Even the cats are on a diet...

Why is it that it’s so challenging to stay slim in the winter? Not only is it hard to get to the gym, but my body is craving hearty food, like shepard’s pie and chocolate. After putting the cats on a diet yesterday, though, I feel guilty indulging. I'm also trying to get my butt to the gym more often now that the deluge of snow has temporarily disrupted my lunch time running schedule. One tip for those of you who are going back to the gym after a little siesta: lift lighter weights than you are used to. I had my first day back at Body Pump on Sunday and I tried to lift my regular (read: crazy) amount of weight. I made it through the tracks, but I couldn’t walk without my legs buckling for the next two days. I needed to do a spin before I could sit without wincing. I'm heading back tonight for more torture in an effort stave off the "bear preparing for hibernation" look that seems so popular these days.

-Al

Down to the River

During our Nova Scotian visit, Bree and I decided to walk the dogs down to Sydney River. Our mission, to find koolaid for dying purposes, but that's a whole different story. Be sure to note the giant rose on the doorstep. Classy!

Our walk turned into a 2.5 hour trek. Luckily, no snow here yet so the going was light. We did find koolaid and the dogs were never as tired as when we arrived home. Isn't the way to Sydney River picturesque?

PT Part Three

Two mornings of the week at 7am I work out with my wonderful trainer S. She kicks my ass both mornings and when we near the end of our one-hour session I begin seeing spots. I'm not sure if this is a good thing so I've started having a bit of toast in the morning to see if it would dampen the blow of blindness. So far it's worked...a little. My carbohydrate intake is way too much in general but it's the only thing I crave post-workout. Supplementing my training with running 3 mornings a week, yoga twice a week and the elliptical once in awhile after work has seen my body doing strange things.

Weight loss has been non-existent as I've been packing on muscle. At my session with S. on Thursday I noticed that my shoulders and biceps were absolutely ripped. Not sure if this was the look I'm actually going for! I can now do a hundred man-style pushups but I mainly do one arm push ups with the half-ball thing as my main point of balance. For the first time in a long time, when I flex my arm muscle there's a lot going on there! My knee is still giving me some trouble, but nothing compared to when I tore it up. It's down to a dull ache after a run, not expanding to three times its natural size.

I've made it a goal this week to not eat out once. Not once. So I've purchased the necessary goods to build healthy lunches and create dinners with the intention of freezing half of it. Traveling a lot for work has made it difficult at the grocery store so I've focused on buying items that'll stay for awhile in the freezer once I cook it up. Coming home to rotting items in the fridge and having to clean them out immediately has not been my idea of a post-red-eye fun activity (I do love crawling straight into bed right after a red-eye. Never has my sleep been so good).

One thing I purchased is a rubber band so that I can continue doing muscle toning in my hotel rooms. Thankfully most hotels include a gym so I've been able to go for a nice run. Running in the Nevada heat was not something I enjoyed thank you very much!

I am looking forward to running in San Francisco next week. I'm there all week so there will be plenty of opportunity to go for a run by the water. Since I plan to be in a bikini in January when I'm back in Vegas I am out of control at the gym!

--Stevie

Breathless-a

Have you ever had that dream, the one where you are at work and realize that you are naked? Well, that’s exactly how I felt in spin class last night. Kristin and I arrived early, set up our bikes and sat pedalling until the class started. Finally it was 6:00 pm and the hot instructor started the course by introducing himself and welcoming us to the 75 minute spin class. My jaw dropped. 75 FULL MINUTES!!! Now I`ve misread the gym schedule before, but never with such dire consequences. I was sure I would die or embarrass myself by fainting or throwing up. But we stayed. No one fainted, no one died, and no one threw up. Kristin did lose her sight close to an hour in. Luckily she prefers to spin with her eyes closed. We were a bit loopy afterwards but we survived. I attribute our intrepidness mostly to the hot spinning instructor who’s profuse sweating drenched his white shirt in seconds to show off his hot pecs and abs… It was such a nice view, I may even go back next week.

-Al

(picture from here)

Faster Than Katie Holmes

Today I got the following email from a co-worker:

Hey Type-A Lady,
I just read that Ms. Holmes ran the New York Marathon in a time of 5:29:58 min so there!
Have a good day,

Being an hour faster than someone who could probably hire a trainer and nutritionist to prepare for the race made my day!
(Photo taken from here)

-Al

Trick or Treat?

What a revealing chant: “Trick or Treat?”. But is Halloween candy really a treat? Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the psychology tied up in junk food. How many times have you heard yourself justify an excessively sugary/fatty food by saying, “I deserve a little treat.” Why is it that we consider something so unhealthy as a reward for our good behaviour or even more strange, for our good eating habits? It’s all a trick, when you think about it.

-Al

MARATHON!

I ran a full marathon!



