister.

I've been getting tortured by my chiropractor lately since I've had a few shin and calf issues on my left leg. I really don't like how much he hurts me, but it's supposed to help in the end, so I'll suffer. I've had a few bruises down my shin, on my left butt cheek, left hip, and both feet though. He's so mean.

I've been working lots and lots, and thankfully I'm home now for about two weeks! I'll have to hit the pool in a major way, since I've been slacking. I luckily missed the blizzard in Calgary while I was working, so now that I'm home and the weather is nicer, I'll have to head out for bike rides too. It's getting a lot closer to the 70.3 and I'm getting really scared. My Vermont race is coming up really quickly too, and I need to pick my mileage up again. I was up to 18km a month ago, but then I got had some issues and my life got in the way, so I'll have to get back up there so I can have a good, strong race on June 6th.

I think that's about all I can think of right now. I'm sure I'll have more soon!

OH, anyone in the Calgary area, there is a nice big Tech Shop sale this Friday and Saturday at Mount Royal College on the track. I'll be there on Friday, and I can't wait to see what's all on sale! I plan to pick up a few pairs of shoes to do me through the year. I can't wait!

Second Attempt = Better and dryer

2010-04-09T08:51:00.000-06:00

As I said in my last post, I was going to get a pro bike fit done after I picked up my aerobars and go out for a second try at riding. I couldn't believe how much I didn't want to go. As I was loading my bike into the car, I just wanted to run back upstairs to my condo and never looking at it again! I bit the bullet (as Matt so lovingly said "It's not called a half-let's-go-for-a-leisurely-stroll, it's called a half IRONMAN Heather, suck it up!") and packed it in, drove down to Ridley's Cycle (where they have a cheapest bike fits) and got the fit done. I was worried they'd tell me that I needed a new bike, and that nothing was workable with what I had, but luckily there were only a few suggestions. I think ideally I need a new stem (I barely know what that is), but it's not imperative, so I held off (since I just bought aerobars and a bike fit!) and got one of those water bottles with the big giant straw so that I can drink without having to grab my bottle from under me.

After the fit, I drove down the street a little and parked by the little overpass over memorial drive and set off to cycle on the PATH around the bow river. I'm amazed at how physically, I could do a lot more than I could last year. I could ride in tougher gears, I could ride up little hills in those tough gears, and I didn't get tired in my legs nearly as much. That being said, every time I got a little speed I would brake to slow down! I'm such a chicken. I rode past the shouldice (I think) soccer field, so I decided that on my way back, I would try to get into aero position in that field. What scares me about it is that I have no access to my brakes in that position, so if I have to stop suddenly, I need to get out of aero, brake, AND unclip my feet. Lots of things to remember when panicking. I managed to get in and out of it a few times in the field but once I was back on the path, I was too chicken again! Oh well. I'll get used to it, I hope. When I got back to my car, I actually almost fell again! Luckily I was on an overpass when I decided to stop (so I wouldn't have to go down the overpass and make a sharp turn) and so I used the railing to keep me up. I think I need to unclip my left foot first all the time, because I tend to lean that way. I'll have to keep reminding myself to do that.

Anyway, I feel a little better about the whole thing, though I'm going to have to log some major hours on the bike to feel more comfortable. I'm going to try to to cycle a little bit outside every day that I'm home. I was VERY thankful I got my ride in early in the day because the weather turned from nice to blizzard in about 20 minutes! I was supposed to lead the run group out of the store last night because my boss was at his rehearsal dinner, but they canceled the run and I was off the hook! Phewf.

It really is funny that my water poured on me when I fell. It wasn't that funny at the time, but it's as if my bike was saying "Oh you think you can just hop on a ride? Think again!!" and stuck it to me. I'm glad you all enjoyed that part!

Bike Fail

2010-04-08T09:02:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I was super pumped to take my bike out for the first time with my shoe/pedal combo, where my shoes are attached to the pedal. I know it's a little late considering the weather, but I've been waiting on some aerobars and wanted to take the bike in to get fit etc. with the bars, but the bars have been delayed, blah blah blah I'm scared so I didn't go.

Anyway, I bit the bullet, put some air in my tires, and set out. I walked my bike through the street, over to the path, and got on, clipped in, and started riding. I was thinking "oh this isn't that bad", rode, rode, rode, then noticed that my front tire was pretty low and I was almost riding on my rim. I didn't want to wreck my tire or bike, so I weighed my options, toying between going home, putting air in, and going back out, or stopping at the gas station that was just a couple of streets over, and putting some air in my tire. At this point, I hadn't tried stopping yet. I decided to go get air at the gas station, so I left the path, went on to a ROAD, and freaked out. I thought "I'm so not ready for this" and rode up on to the sidewalk, stopped, (still panicking), and then forgot to unclip my feet, panicked, unclipped the foot that was on the opposite side as the side I was falling towards, and fell. Fell onto a truck, then down the truck, then onto a cement block, then on to the sidewalk, then my water bottle popped open and poured all over me. Then a group of men walking on the other side of the road called over to see if I was ok. I yelled back "um, yeah?" but was thinking in my head "how to I get my foot out??" I figured it out, got up, started walking towards the gas station. When I got there, I realized the air said "NOT FOR BIKE TIRES". Awesome. Then I walked home.

I wasn't hurt, but I was shaken up, and of course, any confidence I had just went right out the window. I'm a big ole chicken on the bike. Now I'm worse. I know I just panicked, and I forgot to remind myself I was clipped in, even though when I was riding I kept saying "remember your feet are attached to your bike". I just had my mind on my tire, not my feet, and forgot. But I really don't want to ride anymore.

Today I think I am getting the aerobars, so I'll take my bike in to get fit with the bars, then they can make sure it's all road ready, and then I can drive to a path where I won't have to ride on any road at any time and try again. I need to try again soon, otherwise I'll get more and more scared.

I'm lucky I just walked away with a bump on my knee and a sore shoulder. Oh and I was super embarrassed, since I then walked along the road at the same time as all the men who saw me fall.

Amazing Day

2010-04-01T12:15:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a day I was really looking forward to. First thing in the morning, I planned on waking up and heading to the pool. Well, I didn't do that. (Ooops.) Instead, I stayed in bed and read a riveting book, Into thin Air, which is about the Mt. Everest disaster of 1996. It was written by the same guy who wrote Into the Wild (I guess he likes titles starting with "into"), Jon Krakauer. Anyway, I'm hooked and really want to finish it.

After about an hour, I hopped up, and started making breakfast for my two friends (and bridesmaids), Katie and Kaitlin, who were due to come over around 10:00 to do some weddingy stuff. I realized that I was out of a lot of things like milk, almond milk, fruit etc. which would put a damper on my breakfast. So I walked the block to safeway and picked up what I needed (including cream for our coffee, which I NEVER get since I normally use milk, but it made the morning extra decadent) and finished up cooking breaky, made coffee, cleaned off the coffee table, compiled all that we needed to finish off our tasks, and waited for them to arrive! (I got dressed somewhere in the too!)

We spent the morning eating, chatting, laughing, and ended up being VERY productive! My method for the wedding is to get things done early so I don't have to freak out about them later. I know it seems crazy to have the invitations all done and ready almost 6 months before the wedding, but I'm happier knowing it's one less thing on my to do list! I would like to enjoy the month leading up to the wedding since we'll have family in town and I'd rather have time to have coffee dates instead of running around trying to find a guestbook.

Anyway, we had a great morning, but I really missed my other two bridesmaids... Kristen, of course, is in Ottawa, and my other friend Vanessa is in Africa working at an orphanage, so they have missed a few of our crafty days. I hope there will be other things for us all to do together! (Though, I'm sure neither is complaining that they didn't get to lick envelopes and will be perfectly satisfied with coffee dates instead!)

Then, I headed downtown to meet Matt, and then the two of us met with the minister who will be officiating our wedding to go over some details. It was an awesome meeting, and he and Matt hit it off right away. The minister is a long time family friend of ours, and I was really happy he could do our wedding. I really liked his ideas and wording and flow and all that, so I left feeling really happy with the way our ceremony would "go".

Then, we headed home, I had a quick bite to eat, and I went off to see my other friend Katie who was going to cut and highlight my hair for the last time since she's moving back to Nova Scotia! It was a bittersweet visit, since we knew we wouldn't see too much of each other in the near future, but we had fun chatting and eating some chips and guacamole (and doing hair).

I ended my fabulous day with some vietnamese food and more book! And visiting with Matt of course. I felt so satisfied and happy with my day and fell asleep feeling amazing.

I just love great days! And visiting with friends! Amazing.

Tender Tootsies

2010-03-23T10:34:00.000-06:00

One of the great things about working at a running shop is that sometimes, I get free stuff. As an "athlete", it's awesome, because I go through gear, especially shoes, pretty quickly.

Last year, I got a pair of Saucony Triumphs because of a selling competition, which were awesome. I loved those shoes, even though I'm a Mizuno girl normally. I just really liked them. Saucony is known for changing their shoes, and this year's triumphs are quite different, and not really my cup of tea, so unfortunately, the relationship between me and the triumphs is over. At the staff christmas party this year, I got a free pair of Asics Nimbus, which I was was stoked about since they're pretty pricey shoes, and I love them every time I wear them around the store. (Another great thing about working at a running shop, I can wear different shoes around while I'm on shift to test them out, see how they fit, check for different aspects of them etc. which helps me when customers come in for specific complaints or requests). I was saving those shiny new asics in the back of my closet for when my triumphs bit the dust. A couple of weeks ago, I decided that it was time to bust em' out, and even though I know better, I took them out on a 16 km run. I know you really aren't supposed to wear new shoes on a long run, but since they were free, it wasn't like I was going to return them, so why not take the plunge and just go. They felt really good, except the ball of my right foot felt a little tender near the end. I haven't felt that since I ran my first half in Vermont. I remember near the end of the race feeling like the balls of my feet were raw. I kind of put that feeling in the back of my mind, and persevered through a few more runs. Last week in Maui I went on an 18km run (which was more of a 16km run in the end, oops) and again, I got that tenderness, this time in BOTH feet. I brought it a little more forward in my mind, taking note of distance, terrain, and socks. (I wore different socks on purpose, thinking perhaps it was that, not the shoes). I also have been running on my forefoot, so I thought maybe just high mileage combined with forefoot running was just making my feet tender.

