No time for a Common Cold!

I have been MIA from my blog but I'm glad to report that I have been running. 

OH YES!! there has been running and lots of Pain free Running!! 

Which I'm VERY happy about. Not sure if the interval running is helping my IT Band or if it just means that I'm all better?? whatever the reason is I'll take it and run with it. 

here is a recap of my running sessions in the last week;

Week 1, Session2 (on treadmill 11/24) 
5 minute warm up 
Run for 1minute and walk for 2minutes  (repeat  9 times/27minutes)  
5 minute cool down
4.02km

Week 1, Session3 (on treadmill 11/27) 
5 minute warm up 
Run for 1minute and walk for 2minutes  (repeat  11 times/33minutes)  
 cool down
5.15km

Week 2, Session1 (on treadmill 11/30) 
5 minute warm up 
Run for 2minute and walk for 2minutes  (repeat  11 times/44minutes)  
 cool down
6.44km (4miles) 

This last running session was challenging. Running after work is always hard and increasing from 1min to 2min running time had me a bit worried, but in the end it turned out to be exactly what I needed to finish my day. 

Nothing like a "good sweating" to make you feel accomplished. 

Today is supposed to be a running day but as it stands right now I don't think I'm even going to attempt, it seems that my little people brought home a cold and lovingly passed it on to Mama. So I'm dealing with a cough and sore throat instead of running. 

Today I listened to my body and spend most of my day giving it some well deserved TLC 

and a little of this 

 

and some of this 

a couple of spoons of this 

a plenty of this 

I always use natural remedies to cure a common Cold, along with plenty of sleep, lots of liquids and rest seems to always do the trick. 

What Natural Remedies do you stand by? 

Hope to be feeling better in no time so I can get back to running. 

Happy Running!

Back to Week One

As you can tell there has been no running on this running blog for way to long. My last attempt to run 2 weeks ago didn't go so well, my IT Band on my left leg decided that it was just not going to cooperate. 

But enough is enough and thanks to  Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge I've decided to go back to week one of the 13 week run/walk program. 

So today I ran... and it felt AMAZING. I really missed it, no I didn't miss the pain, but I missed how great I felt after I was done. 
How accomplished I felt. 


Week 1, Session1 (on treadmill) 
5 minute warm up 
Run for 1minute and walk for 2minutes  (repeat 12 times/36minutes)  
8 minute cool down
5.00km (3.02miles) in 49:25minutes 

Face of accomplishment!! 

Funny thing my Left IT Band which has been the problem felt great! no pain whatsoever. HOWEVER my Right IT Band, not so much... about half way into session it started to bother me. Can I not get a break?? 
I'm back to Icing and foam roller, but glad to be running again. 
The plan for now is to run 3 times a week and every other day do a Core Performance workout. 
IT BAND PLEASE cooperate!! 


Hope everyone had a great Weekend! 
Happy Running!! 

Your Secret

sometimes all it takes is an email from a friend to change your day around. 
I received this from a friend today and it made me smile ... 



Your secret from Jean-Sebastien Monzani on Vimeo.

thank you

I wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words on my last post. 

You have been such great support to me. 

THANK YOU! 

I'm not quite sure what to say ... I've been MIA from my life. 

There has been no blogging (as might have noticed) because really there was nothing to blog about since there has been no running no workouts what's so ever. 

I am dealing with some personal issues. 

Some days are good days, some days are not so good... you know the kind you want to spend in your pj's all day eating chips and watching soaps. 

I'm happy to say that it hasn't affect my healthy eating, yes I am craving more comfort food, but I'm learning to work around that. 

I try to not reach for the chips and dip, but have Salsa and Mary's crackers. 

There might have been some Poutine and Halloween has NOT been my Friend, I wasn't able to resists those tiny tiny chocolate bars. 

I'm trying to remember to take deep breaths and take each day as it comes. 

I want to get back into running asap. 

I LOVE how it makes me feel and I think that more then ever I need it in my life and I miss it. 

Hopefully My IT Band is fully healed and there will be running this weekend. 

Hope you all had a great Halloween, in case you were wondering if I did end up dressing up as a Zombie Bride... I did NOT... however I was a Black Widow. 

Black Widow... complete with Life Insurance Policy

happy running

Zombie Bride?

This year for Halloween I was thinking of wearing my Wedding Dress and being a Zombie Bride, might as well put it to good use, don't you think? 

It's been hanging in the closet for the past 13years waiting for the special occasion to be worn again AND was it is perfectly wrinkled, dirty and never dry-cleaned.

