They say that time passing faster than it ever has is a sign that you’re getting older. If that’s the case, then I guess my youth is long gone, because I just can’t seem to slow down the hands of father clock over here.The marathon has come and gone. It may have been the hardest thing I’ve ever participated in, but the verdict is still out on that. I thought that even though I missed so many critical steps and posts along the way, I would still share my experience with you guys.

I’ll bring you up to speed on the training weeks leading up to the marathon with three quick bullet points that basically tell the story:
– Treadmills
– Gatorade
– Bathroom Crisis

Enough said.

The week leading up to our trip to San Diego was a whirlwind of paperwork, last minute details, emotional outbursts and stress. I received about 25 different emails from the race and from Team in Training with last minute details about where I needed to be, what I needed to bring, different locations and venues, dress codes, tips and tricks….you name it. It got to be so overwhelming that I just started printing every email I received and putting it neatly into a big fat file folder that I promised myself I would go through with a clear head one evening (never happened, who am I really kidding?).

I learned from my Team in Training coach that I was actually the number one fundraiser in all of Canada for this race! My heart just swells with pride thinking of all of the good that the funds we have raised together will do. My final funds raised came in at just under $10,500, and another $500 is coming from my company who provides a $500 fundraising matching grant after the event is completed, bringing the GRAND, grand total up to $11,000.

Wowza.

I remember when I first started out how terrified I was that I wasn’t even going to hit $1,000! I don’t have any words to express my gratitude to my friends and family, to the perfect strangers who supported me, or my colleagues at work that I’ve only spoken 10 words to in my life, or friends of friends who heard our story and wanted to help. This thing really spidered out and touched a lot of people, and I just can’t thank everyone enough.

Because I was the top fundraiser from Canada, we found out that Matt and I were invited to a couple of special events in San Diego for the “VIP Team in Training” group 😉 Matt nearly fell off his chair when I told him that one of the events was a brunch and a pre-race “shakeout” run with 2014 Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi on the Saturday before the race! Because I don’t believe in running the day before a race (okay, okay fine, I’m just not fit enough to blow a bunch of energy running 5km the day before I have to run 42 ;)), Matt was more than happy to take my spot in the run!

There was a bit of a disaster early in the week because as of Thursday morning, I still hadn’t received my Team in Training tank top in the mail (you know, the one that I was supposed to run the marathon in). There had been a mix-up when they had sent me my shirt the week before (they sent me an XS t-shirt instead of a Medium tank-top), and the replacement shirt had not yet arrived. I was freaking out totally about never having had the chance to run in the shirt before the race and by Thursday morning, wasn’t sure that I was even going to be willing to wear the Team in Training shirt for fear that it would irritate me somehow during the marathon. After all of the months of fundraising and learning about the LLS and Team in Training, I was so disappointed to not have that shirt in my hands. I was an emotional basket case.

My whole family shuttled over to the airport like a herd of cattle on Thursday night. We were there early and grabbed a bite to eat at the airport. I realized right away the challenges that Matt has faced for the last year or so with traveling to run destination marathons.

It is really, really damn hard to control what food you eat, how much you drink and how much you are on your feet when you’re traveling to run a destination marathon.

I mean, I always KNEW that, but Matt is so easy going that I never really KNEW, KNEW how hard it was. I ordered chicken strips at the airport, and with every bite wondered if it was something that I “should” really be eating, or if I was going to screw up my marathon by eating something deep fried. I thought about ordering the strongest cocktail I could find on the menu (to help with my nerves – I LOATHE flying), but decided against it, again fearing that the alcohol would somehow mess something up for Sundays race.

The flight was a 5 hour ordeal of nerves and terror, complete with an involuntary SCREAM from yours truly during a particularly bad bout of turbulence. (Yes, I actually screamed out loud on an airplane). Seriously, flying is right there up on my list of things I loathe right alongside spiders, blisters, and the gluten-free phenomena.

Anyways, we arrived in San Diego about 9pm California time, grabbed our rental minivan and made our way to the Westin Gaslamp Quarter where we were staying for the weekend. We ordered room service, and I was so exhausted that I fell asleep literally stretched out like a starfish flat on the floor of the hotel room (no pillow, no nothin’). I woke up just long enough to devour an enormous bowl of pasta, and then went straight to bed. It’s a rough life, I tell you.
The next morning we were up by 8am (still a bit stuck on Toronto time), and ready to head out to the race expo for when it opened at 11am. We went down to the hotel lobby for breakfast, and instantly I grabbed Matt’s arm in a death grip because right away I noticed a table of 4 runners wearing matching Nike track suits and sipping coffee. They were super intense, and we knew right away that they had to be elite runners of some sort. We spent the rest of our breakfast trying to stare at them without getting caught (Matt did, twice).

By the time we finished up, our elite friends were gone, and we made our way outside to pick up our van and head over to the expo. The California weather was absolutely out of this world, 23 degrees and sunny with zero humidity, every single day. I was basking in the sun like a tortoise when the van arrived and we hopped in to set off. Just as my dad was pulling out of the hotel valet zone, I caught a flash of “Skechers GO MEB” on the front of a man’s t-shirt as he was getting out of his cab. Another runner! As my eyes drifted further up his body, I realized that it wasn’t just another runner…..IT WAS MEB HIMSELF! I (again) grabbed Matt’s arm in a death grip and spluttered out something resembling “IT’S MEB!!!” just as my dad pulled past him. Meb was staying in our hotel for the weekend!!

We got to the San Diego Convention Centre (my brother Andrew freaking out the entire time because it’s the convention centre where ComiCon is hosted every year….) a few minutes early and joined a long line to enter the expo when the doors opened at 11.

We went in through the expo doors just after 11, and I realized right away that there was no way that I was going to run in the race without my Team in Training shirt. Their presence was everywhere, huge purple banners and streamers and inspirational posters were everywhere, it gave me goosebumps to see. I knew from the moment I stepped foot in the expo that even though they had put me in a bit of an awkward position with having to run the race in a brand new shirt, it was worth it to me to suck it up and wear it anyways.

I got my race kit quickly and easily (along with a Team in Training VIP lanyard ;)) and we made our way through the expo. My family has never been to a race expo before, and I think they were pleasantly surprised, although my poor dad (whose idea of exercise is walking out to the BBQ with a heavy tray of steaks in his hands) did comment “Sara…..these are not my people!” My brother Ramsey (who has been doing amazingly well health-wise by the way) rode on a mechanical bull that was decorated like a running shoe, and everyone seemed to find something that interested them at least somewhat. I chatted with some folks from Team in Training (they were the first booth you came across after the Brooks official marathon merchandise) and got super inspired and excited to be a part of the team.

We finished up at the expo, and made our way over to the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked at the San Diego Harbour just across the water from the live naval base! It was so freaking cool, I have to say! We toured around the massive boat, Matt, my dad and brothers all did this flight simulation thing where you turn upside down in this little dome that’s supposed to simulate a fighter jet pilot chasing down enemy planes. My mom and I both passed, we’re prone to motion sickness and that would not have ended well.