This Sunday, I went on a real 18km run, and the balls of both feet were BURNING after about 8 km. Man o man I wanted to saw off my feet and just clomp the last kms out. (a little drastic, I know). I felt as though I had been running on cheese graters, and they felt just raw raw raw. I knew it had to be the shoes, and while I was wallowing in pain around the bow river, I remembered that I was wearing asics shoes when I ran the vermont half and felt the rawness. Not the same model mind you, because I couldn't afford the nimbus then, but still, the same brand. I decided to pop into the shop on my way home (which is conveniently a block from my house) and ask my manager what he thought. He immediately said "they're too wide and your feet are moving around too much". Funny, I felt tonnes of movement every time I ran in them, I just didn't really think much of it. He said compared to my Mizuno wave riders, these were WAY wider. Lucky for me, I can make due with the other three pairs I have kicking around until the mother's days sale in May, when I can buy a new pair of riders. Or maybe something else! Who knows. (Funny side note, my feet were so swollen after the run, I tried to put on my Mizuno wave riders and they didn't even fit! Yikes!)

Something else I noted after my long run on Sunday is that because of running mid to fore foot, my body is much less stiff. This time last year, I had a hard time walking up and down stairs, and felt stiff and sore all the time. This year after changing my running style, I'm fine! I have stiff calves from time to time, and sure I feel fatigued on Sundays, but comparatively, it's like night and day! This also could have something to do with my skipping runs left right and centre, but lets just say it is from running style, ok??

Last night I went to the swim conditioning class at Killarney pool for the first time in probably 8 months. I have been swimming, but not as much as I probably should be, so I was a little worried about the class. Normally, I'm the slow one in this class for sure. When the class started, right away I moved one lane faster because I could just tell I was faster than the people in the slow lane. After one lane, I was told by the instructor to move to the faster one again! I stayed in that lane for the whole class, but I was the fastest in it! Just to be clear, I really don't care if I'm faster than people, but this was a great reinforcement to me that my swimming is improving, and that my work is paying off. It feels good to have people say "oh you go ahead" when we're at the end of the pool. Anyway, I was really happy with the way I was swimming and it felt awesome to see improvement.

That's that!

Wowie

2010-03-12T18:06:00.000-07:00

What is with our weather? It's so nice out these days. I feel like we are in for a terrible surprise soon (in the form of a blizzard) but I'll take it while it's here!

Life is great here, with the exception of me working ALL THE TIME. I know normal people are used to having only two days off a week, but I am not. I've been working like a dog trying to make some cash, and I feel like a zombie.

My saving grace is that my next three pairings have Maui overnights. I'll get a little rest and relaxation on the beach. I'm also hoping to get some nice hot runs in around the island. I just need to make sure I don't get lost. I have the worst sense of direction and I've tried to run in Maui before and turned around because I was scared I wouldn't find my way back to the hotel. Funny side note, I also signed up for some free yoga on the beach last year in Maui, and the man running it actually did something close to tai chi, and he was batshit crazy while telling us all about the history of china. He kept saying "now I bet you're all wondering what I'm talking about and what I'm doing" and we would look at each other and I'm sure we were all thinking "we're actually wondering why this isn't yoga and who the hell you are". Funny stuff.

Have a great week, and wish me luck.

Tagged

2010-03-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Leana as a "gorgeous blogger" and in turn, I have to share six random things about me, and then tag other bloggers to do it too. I figured, hey, why not play!

I don't leave the house without make-up, unless I'm going to the gym. I just can't do it.
I don't really consider myself a "real athlete", even though I've raced quite a bit and am training for a big event.
I feel like I should be more stressed out about my upcoming wedding, but I'm really not. I guess I still have lots of time to get stressed out!
I really love coffee.
I love cooking, and I'm getting better and better every day.
The thought of being a parent intrigues me. I flip flop all the time between being sure and unsure I want to be one.

And I'll tag Kirsten, K, lu, and Evey.

I'll leave you with a terrible quality photo of me in front of the Olympic cauldron!

Time to grovel

2010-03-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

Most of you read my sister's blog, so you know that she is running the Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon for team Alzheimer's. Well, I am too!

She is all over the fundraising thing, and I'm, well, not as much. I figure now is the time to ask for your help. I'm no good at asking people for money, especially when I have a hard time donating to things myself. I'm saving for a wedding and have little to spare. I know most of you don't have money to throw around, but every little bit counts. There are lots of ways to donate even a little!

1$ per mile = $13.10
1$ per kilometer = $21.30
5$ per mile = $65.50
5$ per kilometer = $106.50

Or any other lump sum. You have $5 to spare? Awesome. 10? Great! I really do appreciate anything you can give.

Not only is this going to a great cause, but you would also be supporting an "active lifestyle" for our family. While Kristen and I are pretty active, some people in our family aren't. This race has given them a reason to exercise, and it will be the start of their new, active life. Kristen really was the brains behind this operation, but I'm just happy to be part of it.

Again, I know it's not easy to spare some cashola, but I appreciate anything you can do! You can e-mail me at moulton(dot)heather(at)gmail(dot)com.

If you'd like to visit the team Alzheimer's website to see where the money goes, here's the link. There should be some bios on that website in the next couple of days. Kristen also wrote a nice post about it, and you can read that here.

Thank you for your help!

Too much sitting

2010-02-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I woke up to my phone ringing at 4:50 am, with work telling me I needed to fly to Moncton, NB in order to work a flight the next day. I had to get all dressed up in my uniform just to sit in a seat allllll the way to Moncton. When I got there, I was definitely in need of some activity! I changed went down to the hotel gym right away. Luckily, there were a few TVs in there, so I biked and ran my way through the women's boarder cross and watched Canada get the first ever gold medal in that sport! I had so much fun and actually cheered in the packed gym when we won! Other people were watching too, so it wasn't too out of place. I watched some more Olympics that night, and then fell asleep with the TV on!

Yesterday I had the entire day in Toronto, so I spent it at Matt's parents house. I had such a nice time seeing them (since it had been August since the last time I saw them) and his brothers. I had almost every minute scheduled and didn't get to watch the hockey game, but I got some updates via text message and we caught a few minutes of it on TV when we were picking up his brother from hockey practice. I also went to an AMAZING gluten free restaurant with his mum and grandma. The food was out of this world delicious. The bread was light and fluffy (not usually something that goes hand in hand with gluten free), and they had a great variety of food. I wish we had a restaurant like that here! I got to fill them in on all things wedding and we chatted about the shower coming up in April. good times. When I finally got back to my hotel I caught the last 5 minutes of the hockey, and our two medals in bobsleigh! What a great day for Canada. I'm just so proud of our athletes.

I've got a run scheduled for today, but my head is currently pounding, so I'll pop some advil and see what happens. Running and headaches don't really mix too well, so I'll have to wait and see if it goes away.

I wish the time would go by slower; I'm not ready for the Olympics to be over!!

Lead Legs

2010-02-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I set out for another 14km run. This time, instead of it just being a long, slow distance run, it was a "progression run", which meant I had to hammer out the last 2km at speed 2 instead of speed 1. My training program focuses on three speeds: long distance speed, or speed 1, middle distance speed, speed 2, and then sprinting speed, speed 3. So even though I was flipping tired, I had to push the last 2 km and run FASTER. It's as much a mental exercise as a physical one, since after 12 km I wasn't really in the mood to push it, especially since I had a bad run (but more on that later). I decided that my strategy would be "the faster you run now, the sooner you get to stop", instead of the whole "train to get stronger and this will help me later" idea. I just wanted to stop running. I'm not really sure HOW much faster I really ran those last 2 km, but it felt horrible and agonizing, so I figure I pushed it enough.

As soon as I set out for my run, I had a feeling it wasn't going to be my best. My legs have been feeling like bricks lately, I think having something to do with the whole cycling thing, and I just felt fatigued before I even started. I didn't run very quickly, and I didn't feel "in the zone" like I often do on my long runs. Normally my shorter speed runs are the worst for me, and my long runs being a little easier and energizing. Yesterday, my only saving grace was a great podcast called "Running to Disney", which always makes me laugh because of Gordon's accent and sayings. He was doing a little q & a episode and he kept saying "dawggone" and wishing he was watching American Idol. Anyway, I pushed through my agony and finished strong. A memory of my first half marathon came back during yesterday's run, a memory of me chanting "keep going keep going" and I'm pretty sure "I'm never running again" was thrown in there a few times as well. Funny enough, I'm training for that very same race, so we'll see how my mental exercises help me! My speed was SLOW yesterday, which brought me down a lot. It's funny to think that after a 14km run I felt like I had accomplished nothing, and felt lazy because I hadn't run fast enough. Crazy, I know, but true. I really need to work on my attitude!

This morning I set out to the pool, but had a lackluster swim. I got through my workout, but didn't feel in any zone at all. I was struggling with my breathing which made me fade quite quickly. I'll just have to try to relax and improve next time. On a positive note, I finally remembered my ear plugs and they worked SO well. No water in my ears for the rest of the day, thankfully! I can't think of anything as annoying as water in the ear, except maybe chaffed thighs.

After my swim, I took back my recycling, which has piled up way past what it should have. I REALLY miss curbside recycling.

I hope everyone is enjoying the Olympics. There are just way too many things to mention, but I'm loving AND hating them right now!

The best time of the year(s)

2010-02-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Olympics are here, and I am SO excited. I love every single aspect of them, and I am glued to the TV. I actually don't want to leave the house in case I miss something.

I was extremely lucky on Friday as I was passing through Vancouver. I went out into the airport terminal looking for some coffee, and I got to hold the Olympic torch!!! I saw it, and I immediately ran over, asked if I could have my picture with it, and they agreed to let me use my own camera (so I didn't have to pay). I was SO happy. The only downfall is that I was in uniform, so I can't really plaster the picture all over the internet. I'll just keep it and look at it every once in a while. It was so thrilling.

