Did you miss me this week? Did you notice I was missing?
I’m sad to say that although I promised downloadable training plans tomorrow, I wont have them for you.
Monday evening I was taken down by the flu, the real flu, not a stomach bug. I spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and all but 2 hours on Thursday home from work. š¤
Whether I make it to work on Friday is still yet to be seen. I can pretty much guarantee I won’t make it a full day, and extra sleep is something I wouldn’t say no to. And, if you heard my cough, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want me near you š·
I did make it to my doctor in time to get Tamiflu, but not eating much for 3 days has definitely taken its toll on my energy. š“
I don’t have much else to say, but wanted to pop in and say “hi”.
I’m not sure how to redirect this site to my new site….. Oops.
So if the website you’re on doesn’t look like the below image, well….you won’t be seeing any new posts from me after this week (I’ll beĀ super annoying and keep updating you for the rest of this week because I’mĀ really good at being annoying).
You’ll also want to update your Bloglovin’ feed to follow me here.
Thanks so much for supporting me and sticking with me through all of this ā¤
I was torn between sharing my amazing collection of nut butters (truly, itās amazing) or talking about my food philosophy (if you could call it that) this week. Since last week I talked about trying to eat more, I thought it would be timely to talk about my philosophy as it relates to food.
As you can see, I have somewhat strong feelings (okay, that might be an understatement) as it relates to labeling foods as āoff limitsā.
Last week my forehead broke out in what I believed to be pimples, and upon getting feedback from my friends, some people thought they might be more related to an allergy. Iām lucky in that I can only ever recall one allergic reaction in my life. I was 12 or 13 and I ate six or eight eggs in a short amount of time one Easter and ended up breaking out in hives. As I hadnāt changed my skin care route, or detergent recently, my next assumption is that the bumps were related to a food intolerance.
Ugh.
See, my philosophy of eat all the things means Iāve never dealt with having any food āoff limitsā in my life.
Once when I was in Grade 11 I decided to go vegetarian for a month with my best friend, as her boyfriend at the time was vegetarian. I think I lasted three or four days until we had salmon for dinner one night. I reasoned that some people who are vegetarians eat fish, so I could too.
I believe in eating healthy whole food
For a while when I was 20 or 21 I was working evenings and would regularly eat a protein bar for dinner. I reasoned that because it was a protein bar it was healthy; therefore it was an acceptable alternative.
I canāt tell you how much current me cringes at that.
The closest Iāve come to consuming a protein bar, is having a Vega Vibrancy bar as a snack last week.
Iāve seen a ton of people raving about Quest bars lately, but Iād much rather eat real food instead of a bar designed to taste like cookies or a cinnamon bun.
This said, in my attempt to eat more, I did pick up a handful of bars for afternoon snacks on days that I run. Theyāre also easy to toss into my purse on weekends, as I find Iām having a harder time-consuming enough on weekends after my long runs, but thatās a story for another day.
Counting is for accountants
Okay, so I am an accountant, but I have no desire to count calories or macros.
While I do think itās helpful to occasionally check in and see how Iām doing calorie and macro-wise, Iām certainly never going to live and die by those numbers.
I consciously work to consume sufficient quantities of carbs, protein and fat, but Iām really not going to get fussed if one day I eat more protein and another day I eat more carbs. I fully believe that being conscious to it (and Iām actively working to consume more protein) Iāll give my body what it needs.
If I want it, I eat it
I donāt believe in denying myself food
Yes, I have some weird and wacky food rules, but if I crave something, Iāll eat it. I may not always eat it right that second but I will eat it.
Iāve been craving red meat, specifically a good juicy burger, so thatās on my list to eat this week.
I also eat dessert nearly every night. At the bare minimum Iāll have two or three dates with peanut butter as my dessert. On Sunday I shared some of my gelato collection with a friend and had some dates. I didnāt feel one bit bad about it.
I donāt believe in guilt
When ever I make a choice as it relates to food, I do so consciously. Okay, most of the time I do so consciously.