After we had toured around the rest of the ship and eaten some barbeque at the restaurant where they shot the “Great Balls of Fire!” bar piano scene from Top Gun (I kid you not), we headed back to the hotel so that Matt and I could a) take a dip in the hot tub/pool and b) get ready to go to the reception for the top fundraisers.

In the car on the way back to the hotel, I noticed a bit of a stinging feeling in the side of my left foot (the same one with the massive blister on it from the Chilly Half Marathon). I didn’t think too much about it, but knew that I needed to get my flat walking shoes off ASAP.

When we got back to the room and I took my shoes off, I was horrified to see that it wasn’t just irritation from my shoes; I had actually taken the skin off a tiny little patch of skin right at the base of my toe bone on the outside.
I totally freaked out.

How could I have done this? How could I possibly have been so idiotic? What was I thinking wearing flat Michael Kors shoes while I’m out sightseeing two days before my first marathon? How could I have been wearing anything on my feet except for my running shoes?

The top fundraisers reception was a fancy event, and I had no choice but to wear my flip flops with my dress because every single pair of shoes I had brought rubbed uncomfortably against the spot on my toe, including my running shoes. I could have just killed myself, I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been and the position I had put myself in. I was going to be standing at the start line in pain from a blister.

Somehow, someway, I managed to put that aside for at least a little while and we made it over to the reception (which was in the most gorgeous outdoor courtyard I’ve ever seen in my life by the way) right on time. We were actually some of the first people to arrive, and definitely the youngest people there.

I’ve always really sucked at the whole “networking” thing. I know it’s been bad for me in my career too, because I tend to avoid those events like the plague, even though I know other new grads are there schmoozing and putting in a good word for themselves with the higher ups that decide our fate in the company. I just can’t bring myself to do it. I love to make small talk with my class members at the gym, I do it all the time, every single day with perfect strangers, and I absolutely love it. But for some reason, take me out of my running shoes and Lululemon and put me in any sort of a fancy or professional setting and I truly loathe it. This event seemed to be a bit of a networking event, and right away my hackles were up, and I said to Matt that I didn’t want to stay long.

Matt and I kept mostly to ourselves chatting about whether or not we thought that we could vault over the hedges in the courtyard like a steeplechaser or if we could make it with a two foot jump (dead serious discussion), when the man of the hour arrived. Meb himself.

We had no idea that Meb was going to show up at the event, but he did, and he brought friends with him! At the time we didn’t know who the guy beside him was, but we later learned that it was his brother (who also happens to be his agent). Along with him was American record holder in the mile Alan Webb, and later on American running star Ryan Hall as well! Our conversation immediately turned from steeplechasing hedges to how we were going to get closer to them and maybe even get a picture with them. We didn’t have to wait long for our opportunity.

Within about 10 minutes of Meb arriving at the reception, one of the professional photographers grabbed him and asked him to pose in front of a big backboard that they had set up with the marathon logos. I think that this was really just supposed to be one individual photo-op but we fans jumped on the opportunity and people started getting in line to take pictures with the poor guy! He ended up standing there for over a half hour taking pictures! Matt and I got this one (check out the flip flops…so embarrassing….):

After we had gotten our picture with Meb, we hung around for a few more minutes hoping that someone would stand up and make a speech of some sort or give us any direction at all really, but it seemed that it really was just a mix and mingle, and so shortly after, we called it a night and left.

Dinner was a long story, and not one that I really feel like getting into much, but suffice to say that we ended up eating at TGI Fridays and were quite happy about that. I was totally exhausted by the end of the day, and my feet were killing me. I went to bed feeling stressed out and totally bogged down, wondering how on earth I was going to get through the weekend in one piece.

Saturday morning, Matt and I were up semi-early (okay, 8am) to head over to our brunch and shakeout run with Meb! Brunch was conveniently being held at the San Diego Hall of Champions inside beautiful Balboa Park in San Diego (which also houses the San Diego Zoo!). We got there early, and it turned out to be a good thing that we did because our “private” brunch with Meb had somehow exploded into a line of 160 people waiting to get their bibs and head inside to meet him. Turns out that the marathon had opened up the opportunity for people to pay $75 for if they wanted to meet Meb and get a chance to run with him. We got the opportunity for free, which was kind of a nice benefit! We also each got a free pair of CEP Compression Socks (the same ones that Meb won the Boston Marathon wearing and swears by for all of his runs!).

There were a few small speeches and a quick overview of the morning. It turned out that Meb wasn’t the only elite runner in attendance at this event! Alan Webb, Andy Whacker, Alan Culpepper and one other guy from Boulder, Colorado whose name I can’t remember were also introduced to us (I could feel Matt’s excitement building next to me ;)) and then the crew set off to go for their 5K run. I was enormously glad that I had decided not to run with the group, because man did they ever take off. Even though the race director (Alan Culpepper) assured us all that the pace was going to be a nice easy one, it was still faster then I run, and I would have a) felt like a fat slob and b) probably stressed out my still-sore feet and muscles trying my best to keep up with the pack.

I hung out outside the hall of champions under a palm tree for a bit and waiting for them to return. It didn’t take them long, and about 25 minutes later, the first runner came tearing down the hill, followed closely by the rest of the pack, Matt and Meb himself. Matt was right at Meb’s shoulder when they finished! I took a couple of pictures and we headed back inside. Matt told me that a couple of people made the comment on the run that it was the fastest they had ever run 5km in their life. The day before a race?! Some people are made of tougher stuff then I am, I tell you….

I was quite happy to skip the run and go straight for the buffet breakfast which included these cute little breakfast wraps, fruit, cereal and some mini muffins. While we ate, they did a bit of a Q&A session with each of the elite runners.
It was pretty cool to hear what these runners had to say. They inspired me a lot because they do what they do, even though it certainly isn’t the easiest, most conventional or best beaten path. Andy Whacker told us that he works 4 jobs to make ends meet (including as a cashier at Whole Foods!), and another one of the runners told us that he is a PHD student who works 8 – 4 every day and does his 2 a day workouts before and after work.

I’ve been feeling really restless in my career lately (well, for a long time actually) and struggling with what it is that I even want to do with my life. It sure isn’t what I’m doing right now, that’s for damn sure. I’ve always been reassured that following the beaten path, going to school, getting a degree and starting a full-time 9-5 job is just “what people do” and is really the only path to success. It was refreshing for me to see these guys take such a huge risk, toss aside the perception that you have to work in an office and wear a suit every day to be successful and build the lifestyle that they want, whatever it takes.

My favourite speaker was the race director Alan Culpepper because he was very well-spoken and had some good advice for us novice runners. He admitted that the marathon course was “challenging” (that’s marathoner speak for “mother effing miserable” by the way) and that the hill at mile 22 was a big one. He reassured us that after the hill, the rest of the race was downhill, and that we would all be fine.

We waited in a massive line to get our picture taken with Meb and get his autograph on some paraphernalia (Matt got his Boston Marathon bib signed which was incredible!) and cleared out of the hall shortly after noon. Matt and I hung out under a palm tree until my family came and picked us up to go over to the zoo for the afternoon.