Since then, I've been so happy and excited as I watch each event. I tend to get pretty emotional when I watch them, and this year has been no different. I shed a few tears during the women's moguls event when our sweet little canadians won a silver medal and placed fifth. I was so proud of them both. I also really enjoyed the men's short track speed skating, where even though our medal hopeful didn't qualify for the final, another Canadian made it through and placed 4th! Right now I'm watching Cindy Klassen compete in the 3000m long track speed skating and the crowd is on their feet cheering her on. I just can't imagine how it feels to be a Canadian Olympian in Vancouver, and I'm really disappointed that I won't be there during the games. I do have one overnight, but it's pretty quick, so I'm not sure I'll be able to make it downtown.

My training is going alright... though I'm struggling a little with the cycling. I just don't want to stay on the bike as long as I need to. Today I had a nice 14km run on Valentine's day, and came home to some delicious coffee and crepes. There's nothing like food to motivate me!

I hope everyone is enjoying the games!

Pool logistics

2010-02-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

I normally swim at a city of Calgary pool; Killarney pool more specifically. It's not REALLY that close to my house, but it's close enough, it's cheap, there is a gym if I feel like a change of scenery, and that's just where I go. It's not the nicest pool around, but it will do. One of my issues is the schedule, since there are very few hours for lane swim after 9:00 am, and even though I set my alarm almost every day so that I can get up and swim, it's rare that I actually get there. Also, I don't LOVE the other people who swim there. Now, I have no problems whatsoever with people going to the pool who aren't great swimmers. That was me one year ago. It's just that I never know where I fit in with these people. On Monday nights during swim conditioning class, I am a definite SLOW laner. Everyone is faster than I am. During lane swim, however, the slow lane is full of people who are just walking back and forth in the pool, so I go to the medium lane. This is where it gets tricky. I'm not fast. Not at all. But I swim with my face in the water and I do a real stroke. Sometimes, there are the "I'm just going to hop in the pool for a change but I don't want to get my hair wet" people in the medium lane. They're faster than the walkers, but they aren't medium. Over in the fast lane, people are one second away from qualifying for the olympics, so where do I go? I usually suck it up, go in the medium lane and just pass people (which isn't terrible for the ego for a second).

Last night I went to the Talisman Centre for a change. These issues don't really exist there. There are WAY more lanes, the people are generally a lot more "serious", and I can get away with slow, maybe medium, with no issues at all. Also, if you go in the last 90 minutes, it's only a 5$ drop in fee, which is the same as the city of Calgary pools. Last night, I psyched myself up for a great swim, and when I got there, I realized that their main pools were under renovation. SO, in the last remaining pool I found two water polo teams, three lanes of swimming, and a lot of people with dry hair. I felt foiled! I didn't give up, but I spent my time passing people and getting hit in the face by crazy sporadic arms. Hey, on the bright side, it simulated the tri race experience!

A little bone to pick

2010-02-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

As much as I LOVE my new phone, I feel a little mislead.

I do not get service in the entire province of Saskatchewan, and some parts on Ontario.

What?!?! Seriously?? No service on the iPhone.

When I called Bell and asked them "WTF?!?!?" they just said "we haven't expanded our network there yet, but we will, sometime. And yes, you still have to pay for continuous coverage even though you won't receive continuous coverage. And even though you said you traveled for a living, it isn't standard to let our customers know that there isn't service in all of Canada when purchasing the iPhone."

Well crap.

iPhone blogging

2010-01-26T12:57:00.001-07:00

I've been keeping my latest purchase on the downlow out of guilt, since I'm supposed to be saving money for the wedding, but in a few ways, I've let the cat out of the bag, do I might as well admit it: I got an iPhone.

It's incredible. There is another love letter to the iPhone on my blogroll, which I completely agree with. Anyway, I'm blogging from my little baby now, and it's a bit challenging. Texting in a touch screen isn't easy. I'm getting better and better, but it's so easy to write the wrong letter!

This Friday I ended up moving my bike trainer inside because my toes were just too cold! I got an hour and a half done which satisfied me. On Saturday, the tech shop was moving, so I went over around noon to help out. Let me tell you, even though it was a move across the street, it was HARD. I stayed until about 330, then we had to wait until 530 for the shop to close, so I went home and went for a run. I had a lot of guilt because I hadn't woken up early and run, so I thought it would be nice to fit one in. I ended up talking to my sis during it, on my headphones with the little microphone in them, so the time passes pretty easily. She said I sounded like a podcaster with all the breathiness! When I got back to the shop, I was in for a world of pain. I spent the evening squatting, picking up 12 shoeboxes off the floor, and passing them to people taller than I. When I got a break from that, I got to go in the truck and stack them. We basically formed an assembly line to load the truck, then drove the truck across the street, the "assembly line" unpacked it. We litterally moved running shoes from 530 until midnight with a one hour break. I have bruises on my arms, a scratch on my face, (from carting piles of boxes that were taller than I was) and I am stiff all over! Ah! Even though it was hellish, the new store is ridiculously beautiful. Anyone in the Calgary area should definitely check it out!

Sunday was a very bridal day. I went to the bridal fair (woah is all I have to say about that) and suit shopping for matt.

Now I'm in Ottawa, and despite the nice weather yesterday, it wasn't nice enough today for short shorts today, so I did 10km on the treadmill in the hotel gym. Now I'm at the greatest coffee shop in the world waiting for my sis to get off work!

Sorry if this is choppy and weird, I'm new to phone posting! Also, I can't figure out the links, so you can figure out where I would have put links and google them yourself!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Steve Nash Sports Club

2010-01-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, I was in Vancouver for the day, and the hotel I was at was close to the Steve Nash Sports Club. I didn't know he had opened a chain of gyms, but he did, and I thought I would go try it out. Because I was a guest of a nearby hotel, I got a discount of my drop in fee, so it was only 8.50$. Normally, we get free entry to near by gyms, but I splurged because I had a lot of working out to do!

I started out in the 2 lane swimming pool, did about 40 minutes of laps and various drills with my new earplugs, which worked out SO well. They didn't fall out, and they kept the water out. I was very happy about that. I then got changed in the super nice locker room (with individual showers with doors!), took a new grapefruit carb-boom gel, and hopped on the bike. As I've mentioned, the bike and I don't get along at ALL, so I originally was going to cut my workout to 40 minutes, but I felt guilty, so I did 60 (which isn't too much better). I was on the random hill program on there, so some of it was really hard and some was a bit easier. By that time, I was completely drenched in sweat. I did a thorough wipe down of the bike, and then got on the treadmill. I did 45 minutes (with two one minute walk breaks) and then a fifteen minute quick walking cool down. I went back into the locker room, with a little trail of sweat following me, wished I had brought shower stuff with me, and begrudgingly put on my sweater and ran back to the hotel to shower.

I was so impressed with the facility. There were classes that were included in the fee as well, but I didn't do any of them since I had a pretty good workout under my belt. The locker rooms were immaculate, with people cleaning them every time I was in there. There were lots of cardio machines, lots of weights, lots of bare space... It was really nice. There were a lot of different TVs as well to keep your mind off the pain. If I lived in the area, I would definitely get a membership (if I could afford it!) They also have a 7 day free trial that you can sign up for online. AND, there was a lululemon and a jugo juice in it! Crazy!

I was planning on another great workout the next day in Edmonton, but when I put on my gym clothes, there were still wet from the day before! I was so disgusted. I went down to the gym anyway, which was a far, far cry from the steve nash club, went on the bike, found it was broken, went on the treadmill, found IT was broken, did about 15 minutes of ab work and called it a day. Ooops. At least because my clothes were still sweaty, it LOOKED like I had done a good workout. I sure smelled like it.

The NEXT day I was going to have a great workout in Victoria, where we get a free pass to a HUGE YMCA type facility, but fog rolled into Calgary and affected my day of flying, so I ended up somewhere else that night and missed my workout. So, with two days of non workouts, I need to get something done today!!! As soon as my breaky digests, I'm on it!

Bricks

2010-01-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today, I hopped on my trainer on my porch with an audio book and a bike workout and started pedaling. I didn't really want to, because I pretty much can't stand biking, but I forced myself into it. If anyone has ridden on a trainer, you know it's a little awkward and LOUD. I like seeing the people walking on the street below me looking around them, wondering where the loud engine like sound is coming from. Today someone actually saw me and figured it out, which is rare. (If you don't know what a trainer is, it's a little doohicky that you attach your regular bike into which transforms it into a stationary bike.) I pedaled very slowly at first to let my bike warm up a bit, and then started into the workout I had written down. It had a few single leg drills, a few high cadence drills, a hill climbing drill, and some consistent pedaling. I suffered through about an hour and fifteen minutes and then stopped, even though I was supposed to do a little closer to 2 hours. I just didn't have it in me, since I had to go for a run as well.

Before I got on my bike, I set up my water belt and shoes so that I could quickly get ready for my run and re-create the race scenario as much as I could. Triathlons are challenging because you're going from sport to sport to sport without any rest. After getting off the bike, it's pretty hard to walk, let alone run, hence the term "brick" was coined to represent the bike to run workout, because your legs feel like bricks! Today was no different... I could barely get OFF the bike, and it wasn't even moving! I think my biggest fear is falling right off when trying to dismount. Anyway I set out on my run and was instantly uncomfortable for a couple of reasons. One, I was wearing a pretty thin long sleeve shirt, and because I was all sweaty from the bike, I got cold immediately. Two, I was wearing a sports bra that isn't too supportive, which works just fine for the bike, but for a run, not so much. Coupled with the thin, loose shirt, I was not happy. I actually decided to cut my run short by 10 minutes because I was THAT uncomfortable. Lesson learned, don't wear that sports bra again when planning a run.

I got home, ate, showered, and then officially signed up for the 70.3! I have been avoiding the actual registration, in case I want to change my mind and not do it, but today something just clicked and I thought "ok, I'm doing it, and that's that." So I did.

In other news, I realized that I won't be able to race the Calgary Police Half after all. I'm going to be in Toronto for a wedding shower and a "jack and jill" party thing (it's an Ontario thing apparently) so I'll have to try to sell my registration. Kind of a bummer, but maybe for the better.