August 9th, 1997 ... I remember clearly that size 12 dress was super snug on me, especially in the chest and tummy area. 

13 years later here I am ...

Can you see how much space I have in the chest area?? WOW ... really?  

I really didn't think my arms were that much bigger before. 

I mean there was NO room before, it was tight! 

It even sags in the back! There was clearly no sagging before! 
I barely ate anything a week before the wedding because I was so worried it was not going to fit.
To think that this was not even my heaviest... I can't even tell you in words how that makes me feel. 
I am so happy that I decided to turn things around and take on a healthier lifestyle, not just for myself but for my Children. 
Today I am a much happier and confident person. 
Taking up Running this year has made just such a big impact in my life and I'm just so glad that I decided to take up that challenge ... even if I'm not a RUNNER yet, but I will get there. 
I will run that Marathon!! 


Thanks Marie for encouraging me to post these pictures! You need to check out Marie's post on her prom dress, talk about putting things in perspective! 

Giving Thanks...

Happy 'Canadian' Thanksgiving!! 

Today I am grateful for the People that bring joy to my life. 

My Family.My Children.Good Friends. 

and Thanksgiving Dinner... 

From our Family to yours Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Turn a New Leaf

I love turning the page on the Calendar. 

Lets start over, so last month wasn't so great but this month you have a chance to make it better. 

So let's just forget September and move on and make October great! 

Enough with feeling sorry for myself about not having an oh so great running season, there is always next year. 

It's not a failure, its just a set back. 

My IT Band problems continue and after seeing my Family Doctor, who happens to be a Runner with 2 half Marathons and 1 Marathon Medals sitting at home, I have decided to give running a break and work on my Core.  

He doesn't want me to loose my fitness level, so for now twice a week I will be running for 10min as a warm up and the rest of my workout should be on the stationary bike or perhaps spinning class (which scares me!!) for a total of 45min. 

Three Days out of the week I will be working on my Core Conditioning, for that I have picked up a book from the Core Performance line, which Lisa at Vegan Cookbook Critic suggested I try. 

With the kids back to school and work being busy as always I find that I'm having a really hard time finding time to work out after work. 

So today I broke down and set foot in a gym after 13years!! GAHHHHHH!!!! 

I HATE GYMS! I hate the sale pitch! I hate that they make you feel really unfit and that you need YEARS in the gym before you can look like them.  I hate that they all have like 0% body fat. Well you get the point. I don't like gyms. 

BUT right now they only way I can see myself working out is during my lunch hour. 

Turns out the Sales pitch wasn't so bad and if I can get over the price shock, I think I found a gym. 

I'm going in for my first work out tomorrow, so we will see how it goes. 

Hopefully I will be back to running in no time! 

Happy running

Cherry on Top Award

 Laura over at live well, laugh often, run much gave me a blog award, how awesome is that? 

  1. Answer the question: If you had one chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

I'm a great believer that everything happens for a reason. 
Yes it would have been great if I would have decided to take up running years ago.
Yes it would have been great if I would have always eaten healthy and not gained all this weight. 
BUT then I would not be me today and I'm really happy with me. 
So no I would not have changed anything in my life. 

2. Pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have been selected for the award.

* Michelle at Running with Attitude 
* Leah at Leah B's Running Life
* Wendy at showered with grace
* Kirsten at Working up a sweat in Toronto
*Emilie at One mom in Maine
*Nancy at Making our Marks


Funny as soon as I read the question it reminded me of this song...



As far as running... there still is no running. I will probably try to go for a quick run tomorrow see how the IT Band holds up. 

On the Home front, Hubby is currently having surgery to remove the screws and plate he had put in, in May after his soccer accident. Hoping this time his recovery will be a quick one. 

Have a great weekend 
and
Happy Running!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

The kids went back to school today!! 

I can't tell you how happy I am that once again schedule rules our house. The kids were equally happy about today. 

Sara was looking forward to her friends and Kevin just loves first day of school "because of the FOOD". 

You see, on the first day of school I always take the kids out for breakfast at our favourite breakfast spot, and for Dinner I always make something extra special. I know that they really look forward to this tradition just as much as I do. 