Since Iām the one making the choices as it relates to my food, I see no reason to beat myself up for my choices. If I decide to get fries with my hamburger, Iām going to get fries with it and Iām going to enjoy every last one of them.
I believe in moderation
This week I may treat myself to a burger and fries ā but I can tell you Iām not going to eat a burger and fries every day, or even every week. Heck, I probably wonāt even do it every month.
Iāll have dessert every night, but it will be a few spoonfuls of gelato, or two or three dates, or one of Amyās amazing cookies (although I really wanted to eat the whole batch!).
Iāll have a glass or two of wine on the weekends, but not a bottle. Most of the time. Sometimes a bottle is necessary š
Originally I had hoped to share my awesome new running gear with y’all today. On Thursday I walked to visit Victoria at The Tech Shop and picked up some spiffy gear – obviously that should be my treat, right?!
Except last night I just crashed.
Straight up.
So I treated myself to an evening on the couch with hot chocolate and hockey in the background.
I didn’t even run.
No joke. Not even Marathon Monday got me to run. Yikes!
That’s how I knew I needed some time to just chill. I put on my running gear and made it about 15 steps outside before I felt like I might cry. When I say I don’t “do” tired well, I’m truly not exaggerating. When I’m tired I completely melt down. It’s not pretty. This is the number one reason I don’t think I’ll ever be able to participate in Ragnar – no one wants me crying and throwing a tantrum in their van. #diva
100% how I felt on Monday
Aside from an evening on the couch, I did treat myself this weekend, so let’s talk about that instead š
Friday I managed to sleep in and it.was.glorious. You have no idea. I did attempt a run, but my left shin was being a bit of a bitch, so I called it 4km in and just chilled on the couch for the rest of the day. I watched some more of Season 5 of The Good Wife and watched some hockey. I’ll call that a great day.
This was my view on Friday. #sigh #sickofwinter
Saturday I was up early-ish for a hair appointment. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a trim, but I always feel so nice with fresh hair š I managed to get groceries and head out for a nearly 16km run and I even added in some hills. Awesome! After showering and chilling I met up with some girlfriends for snacks, wine and Cards Against Humanity. Oh, I laughedĀ so hard.
Saturday’s run in the sun after snow on Friday
Unfortunately it’s my lack of sleep on Saturday evening that’s catching up with me now. I wouldn’t say I got home super late, I was in bed just after 1am, but Merlin decided to be a bit of a jerk and pull out all of his toys and play – in my bedroom – until 2am. This was then followed by a 6am wakeup call. Like I said, it’s a really good thing he’s cute!
I very much debated not going for my run on Sunday, but I headed out and had an amazing run. 15km and under a 4-hour marathon pace. Woo! It’s been a while since I felt that strong after a run. It’s probably due to the insane amount of Tostitos I ate on Saturday evening š
Sunday’s super kick ass run #fueledbywine
After my run I watched some more hockey, set up online accounting for a company I’m doing some work for (nerd alert!) and ate some gelato with a friend.
Not to be outdone, I met up with two girlfriends for lunch on Monday. We headed to a new restaurant and I had a delicious ramen for lunch. Sooooo good!
It’s been a while since I was able to treat myself to running outside in great weather (I got a tan!!) and laughs with girlfriends – it was so good for my soul.
Up next week – I’ll share with you my awesome running gears!
Oh, and I also did a dorky blog quiz and since this post is already awesomely random – here ya go!
Just a bit of a warning: I’m told as of today my domain is moving over from WordPress to my hosting company. I admit I have no freaking clue what this means for my blog. If you suddenly see it and then *poof* it’s gone – that’s probably what happened.Ā
Happy Marathon Monday, my friends!! I considered taking today off to watch the Boston Marathon ā sadly, Iām stuck at work, so Iāll try to follow along as best I can while working.
I hope everyone had a great weekend with friends and family.
I was able to catch up on sleep a little bit; however, I got to bed way too late on Saturday night and then Merlin decided since I was awake, we should play. Needless to say, I was pretty dang tired come Sunday ā but I still managed to get my run in!