Where have I been?

2010-01-14T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not too sure what to blog about these days, hence why I haven't been blogging. I really like reading people's blogs, but I don't really feel like I have much to say that hasn't already been said by others! I really like reading sporty blogs, which helps me stay motivated and also teaches me, so maybe I'll spin my blog into something a little more like that. For some, that means bo-ring, but for some others it might be more interesting than staring at the same post for over a month. I've also considered just not blogging anymore, so we'll see how it goes.

I've been running, swimming and biking lots lately, which feels great and makes me feel a little better about my upcoming "year in sports". I, like my sis, am running the Vermont Covered Bridges Half Marathon for team alzheimers (so if you want to give money to ME instead, I won't say no!), and of course the Calgary 70.3, and I've also signed up for the Calgary Police Half Marathon as a little teaser before the Vermont half. Last year I ran that race and had the greatest support group which made my race so much better. I felt good about it, even though I didn't make my goal of a sub 2 hour race. This year, I won't put too much importance on that race since my priorities lie in Vermont, but I'll give it a go and do my best, and hopefully learn for the next one.

I'm having a hard time on the bike these days, mainly out of boredom (since I'm riding on a trainer) and wussiness (since I just gear down when I'm tired). Also my toes get pretty cold. I've downloaded a couple of workouts to do on the trainer which will make it harder for me to just quit halfway through, and also some audio books to keep my mind off the toughness. Cycling is my major weakness so it definitely needs my attention.

Swimming is going pretty well. Again, I've got a few workouts, both technique and endurance, which help me stay on track and prevent me from just stopping when I'm tired. Unlike running, where if I stop, I have to still walk home, swimming and biking (at the moment) are done in one spot so if I want to stop, I can. This means I need extra motivation to keep going. My main issue with swimming right now is the water in the ears. Yesterday, I swam at noon, and at 4:30 I still had the ocean sound in both ears. Terrible. I have actually given myself whiplash trying to get the water out of my ears! It's not the HUGEST deal, except when I go from the swim to bike, I get discombobulated and off balance because of the water splashing around in my head. I have purchased some wax ear plugs, so stay tuned to see if they work.

OK, that's what I've got going on. Any feedback, advice, or comments, feel free!

Back at it.

2009-11-30T13:06:00.001-07:00

Lately, I've been having some motivation issues with running, cycling and swimming. I've set a very lofty goal for 2010, which is completing a half ironman on August 1st, and I will also run one, if not two half marathons before that. I've got all my training schedules, all my gear, a bike, a bike trainer, new bike shoes, fancy running tights, and all sorts of other things, but I'm finding it hard to just START!! I've gone for runs, a couple of bikes, but nothing serious at all. I know I need to get serious if I want to be able to set some PRs in the runs and acutally be physically able to finish the 70.3, I just can't find it in me to get going.

Today, that changes. Starting today, I have officially begun my training for my 2010 races. I went for a great swim this morning (I believe it's my first since my sprint triathlon WAY back in July) and a nice long bike ride at Killarney. I felt good. I was happy and was looking forward to the rest of my training. I need to adjust my bike a little so that I can use my trainer on the porch, so until then, I'll try to do my cycling at the hotel gyms. The swimming part will be a bit tougher to fit in on the road, but I can at least do the other workouts and then get the swims in at home. I'll figure it out. I think my life will revolve a bit around my training, but I'm ok with that. It will be a great distraction from all the wedding stress!

So there you have it. I've published it to the world. Now I really have to do it.

Matt's Beard + Bathroom Sink = Doesn't Worky

2009-11-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

For the last week or so, our bathroom sink has been clogged. It took about 10 minutes for anything to fully drain and it was majorly annoying. Normally, I would use something like Drain-o to fix any clog, but since I'm trying to be a little less chemically (and there's nothing worse than Drain-o out there... if you're in the vicinity of it, it gets hard to breathe) and I left it at the old apartment, I decided to try something else.

Thanks to this little post over at a super awesome website that my sister showed me, my drain is totally clear of Matt's beard.

I poured in some baking soda, then some white vinegar, and then five minutes later I dumped in a pot of boiling water. Ta da!!!!

The sink is fully functional, my lungs and throat are free of corrosion, and our little sewer system is happy with this natural non poisonous drain cleaner!

If you are looking for some home made natural cleaners, that post is incredible. Most of the recipes on the site include things I already have, and the castile soap they mention using (Dr. Bronner's) is awesome. A bottle costs around 14$ and it will last you a year. You can clean pretty much anything with it. We use it as hand soap in the bathroom (diluted with tonnes of water) and it's not drying or scented. A great purchase.

So there you have it: Our drain is beard and chemical free!

A little product review

2009-11-01T14:32:00.001-07:00

I was very excited to get home from this pairing (not that I didn't have a fabulous one, one that included a sleepover at Kristen's and a lunch time run with her and her coworker) because I had a new pair of running tights waiting for me at my store! I had ordered a pair of CW-X compression running tights and I was just itching to get out and try them.

From the website:

The CW-X Pro Tights unite the major joints of the leg to offer optimum muscular support for activities with linear movement, such as running and Nordic skiing. The patented Support Web™ brings the hips, knees and ankles into proper alignment, reducing impact and load to the legs. The Support Web also creates a suspension system for the hamstrings and quadriceps, reducing workload in both the pull and push phase of the running motion. Combined with targeted variable compression to increase circulation and reduce fatigue, your muscles don’t have to work as hard over time and your legs will feel fresher.

So I set out today to test them out. First of all, these puppies are TIGHT. To put them on, you have to gather the whole leg up in your hand like you would if you were putting on nylons. If you just pull them on like normal pants, the crotch of the tight will never get high enough. I'm not sure about anyone else, but I HATE it when my pants sag a bit at the crotch and I always feel like I'm struggling to get a full range of motion when I run. So after quite a struggle to get them just right (not to mention the banding around the tights is supposed to contour your muscles so I had to shift them around a bit) I ended up having to yank them up pretty flipping high on my waist. Because they are supposed to be like a second skin, obviously the waist is tight too. I would have taken a picture but I didn't want to put you through that. Muffin top-o-rama.

Anyway, I got ready, chose a shirt that wasn't tight so I wouldn't show the world my muffin top, and set off on my run. I sort of hoped that I would be able to run forever without being tired or sore, but alas, no miracles. I had a bit of knee pain, but I'm pretty sure that's unrelated to the pants. I ran about 12 k and my knee only hurt a bit at the end, so I'm quite certain it wasn't the tights. My muscles aren't really too sore right now, which is good, but my muscles don't get super super sore after this kind of distance normally. I think I'll really be able to see a difference (if there is one) after longer distances, since it's been a while since I've gone over 12-14k. I liked the way they felt while I was running... It was almost like I had more support (which I guess I did) and I liked the tight feeling. I felt a little more aware of my muscles because of the banding, which I can't decide if I like or not. They were just there.

All in all, so far so good. We will see how it helps later on with the longer distances and higher frequency of my training. I hope!

Things are coming along

2009-10-22T10:55:00.000-06:00

We've settled in even more, re-arranged a few things, and finally started tackling the 2nd bedroom. We bought a whimsical shelf that looks kind of weird and terrible in the picture, but when put in an otherwise plain jane room, I think it adds a little excitement. We just need to find a futon of some sort so that we have a functional bedroom for guests. Anyone have an extra one??

In other news, I bought a wedding dress. Exciting.

I haven't had a lot of motivation for running lately, but I did buy some cycling shoes so as soon as I get my pedals I'll go take those for a spin. It will be scary I'm sure. I think I should bring a buddy in case I fall and get hurt.

I never ended up getting to Ottawa last pairing so hopefully next week I'll make it. I haven't seen Kristen in eons so I'm getting a little ansy.

Alright, off to shower and have some lunch with Vanessa. We may look around for bridesmaid dresses or something like that. Oh weddings.

Worky worky

2009-10-12T18:53:00.003-06:00

I just got home from work, and I have to leave again tomorrow morning! What a drag. I love my job, but sometimes I just get tired. Really, I'm just a wuss because I had a bazillion days off and I don't want to go to work. BUT, I will hopefully see my sister so that's a good thing.

We got a new machine on the airplane. You can now use a credit card to buy sandwiches and snacks and booze on board. Isn't it what you always dreamed of? Anyway we have to ring every purchase, cash and credit, through the machine. It will ultimately be faster, but while I'm learning, it's a little tough. I didn't get much experience on it this past few days because people were just doing it for me instead of teaching me. Hopefully the next few days will be a little better.

I don't have much else to report.

Off to worky!

More homey than before.

2009-10-04T19:55:00.003-06:00

We are definitely getting closer! I didn't include pictures of the second room because it's still in shambles. But we have a home! I also made a carrot cake. It was alright. It tasted good, but could have had a bit more spice. And the cream cheese icing was very rich.

longest week ever!

2009-10-01T18:55:00.003-06:00

Our place is looking a little better. Mum has come over a couple of times to help out and today we made a lot of progress. Unfortunately, I forgot that all of the hangars are in the bedroom and since Matt is sleeping in there, I couldn't grab them to hang up what needs to go in the front closet. I'm not sure that there's a subtle and quiet way to grab hangars from a pile on the floor, and I didn't think he would appreciate my attempt.

We've hung two pictures on the wall, and have one more to go. We unpacked and put away most of the books, kitchen stuff, random paper crap, and all sorts of other things. The main thing that needs to be done is the bedroom, but that is a tough one since I can't work on it in the day (when Matt is sleeping), but I sort of need two people to help me move the furniture so that I can get it all organized. I'll have to catch Matt when he is either getting ready for work or just getting home from work (but at that time, I'm the one in a heap in the bed). Or maybe I'll just wait until the weekend. I think I can suffer until then. Before you call me a wuss for needing him to help me move furniture, it's because one of our dressers is quite fragile. Last year, I came home from Nashville North on the Stampede grounds, had perhaps had a drink or two, and fell on an open drawer and broke the crap out of myself and the dresser. We managed to fix it, but then when we moved it here, it all kind of went down the tubes and it is barely holding together. I can't really drag it across the carpet because it will probably crumble to the ground. Hopefully if we lift it, it will survive.

