Bring on September

I think the Summer has flown by way too quickly… and here we are already into the Labor Day long weekend.  I am not ready for Fall.  We have had such a glorious Summer on the West Coast… much drier and warmer than it has been for many years and I don’t want it to end!

Looking back over the past week I am quite pleased with my workouts. I strength trained 3 times, ran twice including some sprint work, did some walking, and lots of stretching.  I feel good and can see some muscles in my arms and legs.  Hurray for that!

Confession time though, hanging my head... I do know that I need to get more serious about cleaning up my diet.  I have been sliding off the Paleo/Primal slope and I can tell by the way I am feeling I need to get re-focussed.  I have been eating some junk and it is time to STOP.

I picked up this book at the library the other day and have decided to use it for the month of September. 

When I first looked at it I was a bit put off by some of the language, but I decided to give it a second chance when Keri made a positive reference to it on FB… Chalene is very energetic and positive and I think it will be a good tool to help me get focussed and build some good habits.

There is also online support through 30 Day Push Challenge - check it out if you are interested, too.

So, bring on September… apparently I am READY!

Do you ever feel like September is the beginning of a new season for you too?

Any goals for the month?

Loving My Early Runs

Is there anything better than coming in from a run, all sweaty and hot and stripping off your shirt? 

Ah… just feels so good… and I love the glow that my skin has after a good hard run.  No, I don't mean the sweat, I mean the natural pink shine that remains after the sweat is wiped away!

For the past few weeks, I have been getting out for my runs before breakfast.  And I am really enjoying them more.

Before we bought the sailboat, The Captain and often ran together on a weekend morning.  We would have coffee, share a banana and a Power Bar, and then head off for a 5 mile run to, and around ,a large river front park near our house.  Sometimes I would do a 10 miler on Saturday mornings after my Weight Watchers meeting… again, before breakfast.

After we bought the boat, I learned to spend my early mornings outside in the cockpit, sipping coffee and enjoying a book,  or the view… then we would have a leisurely breakfast and if I ran, it was usually late morning.  Then I could clean up before lunch and the afternoon’s activities.

This became my habit even if we were on the boat in the marina, or when we spent the Winter on shore in a waterfront cottage or house-sitting for travelling friends.  Mid to late morning runs meant a big breakfast and a wait…  the focus of the morning became the run itself.  It was always noon before I was ready and cleaned up to carry on with the day.

But since I started my first-thing-in-the-morning strength workouts and enjoy getting it done, I have been doing the same thing with my runs. 

I still have my coffee and a protein powder-fruit-almond milk shake of some kind… then put on the running gear and head out.  Mornings along the nearby Strait are so beautiful.  And every day is different depending on the wind, sunshine, and tides.  There are always happy dogs running in the off leash area, and friendly people along the way.  It is a fun and positive start to the day.

I love to come in and drink some water and stretch and then have a big hearty breakfast before showering and getting on with my day.    Today’s brekkie was scrambled egg/egg whites, with kabocha squash and crumbled bacon.

It is still early enough, even after showering to do something else with my morning hours.  It seems I have more hours in my day when I run first thing, instead of leaving it till mid morning.

The transisition to running at this time of the day had a few challenges though… finding the right food to eat before running, and the right amount took some experimenting.  I learned I cannot run on a completely empty stomach.  And so as not to reveal too much information, I will only say that my morning bathroom routine took a while to come around as well.  You other runners will know what I am talking about.  :)

For now, it works, and I am loving it.

What time of day do you like to run?  Do you have a set routine?

What do you eat before your run?

The Weekly Wrap-Up

I am so happy with the way my workouts have gone this week… heck, I am just happy in general.

It seems a lot of the little nagging undone things on my ’to do’ list have been finalized and crossed off. I had no idea how much they had been weighing me down and causing me stress until they were taken care of and gone. 

I am no longer wandering around the kitchen opening doors looking for something to munch on, and no longer feeling ‘hungry’ and unsettled all the time.   I didnt’ know what was wrong with me until it WASN’T anymore. 

Does that happen to you?  Do you ever mistake inner turmoil for hunger?

Anyway… my workouts for the week…  I was invited to be part of a little group of people who are following one of Tom Venuto’s workouts for a few weeks… by Kammie,  a fellow FitFluential Ambassador, who writes Sensual Appeal.  It is a program of strength training 3 X per week and cardio 3 X per week.  Kammie laid out the details and it looked good to me so I jumped on board and have just completed week #1.

This is how it went:

Monday:

• The prescribed strength workout of super sets called PUSH - worked the upper body and the core.  I completed it in 18 minutes.
• full body stretch 5 minutes

Tuesday:

• 7.5 km run before breakfast
• lower body stretch 5 minutes

This is my longest run for some time and I was thrilled to surpass my usual 5 km.  I love morning runs along the sea.

Wednesday:

• the prescribed strength workout of super sets called PULL – worked the lower body, and biceps.  I completed it in 28 minutes.
• full body stretch 5 minutes
• 20 minute walk

This workout left me absolutely shaking like jelly.  I loved it and on Thursday morning had SERIOUS DOMS in my biceps and my butt!  I am going to get some heavier dumbbells as I intend to make progress with this workout!