Last Sunday, I ran the Toronto Marathon and it was amazing. Since it was my first marathon, and since I had only ever run 29K in my training, I was petrified I would not be able to finish the full 42K. Costin (my husband) was sweet and woke up earlier with me to take me to the starting line, even though it was 7am on a Sunday and the TTC was closed. He even tried remembered to bring his camera. It all felt very surreal when I was at the starting line. I kept thinking, “You are finally going to do it!” and it got me even more excited. I easily ran through the first 21K lovin’ my decision to purchase a tiny ipod shuffle instead of lugging around my larger nano. I was also happy that Mary, my younger sister and regular race partner (although, not this time), helped me make a race-specific play list. I highly recommend Bennie Benassi as well as some classic 90s club anthems like Mojo’s “The Music Sounds Better With You”. I also threw in some gangsta rap for good measure.

By the 35th kilometre mark, I thought I was going to die. Luckily, Derek (my brother-in-law), was running a leg of the marathon’s relay event and my sister and my cute nieces came out to cheer us on. I was surprised by how much my energy level rose when I saw them. Derek was even nice enough to run with me for a bit after his race and give me a pep talk. Things are a bit blurry after that until I hit King and University where there was a DJ pumping out JT’s “Sexy Back”. Up until that point I had been hobbling along, but I can always dig deeper for JT. By that point, I could see the Parliament buildings and I knew the finish line was just around the corner. When I hit Queen’s Park, I could saw Costin, Sue and Eden and heard them cheering me on. Of course I was my usually cocky self, even 41K in:



I finished in 4:27:50, which is faster than I estimated by 2:10. I was so happy to finish standing up and to have run most of the race. Thought, I wasn’t as happy the next day when I discovered that the average finishing time was 4:09:25 and that 64% of the participants had finished before me. Damn my Type-A personality! When Brianne started the Skinny Jeans collective in June, I only had one goal: Run a full marathon. New goal: Run a full marathon in under 4 hours.



Next I’m training for a half-marathon in May. I may run two of them, two weeks apart. Crazy? Always!

-Al

PT Part Three

Jess has a good idea for motivation...That bikini could motivate anyone!

My motivation has been an upcoming vacation in New York City. After a very disappointing knee injury that took me out of the marathon I am registered for (booo), I booked a flight to New York to soothe the pain and meet up with some friends (and others..) So my trainer has been working me hard to prep both for a full knee recovery to fix my meniscus and also for a full weekend of gooooood times with lots of cardio (Holla Canadian dollar + New York couture).

To fit into said couture, I have been lunging, lifting, pushing, pulling, and sweating my way to a hot bod. I don't know why I waited so long to try out a trainer but it's seriously the best thing I've ever done. I have shrunk significantly into teeny tiny clothes and working little mini-dresses like a champ. I love having defined muscles yet still being able to chow down on food to make sure my energy levels stay up.

It does come with a price, and that price has been an hour of brutal gym torture. It's not fun. I don't like doing a million different types of sit-ups nor waking up at 5:45 to get to my 7am session. A couple of times I've come close to either passing out or puking in the beginning. Not nice.

Fortunately I've discovered the perfect post-workout treat. My gym features a sauna, a steam room and a cold room-whatever that is. The only thing that gets me through the entire hour of grueling torture is the thought of chilling out in the steam room before hitting a nice shower and then getting my butt to work with my cup of java. I am in love with the whole post-workout, endorphin pumped phase. Plus I indulge with a little yogurt popsicle (I stick a yogurt in the freezer and by the time I'm done my workout it's edible) to gnaw on once I get to my desk. I highly recommend frozen Activia (Raspberry!)

Right now I'm doing two mornings of personal training, 3 mornings of cardio, and 2 yoga classes. Hopefully I can keep that up at my hotel in Vegas this coming weekend (work trip) and not indulge in too many rich meals since they're "on the house". No Air Canada pizza either. I still haven't figured out how to get around the whole "no personal food on the plane" / not eating for the five+ hour flights I'm usually on. Any suggestions?

-Stevie

Renewed!

Miraculously, I fit into my bridesmaid dress last weekend (see my blog for photo evidence). But it was a wake up call that I need to renew my Skinny Jeans vows! Other signs included seeing Brianne (fabulous!) and sitting beside a health guru guy on my flight back who said "Imagine if everyone ate fresh fruit and veggies like they ate chocolate bars!"

To follow-up on Brianne's note about requiring motivation, I have set some lofty goals for myself. In 5.5 months my cousin will be getting married in Mexico and I would like to fulfill the destiny of this bikini:When I bought it the girl said "it's like the one Halle Berry wore in James Bond!" Well, I now realize that the belt on Halle's was actually to hold her giant stabbing knife, so I think I'll skip that part and just go strait for the hot bod. ;)

The first week has been a success! Snacking on carrot sticks and hitting up the gym! I feel great!

I see Bree... she looks Glorious!

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... This is the main event, the big kahuna, the end to my means... These are my brand spankin' new Silver skinny jeans, size 29w/34l. Bask in their GLORY!!!

I'm a skinny little bitch!

- Brianne