I'm really happy to be here, and it's strange to think that this is OURS. How fun is that??

Our new digs

2009-09-29T18:40:00.003-06:00

I'm tired. Moving sucked. Here are some pictures of my life as of today.

Matt is somewhere in that heap sleeping. He starts working nights tonight. Boo.

Canmore!

2009-09-14T10:39:00.004-06:00

I had a glorious weekend!

On Friday, Matt and I went to Canmore with Kaitlin and Jordan (his cousin and her husband) to stay at my dad's condo out there. We all ran the Canmore Rocky Mountain 10k on Sunday, but we decided a weekend away would be nice. We had such a nice, relaxing Saturday, (and we had the most delicious savory crepes from "divine cravings" ever!) and then we were all up and ready to run for Sunday morning.

None of us had really put in the training we had hoped, but we were excited nonetheless. This was Matt's first race ever, so he was nervous. His goal was to beat Kaitlin. Kaitlin and Jordan had run the HSBC 10k in the spring, so they were just hoping for some PRs on this race. I, well, didn't take my training as seriously as I could or should have, but I was hoping for a PR since the last 10k I ran was my first race ever!! I finished that one in 1:01 and I just hoped that I would be faster. I didn't have high hopes, that's for sure.

First off, the race course was amazing. It was partly around the neighbourhoods, and partly along the river and on this cute little forest path. I felt so relaxed and so peaceful throughout the race, which is a first for me! I usually suffer most of the way. I did get a stomach cramp as soon as the race started, and I struggled with it the whole time, but it wasn't crippling like some of the ones I've had while running. I'm not sure why I had it, so I'm going to have to investigate, since it seems to be a pattern. I also haven't ever run a part road/part trail race, and it was quite nice on the legs, I must say.

As for the results, they were also amazing. When I went to put my watch on the morning of, I realized it was dead!! I wasn't planning on bringing my iPod since I wanted to be "one with nature", so I was a choked about my watch. I decided to just wing it and go without anything. I do take little walk breaks when I run so I decided to break for about 30 seconds every 2 k ish or at the water stations and hope for the best. Well, it worked! I had no clue what kind of pace I was holding or how long I had been running, and I crossed the finish line in 52:14!! I couldn't believe it! I haven't run that fast (or so I thought) ever!! I may be underestimating my skills because my nike iPod plus isn't calibrated properly, so I'll have to check on that.

Anyway, back to the results. Matt crossed in 58:53, which he was happy with, especially for a first race. Kaitlin finished in 1:00 on the nose, and Jordan crossed in 1:16. Both of them got significant PRs, and they were very happy. The course itself was very conducive to PRs, since there was no trace of even a slight incline anywhere. It was SO flat. I suggest to anyone if they're looking to run a first 10k or half marathon, this one would be a great one to do. Unlike Kristen and my first half marathon that was full of hills, this would be a little less challenging.

After the race, there was free beer (sad for me, double happy for Matt), kicking horse coffee, fruit and bagels. We then walked off our stiffness around Canmore, getting some more coffee, and went back to the condo for some relaxation. The rest of the afternoon was nice since we all had the post race high! You could tell we were all just so pleased with ourselves.

My mum and her friend Leah also did the race, and they also did well. My mum hoped to walk the 5k in under 50 minutes, and she ended up finishing in 38 minutes!! Leah ran it in 33! Yay for them!

All in all, it was a huge success. Matt also loved his first race experience, so we're hoping to do some more in the near future. I was so proud of him for hanging in there and doing SO well after not having run much leading up to Sunday. Good for us!

from 0-100

2009-08-28T09:27:00.005-06:00

My life has been very eventful in the last few weeks. Here's a run down:

I turned 25.
On my 25th birthday, my sneaky boyfriend proposed.
(I said yes)
One week later, we put an offer on a condo.
Today, we will turn the conditional sale into a firm sale, meaning we bought it. (Unless something terrible happens within the next 5 hours.)
Matt and I opened a joint bank account.

I think that's it. More has happened to me since my 25th birthday than I ever could have imagined. I'm very happy.

OH, I also won 10$ from a scratch ticket!

Why I hate the dentist.

2009-08-11T21:28:00.003-06:00

I have never liked the dentist. Never.

Routine cleaning? Horrifying. Fillings? Awful. Can't stand any of it.

I went for a cleaning two weeks ago and they told me I had to come back to get three fillings re-sealed. I have very weak teeth, so when I was younger I had lots of cavities. It wasn't because I didn't brush well, it was just my teeth. So now as I have aged, the fillings need to get replaced every once in a while. I was told at my cleaning that I wouldn't need freezing, they would just re seal. RE-SEAL. NO FREEZING.

I get there today, they tell me I'm in for three fillings. I asked why she said fillings when it was just re-sealing, and I also mentioned that I wouldn't need to be frozen. She told me that no, I was in for fillings and that I probably wouldn't need freezing because they would just be drilling a little. I immediately started sweating, my whole body tensed up, and I just about soiled myself. I asked what it would feel like, and she said that it just feels cold and then a small zing at the end. Dentist comes in (who, I should mention, has been my dentist my entire life and knows that I'm a wuss and that I usually take 3x the Novocain), they start drilling (as I type this I am cringing) and I hung on as long as I could, but then I got a sharp sharp pain that reverberated through my skull and I gurgled some kind of "stop!".

They put in the freezing, and continued. All of a sudden, this searing sword like feeling went up my tooth, into my brain, through my eyes, down my spine, and through my body. My whole body flinched, I yelled, my arms flew around, and they stopped, and I started crying. CRYING. Tears were just flowing out of me and I couldn't stop. I felt like SUCH an idiot, but really, who expects this awful pain AFTER they freeze?!? I can still feel it. I shuddered, squinted, my hands were clenched together. I honestly have never felt that kind of pain.

Then there were two more to go. I won't re-tell the whole story of the others, but they had to go in and put three shots of Novocain in both the bottom and the top of my right side, and two shots in the left top. I have never had a worse experience at the dentist (except that one time at the oral surgeon where they out out a cyst that was in my lip and I had stitches in my face for a week and couldn't smile... that was worse). Half way through the last tooth he switched to a larger drill, and I swear I could feel the vibrations over my whole body. When he was going to put in the 5th shot of Novocain, I apologized for needing more, and my dear old dentist said "it's alright, don't worry, though normally this happens when you're 16, not 24!" and laughed. Awesome. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've ever cried at the dentist. I told the hygenist that on my way out and she just laughed. I just wasn't mentally prepared for drilling. And the pain. My god the pain. I was frozen until about 4:30 pm (and my appointment was at 11:00). I was just awful.

I don't think I ever want to go back. Maybe I should get that sedation dentistry. Shudder.

Lists are easier since you don't have to form complete sentences

2009-07-22T22:49:00.003-06:00

Things as of late:

Matt and I are looking to buying a place to live. Scary.
We are looking into getting a puppy. A little scary.
I am going to work tomorrow and get to spend a whole day and a half in Ottawa.
Lobster was on sale and we got some, and for the first time ever I felt horribly guilty cooking it. It was awful (to kill it, not to eat it) and I'm not sure that I'll cook it myself again.
It's freaking HOT out. Holy hell.
Ellen Degeneres is judging on So You Think You Can Dance this week, and it's hilarious.
I completed my Sprint Triathlon a couple of weeks ago and it went really well! I swam my little heart out and I was super stoked about the whole thing. Fun!
Did I mention that it was really hot?
What else? I really have enjoyed the new season of True Blood so far. It's awesome.
I've been practicing a hairstyle for a wedding Matt and I are going to in Toronto. It's sort of a modern day finger wave. I think after three tries I may just have it. (Why did I choose a complicated hairdo? No real reason. Just because.)

How is everyone?

Kristen it's your birthday, Happy birthday Kristen

2009-07-11T00:00:00.001-06:00

It's my big sis Kristen's birthday today! I wish I was there to celebrate with her, but alas, I'm not. I will, however, be there a bunch in the next couple of weeks so we'll have lots of opportunities to celebrate then.

I love you! Have a super fantastic wonderful birthday. It's the last one with a 2 in front of it!

This is an incredibly flattering picture of us from last year after we ran our first half marathon. I'm pretty sure I wanted to kill whoever was holding the camera.

Ya Mon!

2009-07-04T15:13:00.005-06:00

There's something about Jamaica that makes white people say "ya mon" all the time and it's just awful. Jamaicans can say it, but if you're white, it's really not necessary.

We had a great time in Jamaica. It wasn't unbearably hot, but it was hot and humid. It wasn't TOO sunny but sunny enough. We had delicious rum creams and ate some alright food. We laid out on the beach, went swimming and drank at a swim up bar, watched crabs running around the beach, and had a few impromptu photo shoots. Here are a few photos to demonstrate.

Rum Creams!

We walked into the room and this was on our bed one night!

A little airport nap!

No pics yet

2009-06-29T21:09:00.004-06:00

I haven't uploaded my pictures from Jamaica yet so I'm saving the post about it until I do.

Tonight I went to field hockey. Last week we had a great game and I even scored. Tonight was a different story. We were playing a team that was WAY better than us and we lost majorly. Still, I feel like we played well as a team and we communicated and we did the best we could. We couldn't ignore than the other team was running circles around us and was just flat out better. We were one person short of a full team as well, so we had no subs and had to run around like crazy for the full hour. We have people of varying skill levels as well, so as much as we try, sometimes things just don't go our way.

At the end of the game, one of our stronger players who is pretty vocal on the field (which is good, but can come across a little harsh) decided to give us a little speech. It went a little something like this: "This weekend I was in a tournament that was about 10 hours. I ran harder that entire 10 hours than most of you did tonight. You all need to run faster and harder and get the f#$%ing ball. That's where I stand right now."

We all just kind of stood there and no one said anything. No one really addressed it and we walked away. In my opinion, the message was true and valuable, but don't you think it could have been delivered a little differently?