It was hot and sunny at the peak of the day when we got to the zoo and we quickly decided that it wasn’t a good idea to be walking out in the sun around the massive multi-acre park. We decided instead to take a shaded bus tour of the zoo, which worked out really well.

When the bus tour wrapped up, we stopped at one of the restaurants in the zoo for lunch and I had real trouble picking what I should eat. The cheeseburgers looked amazing (I have such a weakness for cheeseburgers….if I were on death row; my final meal would for sure be the biggest cheeseburger I could order, no hesitation) but I was just so freaked out about putting anything bad in my body this close to the race. I instead got a chicken wrap which was mediocre to be polite, and I was still hungry when it was done. Around this time, something didn’t feel quite right. I was feeling EXHAUSTED to the point of dizziness and could hardly keep my eyes open. I figured it was the early start to the day, combined with all of the activity from the last couple of hours.

We walked around the zoo a tiny bit more before I really was just too exhausted and starting to feel a bit light headed. I asked my family if we could go back to the hotel so that I could take a nap. The walk back to the car felt like it was 26 miles itself. I felt horrendous, totally nauseous, dizzy, light headed….sitting down seemed to help a bit, but not completely. I fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel and woke up just long enough to stagger up to our room where I fell asleep with cold cloths draped all over my head and neck.

We were supposed to attend an Inspiration Dinner hosted by Team in Training on the Saturday night before the race. I felt so sick that we had to miss it, which I am so disappointed about because it would have been an amazing night, I’m sure. After about an hour nap and a bunch more Gatorade and water, I felt a little bit better, and we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner.

I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. First my shirt, then my feet, now the rest of my body?! Everything was just falling apart?! I couldn’t fathom how on earth I was going to make it through the next morning. My head was going a mile a minute, trying to reassure myself in any way I could think of that I would be okay, but nothing really helped. My brother Ramsey made a comment that I had probably just stressed myself the heck out and that was what was causing everything. He may have been right, I know what stress can do to you physically and it ain’t pretty.

Back at the hotel after dinner, I somehow made the decision to forget everything that was wrong with me and just focus on getting my race gear ready to go. Matt had actually smuggled a George Foreman grill, pancake mix (in a Ziploc bag which had an uncanny resemblance to a massive bag of cocaine) and maple syrup over to San Diego just so that he could make pancakes for me in the hotel room before the race and he was busily setting up his cooking station in the bathroom of our hotel room.

With mostly everything set out and ready to go, I hit the hay shortly after 10pm. I don’t remember it taking long for me to fall asleep, and the next thing I knew, the alarm was going off at 4am and I woke up to the smell of pancakes wafting from the bathroom. It was race day, or “go time” as Matt likes to say. The time for excuses and talking was done. It was time to start doing.

 To Be Continued…..

Well folks – I’ve got another one for you. Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse than the worst smoothie ever, I may have bested even myself.

Yesterday, I found myself with a very rare day where I had nothing really planned to do with myself. Matt kept looking at me suspiciously like I was keeping something from him or something. After doing my 10 minute ab routine on my living room floor (30km race, 10 minute ab routine….that’s the same, right? ;)), I was suddenly overwhelmed by a bug I don’t get very often….the cooking bug!

I started simple by making up a batch of turkey meatballs. The first batch looked (and smelled) amazing, but both Matt and I were a little under-whelmed with the actual flavour, and ended up dousing them in barbeque sauce to give them some appeal.

Final score: a solid 6 out of 10, with an A for effort. I’ll take it.

The next undertaking was Matt’s mom Dianne’s chili recipe, which I’ve wanted to make ever since I tried some of it out at the syrup bush a couple of weekends ago. After getting the recipe from Dianne, and a quick trip to the grocery store, all of the ingredients went into the slow cooker, and I sat back to admire my handiwork, feeling pretty good about things.

I really, really should have stopped there and called it a day.

While Matt was napping on the couch, I got it in my head that (considering I was on such a roll) I wanted to make a sweet, but healthy snack for this week, something to grab and go quickly that would satisfy a sweet-tooth craving after meals and during the mid-afternoon slump. I was literally right in the middle of pouring over cookbooks when I got an email from my friend Cara with a recipe for “Chickpea Blondies” that she absolutely raved about, and had to share the recipe.

Fate? I think so.

Considering it a call from the chickpea gods, I snuck out of the house and over to Target (where I proceeded to spend almost $300 on assorted house gadgets, in addition to the $4 in chickpeas that I originally came to buy). In my defence, part of that $300 was a Kitchen Aid food processor, which I did need to make the blondies anyways. I’ve never owned a food processer, and was super excited to crack it open and use it immediately!

The exact instant I got home, I ripped into the shiny Kitchen Aid box and pulled out the sparkling new food processer.

Oooh, aahhh.

How do they get the plastic so shiny and clean like that when it first comes out of the box anyways? The appliances never do look as nice after the first use as they do when they come out of the box.

I decided to double up the recipe for the blondies to make a double batch so that I could give some to my mom, who is always on the hunt for healthy but yummy snacks just like I am. I cheerfully (and immediately) dumped two full cans of chickpeas into the food processor. There were so many that the lid could hardly close on my 7 cup food processer.

I think deep down in my heart, at this point, I knew that something was going wrong, but I couldn’t place my finger on what.

After adding in the other ingredients (totally yummy stuff like vanilla extract, maple syrup and peanut butter), I forced the lid closed on the food processor (you ever get the feeling that those types of things just aren’t meant to be “forced”?), closed my eyes and hit “Low” speed.

I fiddled with the lock mechanism to be sure the bowl was locked down…..closed my eyes again, and hit Low.

At this point Matt was sitting on the couch watching some video on his iPad, and I think I snapped something at him about the volume on his iPad being too loud or something like that, to which (because he knows me too well), he responded by getting up to come and see what exactly was the matter.

About 45 seconds later, he had adjusted the handle of the bowl, and hit the Low button again, and the food processor was cheerfully beating the chickpeas into submission.

My joy was short lived, because the machine sputtered to a halt about 20 seconds later, the blades choking on the sheer amount of chickpeas in the bowl which had come together in this very dry, very dense, very chalky sort of paste.

I say again – I think deep down in my heart, at this point, I knew something was going wrong.

Re-starting the food processor about 4 or 5 times, I finally got the batter to sort of soften up a bit and look something like an actual blondie batter. I scraped it out of the food processor bowl and into the baking pan, and into the oven it went (although I seriously had my doubts because between you and me, I had snuck a taste of the batter, and it tasted like a food processed chickpea, and absolutely nothing like a blondie).

Hope for some magic to take place in the oven (you know, like a fairy to come and replace half the chickpea content with sugar and butter), I let it do its thing, and came back to it 20 minutes later.

My biggest regret of this whole experience is not the failed blondie. It’s that I didn’t take a picture of the finished product. It literally looked like someone had taken sand from the desert and sprinkled it into a baking pan, with some chocolate chips on top, and it tasted, as you can probably guess, like a mashed up, piping hot, dry, sticky chickpea, with the faintest, faintest hint of something sweet, but not even close to “being good”.

Like, not even in the same universe as “being good”.