Exercise
Monday
10km easy
7.5km easy
Tuesday
4×1.5 miles strong
Rest due to my ankle
Wednesday
Off
Off
Thursday
15k tempo
Rest due to my ankle
Friday
12k easy
4k treadmill
Saturday
15k easy
15.8km easy
Sunday
16k long
15k long
Total planned mileage: 78km; actual 42.3km
I did have to take two unscheduled days off due to my ankle being cranky, but Iām happy to say after running on Saturday and Sunday itās feeling great! It was feeling fine on Friday, but my legs and I were not getting along with the treadmill. I have no idea what the problem was, but I kept stopping due to pain and starting and it was crazy frustrating.
I seriously debating not running on Sunday. I was visiting with girlfriends until after midnight (thatās late for this gal!) and then Merlin kept me up until 2am and woke me up at 6am. Oof. I was dang tired. I did manage to convince myself to get out there and run and Iām super glad I did ā I had an amazing run! This isnāt the first time Iāve had a great run after a crappy nightās sleep.
This upcoming week weāre scheduled to have a lot of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday, so hopefully the treadmill and I are able to be friends again. I feel like Iāve spent so much time on the treadmill this winter ā Iām really looking forward to running outside all the time.
Hereās what week 13 looks likeā¦
Monday
13km easy
Tuesday
4×1.5 miles strong (since I missed this last week, Iām going to repeat it this week) Happy Heart 5k
Wednesday
Off
Thursday
17k tempo (maybe one day Iāll get a tempo run inā¦)
The forecast is a bit deceiving ā Tuesday doesnāt look terrible, until you see 15mm-20mm of rain in the forecast. Ummm, ew.
Iām undecided how Iām going to tackle the half on Sunday ā Iāve thought about treating it like a race, and Iāve thought about just using it as a training run, but I really canāt decide. This might be a race-day decision depending on how Iām feeling and what the weather looks like. Either way, itāll be nice to run a new route š
Tell me: Do your strong runs seem to come out of the blue?
Iām also linking up withĀ Amanda,Ā KrystenĀ andĀ ErickaĀ for #bestfoot Monday todayĀ
I’m told not everyone had Good Friday off for the Easter weekend. Major bummer. I wasĀ pumped for a long weekend. Sleeping in. Running. Relaxing. It was needed after working all weekend last week.
Yesterday I slept for 10 hours. I needed it, oh, did I ever. I don’t often sleep that much (lies, I do every weekend that I can) but I enjoy it when it can!
Last night I was supposed to attend a bonfire with my girlfriends, but we had to postpone it due to snow. Yup. Snow. In April. What. The. Heck?! As bummed as I was to have to reschedule, it meant that I was neither tired nor hungover for my 9:45 hair appointment today. No, I’m not sure why I decided to book a 9:45 hair appointment on a Saturday – I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time?
Fun Fact
At my massage a week and a half ago, I was commenting to my massage therapist that nail polish willĀ never ever stay on my nails. My theory was that it had something to do with the natural oils of my nailbed and it was confirmed!
She actually can’t make bread that requires kneading because her natural oils affect how it rises. So, ladies (and gents!) if you ever want to get out of needing to knead bread, blame it on your natural oils!!
Images
I love this owl. I think he should be my mascot. Well, aside from Merlin, that is.
I Think I Need to Eat MoreĀ <– THANK YOU so much for all of your amazing comments on this post. It was a bit scary to put all that out there, and I’m so glad to see I’m not alone! ā¤
I’ve been having aĀ ton of issues with Bloglovin’ lately. When Google Reader disappeared I went with Bloglovin’ over Feedly because I liked that I was able to see the blog and I thought the set-up was great, but over the past week nearly one-third of all blogs I follow look like this.
Sad face is RIGHT.
If I’ve noticed I’ve missed your blog, I’ve tried to remember to go to your site, but IĀ know there are some I’ve completely missed and even thought it’s not my fault, I feel badly. I’m certain I’m missing out on some kick-ass posts and that bums me out.