How about "I think we need to run way harder, we aren't getting to the ball quick enough" or even "Heather you need to run harder" or "__________ you need to run harder"... But is it really necessary to talk about how well SHE did and how we are worse? I thought the delivery spelled out B-I-T-C-H in a major way.

What do you think?

Too Much

2009-06-15T13:21:00.002-06:00

These last few weeks have been busy busy busy. I ran my first triathlon, which was crazy. I went to Jamaica with Matt for a vacation which was great. Then I went unexpectedly to Vermont from Jamaica because my grandmother died. My whole family was there, and I got to spend time with people I haven't seen in over 10 years, so that was a positive aspect of the unexpected extended vacation. Otherwise, it was very sad and hard and heartbreaking all at one time.

I'll write about my fun times at the race and the beach later.

Race Reports

2009-05-24T21:37:00.003-06:00

This was a busy weekend for a lot of people!

Over in Ottawa, Kristen ran an awesome 10k! Woooweee good job and great time! Jordan ran an awesome marathon with a great personal best and boston qualifying time. Were there 50 pushups? I'm not sure. Jordan's parents walked a great half marathon too! I don't know what the time was but any weekend where four people run races with personal bests and no trips to any medic tents is great! Good for all of them!

I was busy with being on call at work, and having to stay up and be ready to hurry into work until 1am. LAME! I was on call for 5 days and assuming I don't get called out in the next 3 hours, I didn't hear a peep for the crew schedulers. I got paid (a little) for sitting around working on my project for my Stampede committee! Today before my on call time I went out for a little brick workout with Katie, and we biked the route for next week's race and then ran the route as well. Things learned:
1. I am in trouble when I get my road bike tomorrow. I couldn't seem to get going when I tried on Katie's. It's very wobbly!
2. This is a boring bike route. Four 3k loops with lots of turns. Yawn.
3. I'm a chicken. I can physically go fast on the bike, but I'm way too scared.
4. Running after biking isn't really that easy.
5. We are vain, because most of our conversation revolved around how terrible we're going to look after the swim and how we wish we could have permanent make-up.
Regardless, we had fun and it was such a nice day out that it made it extra enjoyable.

Matt and I went to the bottle depot and got 23$! Sweet.

I need to find a cute dress for a fancy wedding at the beginning of July. I was thinking something short ish, structured (not flowy) and maybe strapless? It's going to be stinking hot in Toronto I'm assuming so less is more here. So far I haven't found anything but I've barely looked. Any suggestions?

I don't think I'm going to post pics of my new uniform because my mum always gets mad at me when I talk about work too much, and she wouldn't approve of me showing everyone on the internet who I work for. Maybe if I blur it out or something... I'll work on it.

Next weekend is going to be busy for us Calgarians, with Kirsten running the calgary half marathon and me doing my little triathlon. I hope the weather is good!

I'm alive! Just a bad blogger.

2009-05-20T09:51:00.003-06:00

Since I haven't been too motivated to write a post in a while, I think the list format is appropriate.

My first super sprint triathlon is on the 31st. Um, yikes!
I wish it was a different day so I could go watch Kirsten run her race. If it's a good day, I think she's going to blow it out of the water!
I've really been enjoying not having to sort or take back my recycling. Unfortunately I'm too cheap to put my cans and bottles in there, so those are piling up like crazy.
I went to Banff for mother's day brunch and I got a gluten free english muffin and flourless chocolate cake! Since then, I've made 2 of those cakes and man o man they are delicious.
The weather is crappy. That is all.
My entire core of my body is sore. Too many sit ups I guess.
We got the barbeque going on Sunday and it was great! I love barbequeing veggies and all that. Everything tastes better on the bbq.
The launch date for new uniforms at work is quickly approaching. It's a big change! Very fancy.
I'm furiously trying to be comfortable on a bike and it's hard. I'm not so much worried of my ability to finish 12k on a bike for my race, but I'm worried about cycling on a course with other people and not getting in the way or breaking some unwritten rule. Yikes.
Matt found out yesterday that he passed his school stuff for his apprenticeship!
What else?
My apartment is cold. I just don't have the heart to turn the heat back on. Maybe closing a window would help.
I think that new movie with Christian Bale and Johnny Depp looks really good.
I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to just order HBO so that I can watch the new season of True Blood starting in June. If you don't know what True Blood is, and you enjoyed Twilight but wished it wasn't for teenagers, then you need to watch True Blood. Better yet, go to chapters or indigo and get this series of books. The show is based off the books. They're fun, though nothing that exhausts your brain power, but you will not regret it.
Outdoor field hockey started a couple of weeks ago. It's fun. Lots of running, but fun.

I think that's enough for now. I am going to try to post a little more. I know your lives have been incomplete since my last post, and I apologize.

Done and done!

2009-04-29T08:44:00.003-06:00

Sunday was the Calgary Police Half Marathon, and I ran it. I was a little weary leading up to the race, with my shin injuries, and then dropping a garbage can on my ankle on Wednesday which got swollen and hurty, and then me not running at ALL the week leading up to the race (because of the garbage incident). I wasn't really sure what to think about anything. It also blew snow and rain the entire day on Saturday. Anyway, at 8am on Sunday morning, I started the long 21.1km trek from Mount Royal College to around the Glenmore Resevoir, up the Weaselhead hill and back to MRC. I also had a huge fan club. Kristen, Matt, my mum, Della, and my dad all came for the start. About 100 m after the start line they were there and Kristen had a big poster that said "run like the police are chasing you" which made me giggle. Then, at Glenmore Landing everyone (sans my dad because he had to leave) was there again with a poster that said "hurry up, we're cold" which also made me giggle. Then, after the hill of death (which wasn't THAT bad, but I walked up half of it) they were there AGAIN, with an other poster that said "go heather" with a picture of me.

This picture has a bit of history. I can't really remember how old I was, but I decided it would be funny to take Kristen's clarinet and pretend to play it and put my mum's magic bag on my head. It made her laugh, so mum took a picture. That picture is still on her fridge, and any time she feels a little blue, she just looks at it and she giggles. Kristen and I also just need to think of the picture and it makes us laugh. SO, there they are, with a bazillion people running by, with a huge sign that says "Go Heather" and then there's me with a magic bag on my head playing the clarinet. I think I said "you're dead" but I laughed too.

Anyway, back to the race. The last 2 km of the race were pretty difficult. We had to run up a pretty long not that steep hill. If you were just walking, you probably wouldn't have noticed that there was even a hill there, but when you've run 19 km, every little incline makes a big difference. I also was very tired. Anyway I was feeling a little sorry for myself, since I knew I was a little shy of making my 2:00 hour goal, and I was wasting my finishing kick on surviving the hills, when out of nowhere (well, somewhere) came Kristen, and she decided to run the last little bit with me. So I was not really talking, grunting more, giving her looks of pain, and she was all "go go , don't stop, you've got it, keep going" and it helped. It would have helped more if she had picked me up and carried me, but this was a close second. She left me to finish the last tiny bit because she figured she shouldn't actually cross the finish line. Then there was Matt, saying "go heather" very calmly, like he does, then there were mum and Della, who yelled all enthusiastically, and then my boss from the store was there (looking way too well rested for someone who had already run the race) and he yelled at me to "push it girl" and told me apologetically that there were 100 m left... And then I saw two of my friends, one of whom had finished probably 25 minutes prior, who yelled at me to keep going, and then I finished. And I was happy. I ended up with 2:05 and I'm happy with that. My old time was 2:13, so shaving off 8 minutes is a pretty big deal for me, and that's that.

So I was the most popular participant (ha!) in the race with the best fan club who went to 4 different spots, and I felt WAY better during this race than my first. As I put it, I was less miserable for way less of the race, which is great. The first one, I felt awful for probably the last 5 k or more, and this one was only the last 2k. So I'm improving. And with the help of everyone, the race was a great success! And I pretty much had no pain! My knee crinked a bit at the start, but other than that, my body waited until after the race to hurt!!!

Now I have to remember I have a super sprint triathlon to train for. Speaking of that, I'm off to the pool!

Seems like a listy thing to do!

2009-04-18T15:29:00.004-06:00

There are a lot of lists going around the internet these days so I'll join in. Just a list.

I have watched a lot of star wars lately.
I just ate a large bag of mini eggs that my mum got me for easter. I feel a little sick.
I think there was a ghost in my hotel room last night. Either that, or I was in some kind of electromagnetic force field. All the lights in my room (lamps and overhead) flicked on and off for about 10 minutes. Also, my cell phone started flashing, the screen flickered, and one light that doesn't normally stay on stayed on. It was a fairly new hotel, so I'm just going to say it was something wonky with the wiring. Or a ghost.
I have a very very busy week starting tomorrow. I hope I survive.
My left ankle is almost always cold these days.
I'm starting to feel like I can actually swim properly. It's taken a while, but I'm not as panicky and frantic in the pool as I used to be.
I really want to do something outside today, but I'm stranded indoors by laundry and not wanting to over exert myself for my busy week.
I'm REALLY excited for Kristen to come for a visit this weekend.
I hope I run a strong race next Sunday and will be disappointed if I don't. (I think that's normal).
I think I may need to buy a bicycle.
I have finally perfected homemade hash browns. I've tried for years to make good ones out of fresh potatoes and today I finally did it. And it was so simple. Now I need to perfect the shredded hash brown.
We will get our new work uniforms in the next couple of weeks. I hope they fit and look good!
I got the greatest coffee from the farmers market last week. I worked with a first officer who told me about it, and she actually is friends with the two owners. They both quit their jobs as engineers one day and started this coffee shop and it's been really successful. It's amazing and totally worth the extra cash.

I guess that's it for now!

Ouch!

2009-04-05T13:30:00.003-06:00

I haven't posted in a while!