I could hardly swallow the tiny bite that I took of the stupid thing, and my mouth puckered up like I’d just taken a tequila shot. BLECH. Disgusting.

I threw out the whole pan immediately (trust me, it wasn’t a snack that needed a second or third taste to make my mind up on) and went to lick my wounds on the couch, wondering what I always wonder, almost every single time that I try to bake or cook:

“What went wrong?????”

It wasn’t until about 3 hours later that I realized what I’d done, in a moment of clarity that could only be described as an epiphany.

I had doubled the amount of chickpeas in the recipe with the idea of making a double batch…..but I hadn’t doubled ANY of the other ingredients in the entire recipe.

Sweet lord above. That’s a lot of chickpeas.

I’m not giving up on the blondie recipe (although the friends that I’ve told about this little encounter have written me off completely and suggested that I stick to buying my baked goods from now on), and plan to try again tonight with the proper ratio of chickpeas (yuck) to yummy stuff (mmm).

If you’re interested in checking it out, here is the recipe. Foretold is forwarned, don’t double up on the chickpeas.

Chickpea anyone?

Morning Everyone.

If you notice the time stamp on this entry, you may (or may not) notice that it is race day morning at 11am…and here I am posting a blog entry. Sigh.

I made the toughest call that I’ve made in years to skip Around the Bay. After 4 long weeks of dealing with this atrocious sore on my foot, it has finally, finally healed up enough that I’m able to wear a running shoe without pain, BUT, it still isn’t absolutely 100% perfect. (I would give it 93% to be exact). And the deal was that it had to be perfect. 93% doesn’t cut it.

DISCLAIMER – IF YOU’RE SQUEAMISH, OR DON’T WANT TO LOOK AT A PICTURE OF MY FOOT – AVERT YOUR EYES NOW!!!

Here is my foot today (it looks much worse than it feels – it’s all new skin so I can hardly feel it anymore!)

It is sooo much better, but just not where I need it to be….yet.

A little piece of my heart knows that I could have pushed through and finished the race. But for once, my brain spoke up louder than my heart, and reminded me (sternly) that Around the Bay is not the goal race. The goal race is San Diego, and the goal is to represent the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society strong in the marathon. Running Around the Bay on my foot the way it is right now, while it might make me feel happy and proud of myself, I feel, would put San Diego in jeopardy. And that’s why I decided to skip it. Simple as that.

I am absolutely, admittedly, terrified of what missing this race means for the marathon. I haven’t run in a month (since the Chilly Half). This 30km race was supposed to be a huge check in the box for me, a huge stepping stone, that I slipped on, and ended up face first in the river instead of skipping across the water.

In all of my infinite wisdom, I guess I never really factored in what you should do when instead of jumping easily from stepping stone to stepping stone, you miss a step and end up face first in the water with some broken teeth. Guess I’ll have to let you know after I’ve dried myself off and gotten back up on the rock 😉

Anyways – my head is in the right place, and that’s a win. I’m focused, and I’m more determined than ever to pick myself up, dust myself off and get on with it. My foot is finally in a place where I can start to think about running on it again, and my plan is to start this Friday. Missing Around the Bay means that I’m going to have to rely on my own motivation to get my butt out the door and do a (couple of) 30km training runs on my own, without the motivation of a race. I’ll let you know how that goes!

Have a fabulous Sunday, I hope that your own stepping stones are coming along, and that your training is progressing a little smoother than my own at the moment!!! Keep the faith, trust the process, and we’ll all make it to the finish line together. No guarantees on whether our sanity will make it with us. 😉

-Sara xo

 

 

Real or fictional, can you think of someone who you totally admire and want to emulate?

I have a list a mile long, but at the top of it has to be Lisa Osborne, the New Zealand born program director for BodyAttack. Not far behind Lisa would be Sheryl Sandberg (the COO of Facebook, and the author of “Lean In”, a book about women, work and the will to lead which I haven’t been able to put down since I bought it). If you asked me to keep going, I would list off Ray Zahab (ex-chain smoker and pub-crawler turned ultra marathoner and social activist for clean drinking water), Tosca Reno (author of The Eat Clean Diet, cancer-widow of Robert Kennedy and ex-editor in chief of Oxygen Magazine), my mom, for facing the diagnosis of one of her children with a nearly terminal cancer, and handling it with the grace and strength of a marble statue.

The world is full of heroes, all you have to do is look around, and you’ll find one somewhere.

What struck me tonight though, as I sat on my couch devouring Lindt chocolates with my injured foot up on the couch (grumble, grumble), was the key message delivered to us this quarter by the woman at the top of my list; Lisa Osborne.

At the beginning of this particular BodyAttack release, the key message that Lisa asked us instructors to take back to our classes was this one: Be Your Own Hero. The funny part is that as I sit here on my couch, feeling kind of sorry for myself, worrying endlessly about my classes and my marathon, and stuffing chocolates in my face, I couldn’t feel further from a hero.

Something in Lisa’s message got me thinking a bit about what qualities I admire most in the people that I listed above. Kindness is number one. Hard work is number two. Strength of character and physical strength is number three. Courage is number four. Intelligence is number five. Resilience is number six. I could go on and on.

Today’s post is short, but I really wanted to share Lisa’s message about Being Your Own Hero with you. My goal for the next little while is to carry that message with me through everything that I do. If I was watching myself from the outside in, what would I think? Would my actions, thoughts, words be something that I admired if they were coming from someone else? If not, maybe I need to think about those actions, thoughts or words a little bit more.

What do you think? What if at the end of the day, we looked back at ourselves with the same sort of admiration that we look at those incredible people that we idolize? I think that would be pretty cool. I hope you do too.

Happy Tuesday all – hope you’re having a fantastic week.

-Sara xo

 

 

 

 

I feel like I’m sitting down with a crisp piece of paper, a brand new ball point pen, a mug of hot chocolate and hours on end of free time to write a long, lazy, newsy letter to an old friend that I haven’t seen in over a year.

(That’s you by the way, you’re an old friend!)

While it’s only been 46 days (but who’s counting?) since my last post, as usual, with the way that things move around here, I feel like I’m a completely different person from the last time that I wrote. The real question, is where to begin my newsy letter to my old friends.

For starters: my brother is doing phenomenally well at home! He’s started working afternoons at my dad’s office doing IT related work, he’s put on about 6 or 7 pounds (moment to hate on the guy for literally struggling to put on weight…seriously, WTF), he’s hanging out with his friends, staying out late, taking shots at the bar, and otherwise acting like a normal 21 year old. Sometimes I get this frisson of fear that runs all the way through me because I just can’t believe that it’s actually happened. Like at any moment, someone or something might swoop in and take it away from us. Did we actually live this miracle? Has it actually happened for us? And if so, the question that keeps me up at night sometimes….why? Why us? Of all of the people suffering in that hospital, why were we chosen for the miracle? I rest my mind with the thought that for now, we are all happy, healthy and looking forward to what comes next. Worrying about what could come in the future is like worrying about the weather, or what might happen on the flight that you’re on. Useless and counter productive. You may as well sit back and enjoy the ride. Or so I’ve been told.