So, if anyone has any recommendations for a new reader, send ’em my way! š
I Am Not Special via Erica House <– I looooove this post, and I’ve felt the same as Erica. I’m really not that special because I do crazy things like run. I just do it.
Ā I didnāt wake up one morning and just start running with ease. Just two years ago I celebrated being able to run one full mile without stopping!
Our Grocery Budget is $800 (And Why We’re Okay With It) via Back To Her Roots <– I can totally relate to this. I spent a LOT on food for someone who only ever cooks for one. I enjoy food. And I enjoy preparing food, so sometimes my budget is a teeny bit higher than it should be. Oops.
Antibiotics via A Gutsy Girl <– I fully support not running to antibiotics as soon as something is wrong, but I was surprised at the backlash Sarah received for choosing to take antibiotics after being ill forĀ five days.
9 Videos You Can’t Miss This Week via BuzzFeed <– I’m highlighing one that you should watch. YouĀ need to watch. Trust me, just click play.
5 Tips to Improve Your SEO via The Healthy Maven <– 5 tips that are pretty easy to implement. Now I’ve added a TON to my blog “to do” list. I promise I’ll get to it eventually (actually, probably not until after my race – but after that? WATCH OUT!)
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies via The Little Honey Bee <– I recently purchased almond flour and I keep looking for recipes so this is perfect! Yum!
Effort Is Not Pain via A Life Less Bullshit <– I’m not even sure how to sum this up, other to say, Nicole nailed it with this one. Go read it š
Can I Run a Marathon? via Mile Posts <– last weekend I was talking to a girl on a break and the subject of my ultra came up (doesn’t it always?) and she made a comment about needing to walk when she runs. I chuckled and said, “Oh, I totally take walk breaks” and she was amazed. So, yes,Ā you, anyone can run a marathon.
What Are Macronutrients: Protein via Jessie Loves To Run <– I can’t share just one post in a series, so here’s Jessie’s post on protein (links to the other two are in Jessie’s post for y’all).
An Unusual What I Ate Wednesday via Oatmeal With A Fork <– I’m glad Lauren addressed what’s become a bit of a trend for WIAW, and that is questioning what people eat. I don’t see it stopping, but I’m glad she she was so transparent in her writing.
11 Helpful WordPress Plugins for Your Blog via . running with spoons . <– Amanda’s timing is absolutelyĀ perfect on this post as I bought a self hosting package on Thursday. I’m waiting for my domain to transfer from WordPress.com to my new host and I’mĀ really hoping I don’t break my blog when I end up making the transfer. I ended up reading all the comments and entering them into my list in Wunderlist (thanks for the recommendation, Kim!!)
Can Being Religious Make You Healthier? via Greatist <– the biggest takeaway from this is community and connections improve your health. So go forth and make connections (religious, or not).
Do You Have to Count Calories to Lose Weight? via Bring Joy <– very timely considering my theme of the week. I definitely agree that tracking food for a period of time to get you “on track” is extremely helpful.
Ā Tell me: What’s your favourite post from the week?
PS – since I forgot to do this yesterday: it’s one month less one day until my birthday š
Thank you all so much for your love and comments on my post yesterday. I’m torn between feeling glad that I’m not alone in this and feeling sad that magazines and the media have completely skewed our way of thinking of food and calories. I have something a little more light-hearted for you today, so I hope you enjoy it!
If you follow me on Instagram I’m sure you’ve seen the occasional picture of my pretty guy, Merlin. (If you don’t follow me on Instagram, why the heck not?!).
Some days his pretty is his only saving grace. Truly. I’ve often uttered, “You’re lucky you’re cute” in response to something he’s done.
I’m also fairly certain that he’s training me to be able to one day (maybe?) live with a toddler. (Or convincing me I should stick to cats. I haven’ yet determined which).
1. You pee with the bathroom door open. Now, I’m sure this is likely for somewhat different reasons, but I’m also sure toddlers will likely cry outside the door like the cat. However, I’m pretty certain a toddler won’t hop up on your lap for cuddles while you’re peeing. Maybe.