I've had a few running mis-haps in the past few weeks. Mainly, my shins have been bothering me like crazy. I ran 18k on the 22nd of March, then ran the following Tuesday and thought that my legs were going to snap in half. My shins were hurting so badly that for the nest three days, I hobbled around like an idiot. I didn't know what to do really. I stretched, iced, but nothing really worked. I finally decided to see a sports chiropractor. I have never been one to go to a chiropractor, even when recommended to me by my doctor, but this time I was desperate. The one I went to specializes in running and other sports injuries and injury prevention, so I felt that they would at least know something about what I was doing and how to help. It definitely worked. I found out that I have disproportionately weak hips compared to the rest of my legs, and my calf muscles were having to make up for that and in turn pulling on my shins. It's a type of shin splint, but not a normal or common type. As long as I strengthen my hips and stretch my calves, I should be good as new.

The good news? I ran for the first time today since the whole calf dying incident, and it went well! I did 20k, and there wasn't too much pain. I'm icing and stretching now, and hopefully with a few more sessions with the chiropractor, I'll be pain free!

What else is new? Not much. I got some hemp hearts from my grocer and just tried them for the first time. Apparently they have some crazy health benefits and I decided to give them a go since I've seen them around a lot lately. I'll let you know how that goes.

How's everyone else doing? I know Kirsten is training for a race (I really hope your knee doesn't hurt anymore!), k is getting back in the running game (WITHOUT getting hurt), lu just ran her longest run of the year, evey just joined a gym, fuzzy wuzzy (I have a hard time writing that without giggling) is gearing up for the half marathon walk... The goals are set and they're getting closer! My race is less than a month away! Keep me updated!

It snowed a bunch today...

2009-03-22T20:54:00.004-06:00

...in case anyone didn't notice. There was a LOT of snow out this morning.

I made some chicken pot pie on Tuesday, and even though it took me about 3 hours, it was totally worth it. It had a pesto chive biscuit topping instead of a traditional crust, and I made everything, from the chicken to the stock to the biscuits, from scratch. I got it from the food network's chef at home, and man o man it was super delicious. We have a bunch leftover in the freezer and I can't wait to thaw it and eat it on a day when I don't want to cook.

I have a week off! Hurray!

Mmmmm, Granola

2009-03-09T21:07:00.003-06:00

Last night I made some gluten free granola. I am so sick of eating really crappy, really gross and really fatty store bought gluten free granola. Anything I've purchased is still sitting in my cupboard almost full. My mum has made some tasty granola, but I only get it once a year at Christmas and it's long gone by now. I took her recipe and meshed it with one from Gluten-Free Girl and voila! The most delicious incredible and not too fatty granola ever!!! (Don't get mad Mum, yours is only one small notch under this one). (And I'll still probably want some next year for Christmas).

The oats and oat pearls I use are from Only Oats and I ordered them online. I think you can get them at Planet Organic as well.

Gluten Free Granola

12 cups of GF oats or oat flakes
2 cups of GF steel cut oat pearls
bunch of almonds (about 1 cup)
bunch of cashews (about 1 cup)
bunch of sunflower seeds (about 3/4 cup)
bunch of pecans (about 1 1/2 cups)
bunch of soy nuts (1 cup ish?)
1 1/2 cups maple syrup
slurp of some kind of oil (I probably used 1 1/2 tbsp or so)
slurp of Vanilla (I thought I used way too much when I put it in because I wasn't paying attention, but it turned out great so go crazy with the vanilla)
1/2 cup or so of some kind of juice (I used grapefruit because that's what I had)
Cinnamon
All spice
Ground Flax (I know it makes more sense to use whole flax, but apparently flax is so small that the human body doesn't break it down and we miss out on all the great things from flax. By using ground flax, there's no need to break it down!)
Raisins (Personally I don't like raisins because they look like little bugs, so I used golden raisins and they blend right in! No bugs!)

Pre heat your oven to 300F. Combine the oats and nuts in a big bowl. Combine the maple syrup, oil, vanilla and juice in small bowl and mix well. Poor the liquid into the oat mixture and mix until all the oats and nuts look coated. Add the spices (I put quite a bit of cinnamon) and mix well again. (My arm got REALLY tired. I think I need to do some more push-ups).

Line two cookie sheets with wax paper (I only did this because I'm pretty sure my cookie sheets are all gluteny. I should really get some new ones. Maybe Mum you can give me some with my Christmas granola) and put the coated oaty mix on them.

Bake for a while, stirring every 5 minutes. You do have to be pretty diligent with the stirring, because the bits on the edges of the cookie sheets get burnt pretty quickly. I also alternated the position of the two sheets, switching the top and bottom every once in a while. I think it took about an hour in all, but when the granola turns more golden than it was before, it's done.

When the granola has cooled, add the ground flax and the raisins. Done!

As you can see, I was very willy nilly with any measurements. I just shoved things in the bowl. Yum! I'm so happy I could eat granola all day! And the apartment smelled incredible! And way less oil than normal granola! I had some with plain yogurt today after work and it was the perfect sweet and not sweet combo.

I hope you try it and shove other random things in the bowl and love it!!

Thanks a lot

2009-03-08T13:39:00.003-06:00

Today I pushed a little past my limit today. I was running with the half marathon running group through the store. We were supposed to run 16k, which is doable. I had a great run on Thursday and I felt really ready. It was flipping freezing this morning, so that made me a little hesitant, but I still layered on my gear and set out. Within the first half hour, my water was all frozen. Not only was the water itself frozen, but the lids were frozen as well. I don't really need a lot of water, but when I'm expecting a little sip every 10 minutes or so and I don't get any, it sets me back a bit mentally. I was struggling quite a bit, with the wind blowing and the no water thing, and all in all I just wasn't feeling it at all. Then, at about mile 5 ish, we come up to a sign that says "Route closed due to dangerous conditions" and just kept going. (As in going on said route). We ran up a thin, icy trail, and then all of a sudden we got to a huge sheet of ice (on the side of a cliff). We struggled, but got across, but most of us had to get on our hands and knees or asses to do it. Meanwhile a few people were quite far ahead, and we totally lost site of them as we approached a second, bigger, more dangerous sheet of ice. We tried to get across, but couldn't, so we decided to turn back without our group leader and two other guys. We barely made it across the first sheet of ice the second time because we polished it up real nice our first way across. Anyway, we made it, and ran back towards the original path that wasn't unsafe. By this time, my mitts, my ass, and my knees were all soaked. When we found the others (which was about 30 minutes later) I was SO tired and we had already run 15k. I still couldn't get any water out of my bottles, and I was all in all very cranky. I had fallen a bunch of times on the ice and I felt like a whole huge pile of ass. Also, we were still not close to the store (where we start and end the run). By the time we got back, we ended up running 19k. 3 extra kilometers doesn't seem like much, but it really really is. I was so far past my last straw that I really didn't know if I would make it. I wasn't super impressed that we were taken on a trail that was closed and ditched. I don't have to pay for this running group, but everyone else does, and I wouldn't have been too impressed if I had shelled out some cash for that. We didn't get any apologies either, by the way.

That was my run, and now I am sore. It took a good half hour for me to warm up when I got home. I felt like I would NEVER get warm. And now I'm going to sit on the couch and do nothing for the rest of the day and for supper I'm making some poutine with fresh cheese all the way from Quebec.

Anyone know a good hip stretch?

2009-03-01T12:28:00.002-07:00

I'm finding my hips are getting very stiff as my running distances increase. I'm also biking more than I used to (which means more than never) and that's hurting them a bit as well. I know the one where you are in a lunge position and then bring your pelvis forward, and this other one on the floor with one leg extended backwards and one leg crossed in front (is anyone else finding it hard to describe a stretch?!?), but I need some others. Those two aren't doing it for me.

Maybe it will be easier to find links instead of describing. That was hard.

Caring, hilarious, brings out my best.

2009-02-19T09:24:00.004-07:00

I've decided to participate in this question answer thing because I blatantly ignored the "25 Things" thing on facebook. I liked this survey on these two websites so here we go.

What are your middle names?
Mine are Diana Cross and Matt's is Kent.

How long have you been together?
Two years and a bit, though we forgot about our anniversary until it passed. Ooops.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
About 3 hours. Even though I tried to say he wasn't my boyfriend for a few days for some odd reason, but then I gave in to his charm.

Who asked whom out?
I gave him my number and he called me a couple of hours later.

How old are each of you?
I'm 24 and he's 23. I know, I'm a cougar.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Ummm, neither really. I see my own sister most but Matt doesn't see her much. Neither of our siblings live in the city.

Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Money woes.

Did you go to the same school?
Nope. Not even in the same province.

Are you from the same home town?
Nope. I'm from Calgary, he's from Stouffville. (Or Toronto, depends on if anyone knows where Stouffville is).

Who is smarter?
Depends on what kind of smart I guess. I can conjugate the crap out of verbs, and he can install electrical wires. I can read a book in a day, and he can make a fixed gear bike out of a different kind of bike.

Who is the most sensitive?
I cry at strangers weddings, watching movies about not divorcing gay marriages, then again when telling people about that movie about not divorcing gay marriages, when someone wins a gold medal (or comes in 4th), if anyone around me sheds even one tear, when I'm tired, when I'm hungry, when I can't find an outfit... You get the idea.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Mostly Vietnamese, even though Matt gets sick of it pretty quickly, or Chianti's/Fiore's, since they have GF pasta.

Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Honolulu, but Nassau is a close second I think.

Who has the craziest exes?
Well, I've never met any of Matt's, nor do I ever want to. Matt and I have haphazardly seen one of mine out and about one day, and Matt thought I was referring to this overweight balding guy (which I wasn't) and it lightened the mood significantly. I think I have more exes than Matt, but I'm not really sure if they're crazy. Let's just say his.

Who has the worst temper?
Definitely Matt. But I am thankful that he works very hard to make it less and less every day. (Imagine the crying description above mixed with a quick temper. Not so great).

Who does the cooking?
I cook more often and I try different things all the time, but Matt can definitely bust out some delicious dishes.

Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us, which is a problem, so I try to channel my inner neatness so our place doesn't get lost under the mess.

Who is more stubborn?
Both of us. Terrible.

Who hogs the bed?
Matt. He gets all up in my business all the time. I push him all night.

Who wakes up earlier?
Matt, just because he works early. He is jealous of me every morning. When I'm away working, I wake up significantly earlier than him most of the time, but it doesn't count because he doesn't see it.

Where was your first date?
The Rusty Cage. Oh baby.