Sara and Grandma

Kevin and his Mama

Hope your day was a great as ours today!! 
Happy running

why am I NOT running?

you might have noticed a lack of running this week. 
last monday I saw my doctor about my IT Band and she felt like the next course of action would be a cortisone injection. that is not the course I want to take. from what i read a cortisone injection really doesn't fix the problem, it is just a quick fix but in the long run it wont make it go away. cortisone injections for IT Band are generally not very effective.  i have been seeing my PT once a week for 6 weeks now, and really haven't seen much improvement on my IT Band, however it can take up to 8 weeks before people start seeing improvement. 
although the IT Band Wrap is great and lets me run while i'm having issues, i do want to address this issue. i don't want this to get worse where i'm not able to run at all. 
so for right now i decided the best for my running would be no running. i took a week of running, which has not help with the pain... stairs are painful, walking is sometimes ok and sometimes not so ok.  
the next two days i will taken Naproxen (non-steroidal anti-inflamatory) twice a day to see if helps with the inflammation. i'm also icing the area with an ice cube as many times a day as I can. 
so the plan for this week is RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevate) i'm not sure if there will be any running. maybe i should just take another full week off and plan on doing a small run next saturday? 
i plan on bringing back the foam roller and lots of stretching, also back will be hip abductors strengthening exercises. 
i see my PT again in 2 weeks, hopefully i will see some sort of improvement. 
i didn't sign up for anymore races, i would like to do another 5k in october but i don't think the 5k on September 26th will happen, at least not right now. i can't even think about signing up for a Half marathon until i beat this IT Band. 
so that's what going on as far as running. 
this is just a little set back, i'm not going to let myself get discouraged. BUT i have to say it's hard when you see how well other new-to-running bloggers are doing with their running. 
i will get there i'm sure. if not this year then next, the important thing is that i am running.


on a side note... i re-connected with my very best childhood friend in germany. i am so so so happy about this, i can't even tell you. i actually found her on facebook, who knew that facebook actually did bring friends back together. i haven't seen her since i was 13 when my parents moved us across the world. it has been amazing to talk to her and guess what? SHE IS A RUNNER!! she took up running 4 years ago and ran a half marathon a couple of years ago. we are already planing on racing together, so it looks like i will be making a trip to my mother land for a race!! how wonderful is that. i'm very excited about the possibilities.


the kids are really looking forward to school tomorrow and i'm glad we fall back into a routine.  
hope you all are having a wonderful labour day weekend. 


happy running

Zucchini Bread

I really love quick breads. They are super easy to make and always taste great. There isn't a weekend in the fall and winter when I don't make quick breads. It's great for school snacks for during the week. I always have to make 2 loafs, one for right when it gets out the oven and one to save for during the week. 
Banana bread is the families favourite quick bread that's for sure, also popular is zucchini bread. 

As you can see by the piece of paper it gets used quite often. I have had this recipe for many years. This time I decided to sub the 1 cup of vegetable oil I usually use with something a bit healthier. Applesauce is always a good substitute for oil in baking recipes. But since I had just picked up two tubs of greek yogurt I decided I was going to use that as my substitute. After looking at some other recipes where yogurt was used I came up with a ratio of oil/yogurt/buttermilk. I'm really happy with how it turned out.  I now have tweaked this recipe enough that I can call it my own.  Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does. 

Zucchini Bread
(yields 2 loafs) 
4 cups grated zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained) 
4 eggs 
1/3 cup canola oil 
3/4 cup greek yogurt (or plain yogurt) 
1/3 cup buttermilk 
1tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour 
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour 
3/4 cups wheat germ (optional) 
2tsp baking powder 
1tsp baking soda 
1tsp salt 
1tsp freshly ground nutmeg 
1tsp ground ginger 
1/4tsp allspice 
1/2tsp cinnamon 
1 cup chopped apricots (or raisins, prunes, cranberries) 
1Tbsp Flax seeds (optional)  

1. Mix eggs, sugar, honey, canola oil, greek yogurt, buttermilk. 
2. Mix flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. 
3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients and stir until combined
4. Mix in the zucchini and chopped apricots 
5. Pour the batter in two greased and floured 8x4inch loaf pans, and sprinkle with flax seeds 
6. Bake in preheated 350F oven until toothpick pushed into the centre comes out clean, around 60-70minutes. 

Happy eating 

Nua Swimwear Launch at Dolce

What girl doesn't like to trade in their running shoes for a pair of heels? 

Even more so when it is to Celebrate a Friends debut of her very first Collection. 

My Fabulous Fashion Forward Friend Clara Fortini launched her Swimwear Line Nua at a roof top nightclub in Toronto two weeks ago.  

"Nua is about making woman feel sexy and beautiful again.  Designer Clara Fortini hopes that Nua will do for her clients what it did for her, bring life and colour to their life palette.  She has designed a line of swimwear that is a marriage between practical and different, it's unique; a suit that would call upon the confident woman who is daring and willing to make a statement on the beach or by pool side.  She who wears Nua will stand out and be anything BUT Naked, so why the name Nua then?  Nua means naked in Portuguese, and if you ask Clara, its what she wanted you to feel when wearing the sexy suits.  Almost naked, like a second skin, they're that comfortable.  Claras passion has always been fashion and now has brought her passion to you.  Embrace Nua,  this European style suit will be the talk of the pool bar so dare to Swim n' Strut."