2. You’re woken up at early hours because they’re hungry. Unlike a Merlin, who tells me this at 5am by jumping on my bed and meowing, I have a feeling a toddler would more likely call out from their bedroom. But what do I know, maybe toddlers also like to hop up on the bed and roll around until you a) kick them out of the bedroom and shut the door, or 2) feed them.
3. They crawl up your leg whenever you’re in the kitchen. Merlin does it because he wants to be picked up. I think toddlers do it for that reason also?
4. If they eat and then play, they puke. Pretty self-explanatory there.
5. They celebrate poops. Again, pretty self-explanatory. But really, don’t we all?
6. They make up silly little games. Merlin’s current favourite is “I must beat you into the bedroom anytime you walk into the walk-through closet. He zooms past me and jumps up onto the bed.
7. You’re constantly asked “Why? Why? Why?”. Maybe Merlin doesn’t so much ask, “Why?” as he does chat all.day.long. Yes, it does eventually stop being cute.
8. Forget the actual present; boxes are the best! Put a big empty box in front of a cat or a toddler and I’m sure they’ll be pleased as punch!
9. At the end of the day when they curl up into you and purr (okay, maybe purring is only the cat) everything is right with the world. Whoa. How is that for super sappy? š
While it may be mid-way through the week for most of you, I just have one more day of work until I get a long weekend. Let me tell you, I’m very much looking forward to having an extra day to rest and sleep in.
Today’s post is an excellent example of why I’m not so great at WIAW posts.
I did awesome and taking pictures of my meals all the way until dinner. And then? Plain old forgot. Whoops. So today you can see everything minus my (super amazing) dinner š
Breakfast
By now you probably know I’m a creature of habit. Same breakfast every week day.
Boring š
I promise to remember to take pictures of my weekend food one day because it’sĀ far more interesting š
Snack
Oh. Hey. Trailmix.
That’s new.
Heh.
Lunch
Since I ended up working all last weekend I had no time to grocery shop. Thankfully I had food in my fridge from my Costco run, so lunch was the most amazing soup…
…baby carrots…
…and a hot cross bun with coconut butter.
I can’t believe it took me so long to make coconut butter. I used Ang’s recipe and it turned out so yummy!!
I also had some chocolate for lunch dessert, because lunch dessert is important.
Snack
Refresh tea with vanilla syrup and some milk. Noms.
Banana – note the lack of banana spots. This one was pretty much perfect! with strawberries.
I know it’s not exactly strawberry season, but these were on sale and they looked good to me.
The dinner that wasn’t
After work I came home and had a slice of cheese…
[insert picture here]
…and a small glass of wine to told me over until dinner time.
[insert picture here]
I was cooking dinner for a friend and I had the most amazing dinner planned!
Hand-made perogies that were filled with potato and cheese AND another kind with sauerkraut. Seriously amazing.
[insert picture here]
We paired the perogies with bratwurst, beans and beats. Seriously, so amaze.
[insert picture here]
I’m kind of bummed I forgot to take pictures, but by the time it was 7:40 I was far too concerned with shoveling food into my face and didn’t remember about pictures until I’d cleaned my plate.
Guess that just goes to show how yummy my dinner was š
Tell me: What was the favourite thing you ate yesterday?
Have you ever had a day where you knowĀ exactly what you’re going to post about, but you just can’t seem to do it?
That was me last night and earlier this morning.
Topic was determined (yay for Tuesday!!) and I knew what I was going to say, but the discipline, or motivation, or whatever was completely lacking.
Having a messed up ankle sure doesn’t help when talking about the awesome running gear I bought for myself, considering I’m NOT ABLE TO RUN RIGHT NOW š¦
In case you missed it last night, here’s a super sexy picture of my turgid (heh) ankle.
In case you’re uncertain of the turgid reference, here’s a YouTube video for you….