Who is more jealous?
Me.

How long did it take to get serious?
After the few days I denied that I was falling for him, it got pretty serious pretty quick. He then moved across the country for me, so that made things a tiny bit serious too.

Who eats more?
Matt, but he's a growing boy.

Who does the laundry?
We do our own laundry!

Who's better with the computer?
It depends on what on the computer. I spend more time on mine, but I still can't figure out how to get that bit torrent thingy to download things faster. He is clever.

Who drives when you are together?
Either one of us, though we both like to point things out to each other. (See how nicely I put that?)

2009-02-16T14:10:00.002-07:00

I really like the word "y'all". I wish I could say it without people thinking I was crazy.

Ooops

2009-02-09T08:48:00.004-07:00

I finished my hat yesterday. It turned out great, except it's HUGE. I have no idea how it ended up being so incredibly gigantic, since it's a pattern that Kaitlin has used many times, but oh well. I had a little photo shoot to illustrate how enormous it is.

At first glance, this doesn't look that big.

Then, in this picture, it's starting to look a little bigger, maybe a bit too big.

Then there's this one, where it's so huge that my glasses are the only things keeping it from falling over my eyes. Awesome. It's even too big to be a tea cozy. Maybe a bag? I don't know. Oh well.

My next project is a neck warmer/scarf/baggy thing. I hope it will turn out a little better than the hat. It's a new skill that I'm trying, since obviously I'm using more than two needles. The point is to make it round in the knitting part, instead of making a long thing and sewing the ends together to make a round shape. This is the same way you'd make mittens, so I might have to try that too!

I'll try another hat soon, and just make it significantly smaller. I'm still working on the other scarf, but I just got sick of looking at all that white.

Eventually I'll post something about something besides knitting.

Knitty knit knit

2009-02-06T09:21:00.006-07:00

I thought I'd share my progress on my knitting projects. Keep in mind these are my first!

The picture above is a hat, though it's not finished, obviously since it's still on the needle. I need to finish the top and then sew the sides together. I think it will be too big for me but it's cool and it didn't take long at all since I used really thick yarn and thick needles. There are quite a few holes where I dropped a stitch here and there, and I didn't know how to pick them up so I was kind of stuck. I think I can fix them after I'm done it though.

This is my next project, a scarf, which is taking a bit longer since the needles are a lot thinner. The picture doesn't do it justice (you can click on it to make it bigger if you're that curious), but I'm actually making a ribbed style scarf, which is a lot like the cuff of a knit sweater, and it takes two different types of stitches (called knits and purls). Look at me, the knitting pro! Haha just kidding, it's actually really easy. Anyway I'll let you know how it goes! So far I'm getting the hang of remembering to switch the stitch every second one. It took a lot of concentration at first, but now it's a little easier.

Once I finish the hat (which I need my friend to help me with) I'm going to do another scarf, this time using two difference colours of yarn at the same time. I think I'll make it a loose chunky type one. Then maybe I'll try a mitten or something. I've come a long way! The last time I tried knitting, I got scolded from my granny because I dropped a few of my mum's stitches. She told me to start my own to I didn't ruin my mum's hard work. It was pretty funny.

Completely stolen: Nine in '09

2009-01-28T20:44:00.003-07:00

My big sis, K, wrote this post, and I thought it was a great idea, so I'm going to be inspired by HER and do the same. (I don't think I've ever referred to Kristen as my big sis, but it somehow seemed appropriate). I might even steal some of her goals... Who knows. I always wanted to be like her as a kid, so why not now?

Sporty goals:

1. Run another half marathon, preferably under 2 hours.

That one makes sense and doesn't need too much explanation. I've signed up for the Calgary Police Half Marathon in April so we'll see how the training goes.

2. Get into Triathlons.

My friend Katie called me and convinced me to do a Super Sprint Triathlon, which will be a nice easy way to see if I like the sport of the multi sport. I think the distances are 300 meter swim, 12k bike, and 3k run, so it's definitely do-able. Considering I don't really swim or bike EVER, I think this is a good way to go. That's in May. I'll be busy this spring.

Living goals:

3. Save more money.

I do save money through work and investing, but I could be a little better at not just buying things when I would like them, and instead save for a little while. I think it will make me like those things more when I actually get them.

4. Be tidier.

I'm not the tidiest person around. That being said, I get very stressed out when things are a mess around me. I really will work on putting things away immediately instead of letting them pile up for a while and then when I get really frustrated, put them all away.

5. Floss more.

This sounds really weird/gross, but I find it really difficult to floss every day. I'm really really going to work on that this year.

Happiness goals:

6. Go on a vacation.

I don't really care where, though I would love it if it were somewhere tropical or hot. It doesn't have to be a big vacation, but I'd like something. I get cheap flights, so why don't I go somewhere already?!?

7. Watch less TV.

This seems pretty self explanatory as well.

8. Love my hobbies.

I just started knitting, and I'm having a blast. I'd like to continue doing that. I also would like to read more interesting books, go for more walks around the neighbourhood, maybe go for a hike or two... I think I need to enjoy what life has to offer a little more.

9. Give more.

If give more time, more attention, more presents for no reason, more energy, I think I'll be happier in the end. And so will the people who get the presents for no reason.

I think those are some pretty good goals. And I think I can attain them. I know open ended goals are harder to achieve, so I've been told that making a game plan for each one helps with the end result part. I won't bore everyone with my game plans, but I'll write them down somewhere and check back with them every once in a while.

Thanks Kristen!

It's cold again

2009-01-22T10:40:00.004-07:00

I was warm in Calgary the whole time I was away, and now that I'm home, it's cold. Annoying!

Work has been very stressful lately. Lots of things have happened that I never thought I'd have to deal with, but luckily we all made it through to the other side and it's all ok. I'm happy to say nothing made me re-think my job, which is great, but it did make me a little more aware of everything around me. This has been a crazy season for flying for everyone!

Our visit with Kristen and Jordan was great and I was very sad to see them go. It's hard that they don't live here.

I have recently discovered a grocery delivery service, which I couldn't be more excited about. Someone at work had it, and told me about it, and I'm totally hooked. It's not just a grocery store with delivery. It's a website that deals with organic, local produce and grocery products who deliver instead of run a grocery store. Their idea is that they'd like to cut down the cost of getting groceries. Instead of having a store, employees, utilities, and us having to drive there and spend time there, they have a warehouse and a few drivers, they buy as locally as possible and then branch out when local isn't available, and we at home can order on the website and then have it delivered every week, two weeks, month or just once in a while. It's really not much more expensive (if at all) and you can get everything you need. I can ever get gluten free bread. I am so in love with it and I can't even express how great it is. We haven't been to a grocery store since we started getting it. We've decided that we'll still visit cosco for big items and staples, and then just get this for everything else. It's incredible. Unfortunately, it's only in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary in Canada, and a few places in the states, but Kristen is investigating to see if there's something like it in Ottawa. Hopefully there is!

I guess I should get off my duff and get started for the day!!

The hills are aliiiiiive...

2008-12-29T10:04:00.003-07:00

Last night the Sound of Music was on (and of course I sang along), and the night before, Matt put on the Sound of Music record that he bought me (and of course I sang along to that) so I'm in Sound of Music heaven! There's just something about it that makes me so happy. I don't really know what exactly it is, but on the whole it's great and it makes me think of my mum and my sister and makes me smile!

Christmas came and went. Matt and I flew to Toronto on the 18th, which worked out flawlessly! We were really worried, since there were huge storms, flight cancellations, and all the flights to Toronto were sold out for about days. We decided to just go for it, so we packed an all day picnic, brought all sorts of things to amuse ourselves, and baked treats for the staff, and were mentally prepared for a full day at the airport. We got there around 4:30 am and by 7 we were boarded and ready to go on the first flight of the day! I had to sit up in the flight deck while Matt got some person stuck in the line-up's seat, and we were so relieved. As we were walking down the gate thing we were giggling and smiling and so happy! Anyway we got to Toronto and went straight to his little brother's hockey game, and then the Christmas festivities began. Christmas dinner here, there, at this Aunt's house and this other person's house. It was a lot but it was great. His parents were SO great about the whole gluten free thing. They were so careful, they'd watch every person and make sure they didn't use the same knife in two things, make sure no one touched this or that, it was awesome. Matt said we should take a page out of their book because I don't think we're even that careful. They even bought me a new toaster to keep at their place!

Christmas was fun at their place. His little brother got rock band, so we had fun playing on that for a while. Matt's parents got us a GPS for the car, which is really cool. We've already used it a few times and now Matt wants to take a road trip so we can use it more! My stocking was way bigger than any of theirs, and they all made fun of it, but Christmas came around and theirs were overflowing and basically had the same amount as mine. Anyway I got lots of nice presies and I had a great first Christmas away from home.

We made it home without a problem either, so all in all, standby travel at Christmas worked out really well. I thought it would be so much worse, and it really wasn't! Yay for us!

Now we're home, getting ready for Christmas number two with my family. We have new year's fondue, then on Friday we're doing Christmas with everyone here. It will be fun.

On a side note, I got a new coffee maker with my giftcard from futureshop. I would never have spent this much on a coffee maker, but since it was a gift, I decided to be frivalous. It's a kitchenaid coffee maker with a timer, a re-usable filter, a thermos pot, and a built in grinder. It's incredible. Our old coffee maker and grinder were the cause of much chagrin between the two of us. Matt hated the grinder, which really was terrible and would put grinds EVERYWHERE, and I was defensive over this poor grinder for no reason whatsoever. The coffee maker was once awesome, but the coffee started tasting really bad, and brewing all funny, and we tried a lot of things to make it taste better, but nothing worked. I still haven't gotten rid of it because it has an espresso maker attached and a frother, and I like making espresso drinks. I do have a stovetop espresso maker but no frother, so until I get something else, I'll keep it and pull it out when I need it. Last night we set the timer, put in the water, whole beans, and this morning at 5:30 I woke up to "burrrrrrrrrrrrrrwhirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgrinddddddddddddd drip drip drip" which made me giggle. Yay for new appliances!

I hope everyone has a good new year!