Thursday:

• 30 minute early morning walk before breakfast
• 70 minute afternoon walk

Friday:

• 5 km run before breakfast
• lower body stretch 5 minutes

Saturday:

• Take It Anywhere full body Tabata workout for 24 minutes
• full body stretch 5 minutes
• 20 minute walk

This Tabata has cardio, resistance, and core and leaves me dripping. I usually do 2 rounds which takes me 24 minutes.  I forgot that I need to eat a little something before hand and didn't!  I was ravenous for breakfast by the time it was done... note to self... make some more Frozen Protein 'Bites'.

And today, Sunday, I am planning an hour long walk shortly! 

We are watching the tail end of the LPGA Canadian golf tournament on tv and when it is done we are heading out to walk downtown to have a look at tennis gear and dumbbells at Sport Chek. I have some gift cards that are burning a hole in my pocket!

We have both decided that it would be fun to play tennis together on a nearby public court over the winter…it never gets used so we could pretty much have it to ourselves.

And I still want to get in some yoga….  and yes, I now I need to do some sprint work too.

Did you enjoy your workouts this week? 

Do you ever do anything just for fun like tennis, or beach volleyball, or hiking, or biking… or?? 

Saturday Smiles

A few special things making me smile today… thinking back over the week….

This lovely package of goodies arrived unexpectedly at my door – what a great surprise!  Thanks to my friends at CLIF for thinking of me.

On Wednesday afternoon we met up with some friends that we hadn’t seen for a couple of years.  We did lots of cruising/buddy boating with them before they sold their sailboat and moved to one of the smaller Gulf Islands.   We walked to meet them at our neighborhood Starbucks, so I wore my Therafit shoes and matching Pro Compression socks to be comfy, some white Dockers, an Eddie Bauer tee… and yes,  those ARE the straps of a Handful bra you can see peeking out of my tee.  It’s pink. It matches.   And I am finally starting to like my new haircut…

The local fresh blueberries are so wonderful this year.  They are really sweet and I am enjoying them cooked too… I like to put some in the batter of my coconut flour pancakes.  Mmmmm.

I am still experimenting with different flavor combinations of these little Frozen Protein ‘Bites’.  I wrote about them on my food blog earlier this week so check that out if you want the recipe.

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I tried a new magnesium supplement for the first time yesterday.  A friend of mine who is a nurse recommended it.... it is called Natural Calm. It is a powder that you mix with water to make a somewhat fizzy drink.  I had it before going to sleep last night and I didn’t have any leg cramps at all, even though we did a 5 km run yesterday.  Hopefully it will be the magic elixir for me.  I chose the Raspberry-Lemon flavor.   It certainly tastes good!

And, I have had a great week of workouts so far… will tell you about that in a post tomorrow!

What is making you smile today?

Tuesday Tidbits

I got a lovely package delivered very recently… Premier Protein is a favorite of ours.

I won this package in a giveaway and when I gave the blogger my address she told me that Premier Protein will not ship to Canada… which I know is not true because I had received shipments from them in the past. But she was adamant.  So I contacted Premier Protein on my own and they very promptly sent me out the goodies, and apologized on behalf of the blogger… no I didn’t bother telling her.  I was just so happy to get my winnings!

And I got another box of goodies in the mail, too.



These are delicious!  And although I was surprised to find that they have corn flour, they are gluten-free and have lots of protein.  Very crispy and tasty.

I have been looking into workout options...  thought about doing another round of Best Body Boot Camp but decided, as much as I loved it, I wanted to try something else.  I checked out several online training sites, and while searching, this blog post appeared in my inbox...from Kammie at Sensual Appeal, and it is about some fitness programs she has used and her thoughts about them. I was intrigued, and had a look at their web sites.

And when I contacted Kammie for a bit more information about one in particular, she kindly invited me to be part of a small, private group who is going to follow that program and encourage each other on a daily basis.  It is not a challenge; it is a group of #FitBuddies and it sounded like fun.

I checked  out the details and I think it will be right up my alley.

Strength train 3 X per week and cardio 3 X per week.  There are 2 different strength workouts assigned... one is a PUSH workout and the other is a PULL workout... and I am not sure yet what is in store for #3.  If it is a repetition of either of these 2 I just may do one of the workouts I found and shared last week - I loved all 3.

I did the first strength workout yesterday- the PUSH workout.  It was upper body and core work and I was quite spent when it was done.  Felt good and I really enjoyed my stretch afterward.

Today The Captain and I ran 7.5 km along the Strait, and then came in for a good long stretch and lots of water!  By then we were both pretty hungry… I cooked up some eggs and ham while The Captain carved into a fresh pineapple that we bought a couple of days ago… it is perfectly ripe and I had forgotten how good they taste. I think we will get another one on Thursday.

I am excited to have put in this mileage today… doesn’t sound like much but we have normally only been running 5 km every time we go out so this was a significant increase. I know that  I want to start running a bit longer again not that Fall is almost in the air.

I also want to do some more sprint work.  And yes, I still want to do some yoga.

Do your workouts change with the seasons?

Do you like fresh pineapple, too?  Any tips for selecting a great one at the store?