Hungry...

Last night I was really hungry. After a fairly decent supper (have you seen the cover of bon appetit this month?), of Moroccan Turkey Burgers, I spent the evening feeling super hungry. I was craving ice cream, but promised myself I would only have ice cream if I ate a bunch of fruit and still felt hungry. So, I had a bowl of rainier cherries. They were so good. The bowl was big enough that I could have shared with my husband but I ate them all. Wow, I was hungry!! And, even after that I was still feeling really hungry. So, I had some ice cream. It was just a small little bowl. It was heavenly. I loved it. And after that, I was still hungry!! So, I drank some water. I mean, I can do the math, and I knew I had put in enough calories, but wow, I can't believe how hungry I felt last night. Here's hoping my body found some of the many stores of fat and found more nourishment there.

Not just for the military...

Boot camps were always known for their tough work in getting young recruits ready for the military. And in the last few years they are popping up all over the place for people trying to get in shape. I've always wondered what they were like. Recently though, I got to find out first hand.

I have been going to a trainer every two weeks. I meet with the trainer and two other ladies (makes it more affordable). Well, when the summer schedule came out for the fitness fix where we meet, they had forgotten about our sessions. So, they needed to adjust our sessions. We had the choice, come in earlier and do the session (doesn't work because I have to wait until the husband is home before I can leave), or come in at the same time, do half an hour with the trainer, then stay for another hour of boot camp. We choose the boot camp option.

Wow. I mean really, that's all there is to say. Boot camps are tough. They don't seem like it, but truly, I work harder in that hour than on most of my runs. This particular boot camp is a mix of cardio and strength exercises. The cardio portions are short, but very tough. Mostly sprints and fast types of exercise. And the strength is no walk in the park either. We're talking full body stuff, like push ups and squats and that sort of thing. By the end of the session, I am completely spent. Utterly exhausted. Having sweated buckets. And, every week, I keep thinking it will get a little easier but in fact, it gets even harder. This week for example. I used a spin bike for the cardio portions. It was a super nice change from the treadmill and running, but it was super hard. My legs were on fire!!

So, if you need to pump some new life into your exercise regime, consider a boot camp. It really is as tough as you might have heard, but the results are completely worth the effort!!

Still alive, really...

I have a confession to make. My husband got me an iphone. It's fantastic. I spend way less time on the computer, because I'm now spending that time on the iphone. When I am feeding the baby, I get time to read blogs, facebook, check emails, but don't need to be on the computer to do it. So, it keeps me off the computer, but it keeps me from updating my blogs regularly as well.

Luckily, I have still managed to fit in my running and exercise most days. I am very proud of that, since I'm sure the immediate guess is that I fell off the wagon and haven't wanted to admit it. I can say that I haven't been perfect, especially on the eating side, but I am very much still on the wagon for the most part. As a matter of fact, I even just checked my weight and if you can believe it was at 187.2 (84.91kg). So, I am still headed in a downward direction.

I attribute most of my success to exercise. I made myself a poster. It is counting down the weeks until the half marathon in the Okanagan in October (less than 11 weeks now, in case you were wondering). The poster is working out pretty well for me. Most wees I am able to colour in at least 4 squares (I have up to five a week). I made it through all the hills too. Now I'm onto speed work before the 10km in two weeks. It's coming together. My hope is that I will break an hour for the 10km. I don't know if I will or not. I will try my best. That is what I am aiming for. If I don't make it, I have another race in September and I could try then as well. Maybe it's a silly goal, but it's something that's important to me and I've been putting forth a lot of effort to reach that end. So, we'll see, stay tuned... only time will tell... but next time, I'll tell you about what has been really working for me lately with exercise... aside from just plain running...

A short vacation...

Sometimes life is busy. Being away from home is fun, but it can disrupt routines to no end. Just ask my son, who still seems to think going to bed at 10pm is okay. Oh well, we're working on that.

I spent 9 days travelling with my mom, and two sons. It was great. My husband was even able to join us for the weekend in Seattle. I had a lot of fun. We did a lot of driving (somewhere around 3000km I believe?). But, I did bring my running shoes with me, and I did, in fact, run. I managed to run three times while I was gone. Once in Kamloops, once in Bellevue (on a treadmill doing intervals), and once in Sun Peaks (the long run). It was fantastic. I was very grateful to my mom for watching the boys while I ran. That certainly helped me have the opportunity.

Eating however, was not so great. I made a lot of bad choices, but figured I was on holidays, so what the heck. I know that is no excuse, but I have nothing else. I indulged in some cheesecake, creme brulee, ice cream sundaes, and numerous Starbucks drinks as well. And let's not forget chips and dip, and chocolates, and sodas. However, there were a few positive moments. I drank 8 glasses of water most days. Had yogurt a few times. Ate some fresh fruit along the way. So, although my eating was not ideal, there were at least some moments that went well.

Now though, I am back home, and after a busy weekend of cake making, I am back on track. I went running this morning and I go to the trainer tonight. So, I can get back to training for my 10km and half marathon...