And then there’s the knowledge that it’s the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. And that just makes me all sorts of emotional. I feel like it’s wrong to not acknowledge it, but I also don’t have anything thought-provoking or profound to say about it.
But I am thinking about it.
Now that y’all know all about why this post took me a bit to write, let’s get to the meat of it.
Treats!
Today’s are all running focused – first up clothes!
This means you’ll be subject to a lot (seriously, a lot!) of bathroom mirror selfies. #sorrynotsorry
I told you it was a lot š
IĀ lurveOiselle clothes. A lot. ⤠They’ve become my absolute favourite clothes to run it.
1 – they’re totally cute and soft and BIRDS. Yay!
2 – I love what they stand for.
I’ve worn everything with the exception of the Lesko Shimmel and I have to say, I love of them.
Next up?
SHOES!
Since my mileage is approaching crazy-ville, I reasoned I would benefit from more shoes. I know, I know, but still.
These arrived on Friday and I was pumped!
Yesterday I mentioned one of the pairs was too big – that would be the pink ones – the Gravity III’s. I’ve already heard back from Newton and the exchange to a half-size smaller is no problem at all.
Newton Running gets a HUGE thumbs up from me for amazing customer service!
With these purchases I should be set for training and races for the next little while, but as every runner knows, we can always justify a purchase š
Tell me: What’s your favourite brand of running apparel and shoes?
Iām linking up withĀ BeckyĀ for Treat Yourself Tuesday today.
Instead of reviewing and planning my training last night, I threw myself a bit of a pity party. After spending all day Saturday and most of Sunday grading papers I was pumped to go for a run….and then everything kind of fell apart.
I was all excited to run in my new shoes because running in new shoes is awesome and amazing and wonderful.
But? They’re too big š¦
My heel kept slipping out and I finally turned around and stomped home.
I was extra bummed until I realized I can exchange themĀ no questions asked for up to 30 days.
So then I poured myself a glass of wine and watched The Good Wife.
Exercise
Monday
10km easy
4km – my legs were like lead.
Tuesday
6x1mile strong
4×1 mile (10.11km)
Wednesday
Off ā Massage!!
Off!!
Thursday
15k tempo
8.5km tempo. Ish.
Friday
12k easy
12k easy
Saturday
15k easy
2k walk
Sunday
29 long
š¦
Total planned mileage: 91km; actual 55.7km
As of today there are 47 days until my race. I keep telling myself that the crappy running days are “mental training” days, I had a lot of them this week.
After running 21.1km on Sunday, my run on Monday wasĀ hard.Ā Unbelievably hard.
That said, I did notice my legs felt good on Tuesday, so that counted for something. I felt great on Tuesday until my stomach decided it had other plans. Like lead in my tummy. IĀ really wanted to get in my last two intervals but it just wasn’t happening. At all.
Thursday was a mess of “what can go wrong”. First, I decided to do a hard run the day after my massage therapist stripped my shins. Yeah, probably not a great idea. Then I wore stiff speed shoes. Again, not a great idea. I did make it half distance, which felt good – and confirmed that it reallyĀ does take me 30 minutes to get warmed up when running.
This weekend didn’t quite go as planned. At all. I’m a bit bummed about it, but I’m also not going to beat myself up over it. I so rarely end up working all weekend, and I’m pretty certain one weekend of low mileage won’t kill me.
Hereās what week 12 looks likeā¦
Monday
10km easy
Tuesday
4×1.5 miles strong
Wednesday
Off
Thursday
15k tempo
Friday
12k easy
Saturday
15k easy
Sunday
16k long
Total planned mileage: 78km
I’m feeling good about this upcoming week.
I’m pumped about having Friday off, so I can sleep in, be lazy and run.
Today is gorgeous, so I brought my running gear to work with me so I can run at lunch. This means my run will probably only be about 7km, but I think it’s a fair trade off to be able to enjoy a bit more of the evening š
Tell me:Ā How long does it take you to get warmed up for a run?
Iām also linking up withĀ Amanda,Ā KrystenĀ andĀ ErickaĀ for #bestfoot Monday todayĀ