On the fundraising side of things, I cannot tell you how fabulous things have been going!! I’ve had a flurry of support come in from my friends, family, even perfect strangers have jumped in with both feet for my cause, and I am SO grateful. We held a fundraising event last Thursday evening at a local yoga clothing store (Lolë Atelier for those who may know if it – big ups to Lolë!!). I’ve been working on it for months, all with the looming fear that 4 people would show up, and it would be a big fat flop.

My fears were put to rest within about 5 minutes of the event starting. I have the best friends and family in the entire world. End of discussion.

The store was packed, filled to the brim with all of the people that I love and cherish most in the world. To say it was a special evening just doesn’t cut it; it was one of the best nights I’ve ever had. People shopped, did yoga, ate baked goods (including this demon fudge that my friend Lindsay and I were up until nearly midnight trying to get right the night before), and just celebrated my brother and everything that he’s accomplished.

We raised nearly $2,500, but that isn’t what really matters to me. I think in the world that we live in, the absolute most precious thing that a person can give to another person is their time. I know that I cherish my time more than I cherish any money. Finding an hour in the day feels like finding a $50 bill sometimes (or so it feels!!). For so many people to take the time to come out on a Thursday night just to support my family….there just aren’t any words. I’ll let the pictures below do the talking!

The last picture is my brother and I. Can you see the stem cell resemblance?

Sorry….that one will never get old 😉 😉

On the running side of the coin, it’s been a horse of a different colour. And the colour is baby puke green. Everything was going really well with my running, I had a couple of crazy beast runs on the treadmill while I was overseas in Lebanon (yes – I went overseas to Lebanon since the last time I wrote….jeez….this post could be 15 pages long…..), and in general, I was feeling fit and ready to rock for the Chilly Half Marathon on March 2nd.

Ready to “rock”……how ironic….

On the Friday before the race, I kicked a mother-effing rock. Sorry for the swearing, but I wrote that sentence without the “mother-effing”, and it didn’t really come across with the venom that I wanted it to. So “mother-effing” stayed in.

We’ve had this big decorative rock sitting with it’s butt-end jutting out just into the path of our driveway ever since we’ve moved in. I’ve dropped my iPod on it and shattered the screen, I don’t even know how many people have tripped over it on their way up the drive…but that son of a gun messed with the wrong person this time. The exact instant that the ground thaws, that rock is going off the highest cliff I can find. Or into a rock crusher. Or maybe an incinerator or a meat grinder………..whatever would be most painful for it…..*insert evil cackle here*.

I was innocently walking up the driveway, fresh off my massage, feeling like I was ready to run the half marathon right then and there…..and BAM. Rock to the top of my bare foot (I was wearing my flat work shoes at the time). I knew I was in trouble right away, not from the big cut and blood on my foot, but from how bad it actually hurt, and the way that it puffed up right away.

Sure enough, my foot bruised up like crazy, and there was a big and quite deep gash on the top of it that bled for a good hour straight.

(Sure, when I needed to donate stem cells to save my little brother’s life, my blood thickens up like gumbo. When trying to stop the gash in my foot from getting blood on my brand new couch…….it flows like water).

I instantly freaked out because I was concerned that I wasn’t going to be able to run the race on Sunday. I got through my Attack class on Saturday, but it was painful to have the running shoe on my foot. We came to the (expert) conclusion that my foot wasn’t broken because I was able to walk around barefoot with minimal pain…..I went to bed freaking out, not sure what the heck I was going to do.

Race morning was a disaster. I was all over the place, forgetting things here, there and everywhere. My bib wasn’t on my shirt, I couldn’t decide what I wanted to wear, couldn’t find my iPod headphones, hadn’t charged my iPod up in the first place, and my foot still hurt like crazy in a running shoe. I literally made the decision as I was walking out the door that I was going to do it, and be damned if I was going to let the rock win.

At the race start, I realized that I had forgotten my running jacket at home. #EpicFail. I decided to run in just my long sleeve top and my puffy winter vest. Anyone looking at me probably thought it was my first time running in my life, but that’s cool, I deserve the judgment for my sheer stupidity.

I ran into one of my class participants and chatted with him for a few minutes. It’s always nice to have a connection back to my classes when I’m at races for some reason. It calms me down a lot to see people from the gym for some reason. Maybe because they always seem to have this absolutely unfailing faith that I can do absolutely anything. God bless their hearts…if he only knew the morning I had had!!!

We finally got off and running, literally. It was cold. Let me repeat that one more time for effect. It. Was. Cold. It was also wet. My feet were soaked within about 45 seconds, but I was pleased to note that once my feet had frozen solid, I could barely feel the top of my foot anymore.

Hurray for silver frozen linings.

At kilometer 5 my iPod died. I actually laughed out loud when that happened, because I just couldn’t imagine anything else going wrong for me that particular weekend. Little did I know.

At kilometer 8, I realized that I was developing a blister on my left foot. A big blister. I could feel the skin rubbing raw on my inside arch and I thought to myself, oh boy. Here we go. I muscled on until I hit kilometer 10, where there happened to be a Saint John’s Ambulance tent. Pushing my “Mental Matt” out of my head, I stopped and asked the kind folks for a Band-Aid.

*Insert moment of zen breathing here before you read the next sentence*

They didn’t have a Band-Aid.

Saint John’s Ambulance. At a half marathon. Seriously. WTF. In front of my very eyes, there was a defibrillator, an intubation kit, a stethoscope and a little light that you shine in people’s eyes. I could have collapsed of cardiac arrest right there on the gravel and been in perfectly capable hands. But god forbid I get a blister.

I carried on, and made the executive decision that I was going to get there no matter what. I talk in my classes a lot about not giving up when things get tough. I’ve been fortunate enough in my running and my triathlons that I have never really had to suffer too much.

Okay, okay. I suffered a lot in the Half IronMan, like a LOT. But let’s forget about that for now 😉

Anyways, I’ve been pretty lucky that I’ve never had to suffer too much. I’ve not really been tested too strenuously to put my money where my mouth is and “not give up” when things get difficult. Damned if I was going to walk off a course and land my first ever DNF because my feet hurt. As the kilometers ticked by, I realized with a  sinking heart that I had developed an equivalent blister on my right foot. I could feel the blood starting to ooze inside my shoe. At one point, I wondered if it might actually soak right through my shoe.

I should mention that while all of this was going on, I was powering through kilometers like it was my job. I felt so super strong running. I just really, really wish that I could somehow wave a magic wand and eliminate the blisters from the race, because I really wonder what I would have been able to do had I been in tip top condition.

I got to the finish line really pleased with my race, despite the nonsense with my feet, the iPod, the cold, the wet and my less than ideal running attire. When I stopped running, I knew that I had hurt myself pretty badly, but just focused on getting home to get my shoes off.

When I finally did get my shoes off at home, the entire sole of my left sock was soaked in blood, and the right one had a pretty sizable stain as well. I had taken all the skin off about 2 inches of the inside of my left arch, and shredded up the right arch pretty decently as well. I couldn’t put any weight on either foot….which made walking interesting….;)

Long story (sorry, I told you it was going to be a long, newsy, lazy letter) short, the blisters have been so extreme that I haven’t been able to wear shoes for about 6 days. I missed an entire week of my classes (horror of all horrors), and am only just now (9 days later) starting to ease back into running shoes (still with pretty significant pain).