Here are some of my Favourites of the night 

I love how different these are, sexy yet elegant. I especially love the white bathing suit which has a removable sleeve and also comes in black. 
I get so tired of seeing the same swimsuit over and over, these however are very original. 
Congrats Clara! 


It was a great night with great friends. I forget how good it feels to take a night off and just enjoy the company of good friends. 

  

Happy Running 

Toronto Women's 5k Race Recap

What a great day for a Race, Sun was out and not one cloud in the sky, temperature was around 17C but it was a chilly one. 
I have to say I have been really lucky with Race Days when it comes to weather. 
The Toronto Women's Race took place at Sunnybrook Park in Toronto. I had actually never been to this park, it happens to be just behind where Hubby had his surgery in May. 
Love running in a Park setting, maybe because I always run on City streets.


I sort of miss managed my time in the morning. Getting up 2hrs before a race was NOT enough time. I don't know what I was thinking. 
I was up at 6am, making myself a bowl of Oatmeal (which has become my Pre-Race fuel) and a cup of Green Tea. I quickly ate the Oatmeal. Shaved my legs. Brushed my teeth. Got   dressed. Hubby in the mean time was making breakfast for the kids and making sure that everyone was ready by 7am. 
Grabbed Coconut Water, IT Band Wrap (VERY IMPORTANT) and my Green Tea and we were out the door by 7am. 
I didn't like to be rushed like that. I think I need at least 1 1/2 hr before leaving the house on Race morning. Waking up at 5:30am would have worked out better. 

This was certainly a smaller Race compared to the last two races I participated in. 
The 10k had 332 Runners (331 women and 1 man) and the 5k had 267 Runners (263 women and 4 men). 
There was still excitement in the air, but the atmosphere was more relaxed. It was an amazing feeling to be surrounded by all these amazing women runners. 
This was also my running Buddy's First Race and we could not have picked a better event. 

me and my running buddy Ana 

Waiting for the race to start 

our very own personal cheerleaders

The Girls were quite Popular 

As you can tell we had plenty of time before the race, which is just the way I like it.
I had time to sip on my Coconut water and about 10min before we had to line up for our race I hit the port-a-potties.
At 8am runner for the 10k took off and at 8:15am it was finally the 5k runners turn. 
I can't tell you how great it felt to be there waiting for the race to start and finally hearing the race horn. I really missed racing. Crazy! Did I just say that? 
I even managed not to get emotional this time. 

The 1st km went by so quick, I was feeling great, IT Band was feeling great, everything was working out great. 
Ana and I stuck together until about mid way, at around 2.5km Ana took a bit of a walking break and I continued running. I have to say I felt bad about leaving her behind, but we had made a deal that we would run together as long as possible and then I would continue on by myself once Ana couldn't keep up anymore.  I still felt bad. I decided that once I got the the finish line I would run back to get her. 

I was having a great run, I felt great, my legs felt great, I even skipped the last water station. BUT around 3.5km I started to feel my IT Band and at that point realized that perhaps I didn't strap the wrap on tight enough. I decided to stop adjust the strap and take a bit of a walking break. I don't even think I walked for 1min. 
By that time my IT Band was already causing me pain and adjusting the wrap did help a bit but it bothered me for the remainder of the race. It was more then just an awareness of the Pain, it was pain... but not hobbling pain. 
As soon as I saw the Finish line I started telling myself to Finish Strong!! I looked at my Garmin which said 30min and at that time I gave it all I had. 

Love this picture, it's like you can see my determination. FYI the girl beside me is actually from the 10k race!! AMAZING! 

Crossing the Finish line! 

Results:

Chip time: 32:20.6

Overall: 125/267
Females: 121/263
F35-39: 37/81



Very happy with my Personal Accomplishment and NEW Personal Record. 
Right after I crossed the finish line and grabbed some water I headed right back for Ana. I was so proud of her when I looked back and saw her crossing the finish line with in 1min of me!! How amazing is that?? Ana finished her first 5k at 33min... the funny part was her first words to me were "I am NEVER doing this again!", but we all know she doesn't mean that! 

This was a great event and I can't wait to do it again next year! 

Oh Yes, I did end up buying a Race shirt for $20.00, but I just could not resist with the phrase "Women set the Pace" can you blame me? 


Happy Running