Back to the title of this post, what I learned from a pair of blisters. I learned that I’m a lot tougher than I think I am. I learned that even when things fall apart and everything is working against you, the only person that ultimately gets the final call on whether you give up or whether you don’t, is you. Don’t blame the blisters, or the cold, or the iPod. It’s you that gets the final call. You can’t always control what happens to you. But you can control how you react to it.

On the flip side, I learned a bit about race preparation, and what it can mean for your race. My iPod should have been charged, if I wanted it. I should have been wearing blister-preventing socks (since I know that I’m prone to blisters because I over-pronate). I should have been wearing the proper race gear.

I am now three weeks out from Around the Bay. My feet are just starting to think about healing a little bit, but I am hopeful to be able to run a little bit this weekend, and to do another big run next weekend to prepare. Is it ideal? No. But I’ve learned to roll with it. I’m starting to develop a little bit of faith in myself: I’ll get it done. It feels good. I look back at the girl writing this blog at this very moment last year, and she is hardly recognizable to me.

Anyways – that’s what I’ve been up to my friends. Please, please won’t you update me on what you’ve been doing the last couple of months?! I just know that you’ve been up to amazing things, and I want to hear all about them.

Lots of love – and I promise to check in before too long!

Work hard – train hard, and never give up. Least of all on yourself.

xoxo

 

 

Ahh Friday – the undisputed Gold medalist in every event it competes in. T-Minus 2 hours to the weekend folks….we made it!

I want to start off today’s post by wishing the happiest of birthdays to my Matthew!! 28 years young today, and still looking like a spring chicken!! Happy Birthday my love!!

I know I’ve taken quite a detour from my regular blog training chatter the last couple of months. The holidays followed immediately by my 25^th birthday got me in kind of a reflective mood, and a bit of that kind of spilled over onto the blog. If that kind of stuff isn’t your cup of tea (and you prefer to read about me touching old people in appropriately in swimming pools)….you’re in luck, because it’s time to put the hammer down and get serious about training again!! Time is ticking!!

I’m freaking out a bit (what else is new) because if I look back at my blog posts from this time last year, I had been swimming for nearly three months, and attending spin classes on a weekly basis. This year, as of today, January 23^rd 2014, I’ve done absolutely squat nothing for the Half IronMan.

Hmm……

I don’t know if I’m labouring under the notion that completing the race once (by the skin of my teeth) gives me the luxury of half-assing training, but I’ll tell you this: I can paint a pretty vivid description of my race day for you if I carry on the way that I am now. And the picture is one that may or may not scare your children. If you catch my drift.

I’m struggling a bit with trying to ramp up my running as well. I’ll give myself the credit of saying that every Sunday for four weeks in a row now; I’ve gone down into our basement and run for a minimum of half an hour on the treadmill.

*Insert high five for Sara here*

The longest run I did was about 10K, the shortest was 5K. I’ve been feeling good running, but I know that I need to get my distance up way beyond 10K; and I also know that I don’t have an abundance of time to do it.

I’m trying to stay focused on my first “stepping stone” (side note – I’m so glad that I wrote that post – I refer back to it so often in so many aspects of my life) which is the Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday March 2^nd. To be honest with you, although I’ve run several half marathons (6 to be exact – how that happened, I’ll never know), standing at the start line, I’ve never really truly feel prepared for the race. I always find a way to get through it, but I think some of that is more “oxe-like stubbornness”, and less actual athletic ability.

The first “stepping stone” for me in achieving my goal of finishing the San Diego marathon is to stand at the start line for the Chilly Half knowing that I’ve trained properly, and that my body is 100% ready and prepared to run 21km strong all the way to the finish line.

And THAT seems totally manageable.

Part of the struggle with running (as it always has been for me) is keeping my joints healthy while I’m running on top of the classes that I teach.

If “Les Mills fitness classes” and “Running” were both on Facebook, they would not be friends. In fact, they probably would annoy each other so much that they would have blocked and deleted each other by now.

Without fail, as soon as I start adding on a regular run to my weekly routine, one of my knees goes down for the count. I can’t predict which one, it changes all the time. This time has been no different, and I’ve been nursing a really sore right knee all week.

It doesn’t at all help that it’s Release Week at the gym and I’m teaching 13 classes this week, but hey, what can ya do.

I guess my struggle is knowing how to handle aches and pains like this one. Do I push through and run on it anyways? Do I take the week off running and try to just make it through my classes? My fear with the second option is that there is always going to be something nagging and aching, and if I responded to every one of them by taking the week off from running, then I would never run!

I’m guessing that (as usual), the right plan lies somewhere right in the middle of the two extreme options. I probably can’t take the week off running completely, and I probably shouldn’t be doing a full blast sprint workout either. Maybe a bit slower, more relaxed run would be the right thing to do. Followed by a whole lot of TLC for the knee of course.

I wanted to wrap up today’s post by giving you a quick update on my fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! If you remember, part of my BHAG is to cross the finish line of the marathon in one piece, but the other part of my BHAG is to achieve my fundraising goal of $5,000 for the LLS.

I’ve been completely and totally blown away by the generosity of everyone that I know. So far, with very little effort on my part, I’ve raised $1,315 towards my $5,000 goal, and I have some plans in the works for making up that remaining $3,700.

First of all – I’ve planned a shopping party to take place on Thursday March 6^th at a local yoga clothing store in my hometown. The amazing store (Lole Atelier) has agreed to give all customers that night a 30% discount, and I’m going to be bringing in catering as well for shoppers to snack on. I’ve been working on gathering as many amazing prizes as I can for a silent auction, with 100% of the proceeds going towards my fundraising efforts for the LLS.

I’m really excited for the shopping party, and am really hopeful that it will bring me a big step closer to the ultimate goal.

My brother by the way is doing fantastically well! He’s at home, and needs to put on about 40 pounds (oh if I only had that problem…), but otherwise is right as rain! His bloodwork is good, and initial screens show no signs of Leukemia. Hurray!

I’ll leave you today with the link to my fundraising page for the LLS, if you are looking to start your weekend off with a good deed, then here’s a wonderful opportunity to donate to a cause very near and dear to my heart!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW!!

Thanks for your support – and have a great weekend everyone!!

 

I don’t normally give a hoot about my birthday. I’ve never really been one to throw a big birthday party, or go out to a bar, or really do much of anything, at least for the past couple of years anyways. Call me crazy, but from about the time I turned 21 onwards, I’ve always looked at birthdays as “another year older” and another year of lost youth that I would never be able to reclaim.

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across this quote, and I only wish that I could find who it was that said it:

“Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.” – Unknown

Unknown, whoever they were, was very wise with what they said. And I’ve taken their words to heart.

In so many ways, my 24th year was the best year of my life. In so many ways, it was also the very worst year of my life. There were so many amazing, uplifting moments of love and laughter that I cherish and hold close to me, and also so many black moments that I wish that I could sew away into the folds of time and pretend never happened.

I learned so much in my 24th year, but this year, I am ready to move on and to move forward. I’ve decided that my 25th year is going to be the very best year ever, and it’s going to be that way, because I’m going to make it that way!

I’m a lucky, lucky girl. I have an amazing family, a wonderful boyfriend, strong and meaningful friendships, and an overwhelming passion that I get to live and breathe every single day.

Really….what more could I possibly ask for?!

And so, I’ve decided to live each and every day of my 25th year with the intention to soak as much joy and as much happiness out of each and every minute that I can. I have no doubt that there will be hard moments, maybe even totally miserable moments. But I’ve learned from my 24th year that life is too short to be miserable. Even for one minute.

I’ve had the best birthday weekend I’ve ever had, filled to the brim with all of the things that really and truly make me happiest (including a massage, laser tag, cheeseburgers, hours and hours of group fitness, an animated movie about squirrels, time with Matt, sleeping in and shopping), and I can’t wait to see what the rest of my 25th year has in store for me!

This is going to be the best year ever. And it all starts tomorrow. WOOHOO!!

I did float the idea by Matt that perhaps I shouldn’t have to do a 12km run tomorrow because it is my birthday after all…………….

Suffice to say; it did not go over well. Sigh 😉

The happiest of weekends to you my friends, and stay tuned next week for some more running/training specific talk!

-Sara xoxo

Hi Everyone, and Happy New Year!!

Sorry for the long hiatus, I guess I was taking a bit of what you might call a ‘digital detox’ over the holidays, and although it did feel (really) good, I’ve really missed writing and all of you terribly! It’s good to be back!

This Christmas may have been the lowest key holidays that I’ve ever had. Normally we are traveling somewhere north (either to visit my mom’s family or Matt’s family), or at least all over the GTA visiting different friends, but this year we just kind of stayed put and breathe easy for a few days, which was nothing short of a miracle. In 12 days, Matt and I probably got more sleep then we got in the previous 4 months combined, and got to spend some time on our own around our house, which was also really nice.

[Side note – Matt got us the most incredible king sized mattress for Christmas, seriously, how did I ever sleep on anything BUT this thing????]

That being said, by the time January 1st rolled around, I think that both of us had had enough of lounging around the house and were ready to get back into our routines and our crazy daisy lifestyle. It’s amazing what a few weeks off work will do for your perspective. I’ve set a goal for 2014 to be religious about taking more time off across the whole year, rather than saving it all for the end of the year. By the time December hit last year, I was feeling really bitter and short-tempered and frustrated about work. 12 days later, while all those stressors are still right there where I left them in December, I just felt a whole lot better equipped to deal with them. And less likely to throw my stapler at someone’s head and tell them where to go.

Just sayin’ 😉

So here we are on January 2nd, and I’ll bet that if you follow lots of health and fitness blogs, that you’ve seen a lot of chatter about goal setting, New Years resolutions and challenges upcoming for the brand new year. So have I.

I’ll tell you a little secret, between you, me and the Internet. I set New Years resolutions every single year (even the years that I wave my hand at them and say that I won’t bother this year, I still do, just secretly so that no one knows about them) and I fail at them every single year.

Usually my New Years resolutions are about weight loss. “This year, I lose 20 pounds by cutting out chocolate and junk food and strictly reducing carbs.” “This year, I fit into a size 8 pair of jeans.”

One time, I actually bought a size 8 pair of jeans and hung them on a hanger over my closet door so that I could look at them every day for inspiration. I never did fit my big ass into those damn jeans!!

Anyways, this year, I thought I might try a new approach to New Years resolutions and New Years goal setting, and I thought I would try it in a totally different way then anything I’ve ever done before. Rather than setting “goals”, I’ve created a “To Do” list for 2014. The criteria for an item to make it onto the “To Do” list is simple. It has to elicit some sort of physical reaction from me. That’s it.

One thing I’ve learned from the past year and a half of crazy BHAG chasing is that sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. I think that sometimes you can only mess things up by thinking too much about them, because really, if you think too long and hard about anything, I’m pretty sure that you can find a way to talk to yourself out of it. Too much money, too long of a distance, too different a sport, too risky, not enough vacation time………

Enough.

What if instead of thinking too much, we started to trust that little voice inside us that used to guide everything that we did when we were kids? It’s rarely wrong, and it’s still there. I think that it’s just that as we grow older, the stern voice of reason becomes so much more loud and over-powering, that that meek little voice of passion and excitement fades away or becomes secondary. This is my best effort at reviving it!

And so before the voice of reason over-powers the decision to even post this ‘To-Do List’ for 2014, here goes nothing. A list of things that make me excited, that I plan to get done in 2014:

• Run a full marathon
• Eat a cheeseburger at Webers restaurant on Highway 11
• Go sky diving (I know….just…..I know)
• Organize our storage room (yes, this excites me…I live a sad, sad life….;))
• Ride Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland
• Go on a weekend getaway with Matt (not involving a race or any sort of athletic endeavor!!!)
• Start and finish writing a novel
• Do Edge Walk at the CN Tower
• Take 50 yoga classes
• Read at least 4 new novels
• Complete the Muskoka Half IronMan bike course with a smile on my face
• Share the link to my blog on Facebook (yep, I still haven’t done this almost a year and a half in. Talk about a chicken)
• Improve the organization and functionality of my blog
• Buy a DSLR Camera and start to take pictures more regularly
• Put up an “inspiration wall” in our basement beside the treadmill
• Take 50 dance classes

And there she be!! I can’t wait to get started on making this stuff happen!!

Before you leave today, I want to hear at least one item that’s on YOUR “To Do” list for 2014. If you could turn off the voice of Reason for just a minute, and listen to that inner-child, what is one thing that you really WANT to do this year, if you could do anything?

Happy New Year to all – and happy listing!!

-Sara xoxo

I’ve dabbled in and out of Hot Yoga so many times over the past several years that I guess you could call me a “wannabe yogi”.

Unfortunately the membership at these hot yoga studios is enough to make even me (the most frivolous money-waster you could imagine) cringe. Seriously, what the heck? I guess it’s all those crazy energy bills that they must have to pay to heat the studio to 50 degrees Celsius and keep it there all day every day, but still. I thought yogis were supposed to be low maintenance, chill, inexpensive???

ANYWAYS, all that to say that about a week ago I scored a Groupon for a hot yoga studio in our area: 20 classes for 40 dollars. Now that’s what I’m talking about! This studio is the fifth one in the area that I’ve tried out on one of these introductory offers, and I was eager to check it out and see how it stacked up against the others that I’ve been to.

On Sunday night, after a totally disastrous attempt at cooking pulled pork in the slow cooker (I bought the wrong cut of meat and ended up cooking the crap out of a ham in the slow cooker for 7 hours before trying to “pull” it….#pulledporkfail), I headed out to give the 8pm Yin/Yang class a try. Whatever pulled pork, I don’t need you anyways.

This yoga studio is in a really interesting part of town. There are some really gourgeous old buildings and lots of really cute little shops with lots of character. Everything was closed on the street except for the yoga studio which was lit up like a candle because the walls exposed to the street were nearly floor to ceiling windows. It was very cool.

As soon as I walked through the door, I kind of smiled to myself because every single hot yoga studio I’ve been in as a lot of the same qualities about it.

#1 – You always have to take off your shoes immediately upon entering (and I mean immediately), or risk a very reproachful look from the yogi at the front desk

#2 – Every single one has the identical smell to it. I spent a good solid 10 minutes of the yoga class trying to put my finger on what that smell is, and I’ve still got nothing. I can try to describe it to you as an earthy, woody smell, kind of musky and herby. (Is herby a word?). It might be some kind of incense that they all burn, or maybe in a less idyllic vision it’s just all the sweat from 30 people doing yoga in a 50 degrees Celsius room with wooden floors, but anyways, it’s totally a Hallmark of all hot yoga studios I’ve been to.

#3 – There’s always kind of a strange looking Buddha statue of some sort. This particular one was wearing a very nice decorative headdress.

Once I had gotten myself registered and ready to go, I went into the studio to lie down on my back like a corpse and chill for a bit before class started. Or as the yogis call it “Savasana”.

Although I’m really, really no good at it (nearly 10 years of high impact , plyometric fitness classes have not been kind to any of my joints or my flexibility), I love going to yoga classes and trying out different yoga studios for so many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that I love getting the opportunity to see inside a different world of fitness.

I’m fascinated by the world of yoga, because it stands in such stark contrast to the loud, bustling, noisy world of fitness that I call home. I love to look around at the people that come to class, and I love to guess at who is there trying out a class for a workout or something new to add on to their fitness routine like I am, and who really lives and breathes the stuff the way that I do with Les Mills. You can usually tell, not by a person’s yoga ability or how they look or what they’re wearing, but by their whole demeanour, body language and how comfortable and at home they are in the studio.  I find it really interesting.

We had two instructors, one very nice man and one very sweet woman with a French accent and the longest legs I’ve ever seen who was wearing very cool zebra print yoga tights. I could so NOT have rocked those tights.

As promised, the first half of the class was a little more athletic with more movement, and the second half of the class was more restorative and we got to hold poses for a little longer. I kind of struggled with both halves of the class to be honest (especially with some soreness in my shoulders while holding Downward Dog), but I definitely enjoyed the second half of the class more than the first.

In the second half of the class, the woman with the zebra pants asked us to try to do a “shoulder stand” where you kind of prop yourself up on your elbows and support your lower back with your hands so that your shoulders are the only part of your body really touching the ground (apart from your head and elbows of course, because I don’t think that would really be possible unless you were decapitated).

At first I failed miserably at the shoulder stand, but the instructor actually came over and helped me to get it at least kind of right, which I really appreciated. Once she was done helping me, she went back to her own mat and proceeded to do a headstand and split her legs so that her toes actually touched the ground on each side of her body. I think I actually stopped even trying to do my lame little shoulder stand and just watched her. It was absolutely incredible what she was able to do with her body.

We finished with about 10 minutes of Savasana, which I just loved, and then just like that we were back into the chilly world and I was sprinting and shrieking across the road back to the car in my flip flops because it had turned into a torrential downpour rainstorm while we were peacefully doing our thing in the yoga studio.

Back to reality eh? 🙂

I’m planning to go back to the yoga studio this weekend for another class in some sort of effort to get myself on the injury prevention train BEFORE I even start to really train for my marathon.

I hope you all have a great weekend planned, I’m headed to see the new Hunger Games movie tonight and then to the States for some Christmas shopping on Sunday!

Before you leave today, I implore you; you must read this article about Surviving Whole Foods. It’s got to be the funniest thing I’ve read like….ever.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-maclean/surviving-whole-foods_b_3895583.html

Namaste friends!

Happy Friday Night!!

Although it was a short week, it’s been an insane one and I’m sure glad that the weekend is here. I’ve got high hopes for this weekend in terms of getting ready for Christmas, including buying our very first set of Christmas lights and putting them up (enter stage right: Matt with a ladder), doing some baking, finishing off my Christmas cards and maybe if there’s time, getting into the mall to start my Christmas shopping.

I cannot believe its November 15^th and I haven’t even started my shopping yet. Oh the shame. Normally I start shopping in October, and I’m pretty much done by the end of November, but then spend the rest of December picking up “extra” things that I see that I think people might like. This year I think I’m going to be one of those mad panicked shoppers bolting around the mall the week before Christmas….which I’m not overly disappointed about. I always kind of wish that I had more of an excuse to go to the mall in December (and all year long to be honest) anyways 🙂

Another thing that I’m really looking forward to this weekend is a yoga class at this new yoga studio in Oakville. I recently bought a Groupon for 20 yoga classes over the next three months, and I’ve been itching to get started ever since I bought it. Yoga is one of those things that I always wish that I had time to cram into my schedule, yet somehow it never makes it in. Don’t the yogis always say that the people that need yoga the most are the ones that can’t find the time for it?

True dat yogis. Point taken.

Anyways, I’m thinking about taking a Hot Yang/Yin Yoga class on Sunday night which is supposed to be evenly split between a higher energy, more athletic style of yoga for the first half of the class, and then a slower paced, more restorative and healing style of yoga for the second half. I of course am looking forward to the second half more than the first 😉

In all seriousness though, I know that cross-training is going to be a big part of my marathon training (how weird is it to not have the word “half” in front of the word marathon???? Guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to…) if I want to stay healthy throughout my training cycle. It’s going to be a real challenge to keep my body healthy because I’m going to be teaching high-impact classes on top of all the running that I need to be doing.

My friend Angela (who blogs over at www.eat-spin-run-repeat.com by the way!) posted a great article today from Running Competitor.com which outlines the four biggest problem areas for runners, and offers up some stretches and strengthening exercises to target these areas specifically.

The four areas (in no particular order) are: hips, glutes, hamstrings and ankles.

I’ve had injuries and issues with all four of these areas in the past, so this time I’m being proactive, and I’m committing to do at least one set of the exercises in this article before bed every night starting TODAY. Combine that with a regular yoga practice, and I’m hopeful that my joints and muscles will forgive me for the pounding they’ll be taking in the coming months.

Speaking of pounding…….I kind of made a bit of a mistake in my winter race sign-ups. Matt has been shaking his head at me and calling me a “silly goose” for the last week. I sort of double-booked myself for the first weekend in December by agreeing to do the 5km Santa Shuffle (in a full Santa suit) with my instructor friends from the gym on Saturday December 7th and also agreeing to do the 10.8km Eggnog Jog on Sunday December 8th. Throw in a BodyAttack class on the Saturday morning post-Santa Shuffle and I don’t know how much shuffling I’m going to feel like doing come Sunday night!!

Silly goose indeed.

Anyways, in the next week I’ve got to outline a bit of a training plan to get started on. Since I know that I can’t ramp up mileage quickly without injuring myself, it’s going to have to be a slow and steady process, and I know I’m going to have to start early. Stay tuned for the training plan!

Before you leave for the night, what are you up to this weekend?! What have you got on the go? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet??

Have a great weekend all!!

-Sara xo