June Update: 592 Kilometers To Date

Bike: 6 km – Run: 1 km – Walk: 1 km

Monthly Total: 285.5 km

8 Thousand Kilometer Challenge Update:

April: 58.5 km

May: 248 km

June: 285.5 km

Total: 592 km

When I chose the goal of 8 thousand kilometers, I had envisioned a predominately bike heavy contribution. My bike was my baby and my running shoes – not so much. Then, Corina and Meghan challenged me to join them in our first 5 km race. The scale began to tip. Then, Ultimate season and MissFit Boot Camp entered my life. Suddenly, it’s all about the running shoes AND the bike. What the…???

All good, I say. A portion of this challenge was to try new things and write about it. Perhaps, my running shoes have taken time away from my bike, consequently taking less kilometers off the 8 thousand kilometer goal. The gains are in trying new experiences and then writing about it. Pretty decent gain.

Now, let us recap the highlights in June, shall we?

• Established running as a regular workout activity
• MissFit Personal Training Services Boot Camp 3 times a Week – Completed 8 Weeks of Training
• Bicycle Commute 3 times a week, including cycling to every Boot Camp session (snow, rain and shine)
• Camping trip incorporating hiking
• (June Goal): Participated in Bike to Work Day
• (June Goal): Detoxify and Cleansify my system for a week
• (June Goal): Pumped up the protein in my diet and introduced the Pesky Salad
• (June Goal): Identified a 10 km run event (Just need to officially sign-up. Stay tuned)
• (June Goal): Attended the local Farmers’ Market

Not too shabby! I did have a miss on the June Goal list – plan an epic bike tour. There is nothing official in the works, however there have been discussions surrounding attempting the Epinette Trail again (40 km route of natural gloriousness).

Here is what I am thinking about doing next:

• Plan an Epic Bike Tour
• Continue MissFit Personal Training Services boot camp. It will be reduced to once a week for the rest of summer.
• Sign-up for 10 km race event
• Look into yoga. I have been researching it and practicing sporadically.  I believe it may have a large, positive impact. (I am a little concerned about the time and cost factor. Will see.)
• Continue to work on nutrition.

Sweet veggie meat.

Monday Commute

Bike: 12 km

Monthly Total: 277.5 km

It is a Monday after our camping week-end and we feel sleepy. As well, it was my first Monday off in 8 weeks! I woke up at 5:20 and lay in bed – daydreaming and surfing my iPhone for social media updates. It was a gorgeous morning with a bright sun and cool temperature. It made me think of my spring commutes.

For sure, I had to ride the bike machine to work. I had minimal clean-up which is always a bonus. I ate nutritious and delicious foods all day – fruits, veggies, big salad, and a little bit of “healthy” trail mix. Although there was some hiking on the week-end, we ate like kings and queens – may have been slightly out of balance, but so worth it! Especially, when I make up for it the following week.

(Why does it work like that, by the way? Two days of indulgences equates to a week of recovery? I suppose it’s the universe’s way of punishing one for not living in moderation.)

I had a great commute home and nice evening with Jeremy. We’re both zonked, but recovered nicely with Jeremy’s dinner creation: tilapia, rice, cooked broccoli and cauliflower. Yum!

Here’s to a short week!

Ketchup from the Week-end

Bike: 16 km – Hike: 9.5 km – Run: 2 km – Walk: 1 km

Monthly Total: 265.5 km

Bonus Activity: Boot Camp, Camping, Climbing X-Large Hills to “Water” Washrooms

We had a fabulous week-end camping and Rushing River did not disappoint.

It all started on Friday where I rode my bike to my final session of MissFit boot camp. It was assessment day, to determine how much we had improved from the beginning. My best (and favorite) improvement was my run time. Four weeks ago, I ran the loop in 12:36 minutes. Friday, I ran it in 11:33. Some nice improvement, if I don’t say so myself!

We completed the assessment, did our last high fives for the session, and I hopped on my bike to ride home. (Fun Fact: I rode my bike to each and every boot camp workout – rain, shine or snow. Proud!) I had a quick shower, made myself presentable, and jumped on bike again. It was the official “Bike To Work Day” in Winnipeg and I was representing with the free t-shirt. Very warm day for biking, but I managed to clean myself up for a second time that day.

Friday evening, Mark, Alison, Jeremy and I headed for Rushing River. We got in late, set-up shop, and enjoyed a couple of bevies by the fire. Saturday, Jeremy treated us to a lovely fireside pancake breakfast. We then hit the trails. First we hiked the Beaver Pond Trail (1.5 km loop) which lead to the Granite Knoll Trail (5 km

loop). It is rated as “moderate” difficulty and was lovely.  It bordered Dogtooth Lake with a varied terrain of rock, hills, grass, and trees. We took a small break to enjoy some homemade power bars, compliments of Eileen. That hit the spot!

On Sunday, we hiked the Lower Rapids Trail (2 km loop). It flows around the Rushing River rapids, which gave us a great view of the water action. It had rained the night before, so there were many near slippages along the away. Mud bath anyone?

It was a great week-end that felt like we actually got away. There is nothing like nature to reset the soul. Here’s a picture from Sunday morning – sans shower and shave since Friday. Brilliant!

Rest Day Before the Fun Begins!

Today was a planned rest day to get ready for the week-end. I had a doctor’s appointment, which meant I had to take the car to work. Mind you, I would have loved to biked the 2 hour round trip! Common sense prevailed, when I realized that my employer probably wouldn’t appreciate my extended absence.

I had a team building event after work, which consisted of a BBQ and hanging out. A couple of us threw a disc around, which is always fun – got the blood moving a little bit. We had a business quiz, where the winner would receive a Keg gift certificate. Ironically, I won – the only pescetarian in the group. The Keg serves seafood, so I’ll make good use of it. Plus, I know Jere is proud.

The agenda for the next couple of days is jammed packed:

• Last Day of MissFit Boot Camp. It is assessment day to determine how much I’ve improved. MissFit will be holding a boot camp session once a week for July and August. I am going to sign-up.
• Winnipeg’s Bike to Work Day and I am all over it. Rain or shine, I will bike to work. I got a free t-shirt, so I have to represent!
• Camping at Rushing River. Lots of camp fire (vegetarian) goodness is planned, along with much hiking and swimming. I am super excited, as I love hanging out with nature.

I will be pretty technology free this week-end. I will be sure to report back by Sunday and include a picture of me in my snappy “Bike to Work Day” t-shirt!

Exercise Equals Body Awareness

Bike: 16 km

Monthly Total: 237 km

Bonus Activity: MissFit Boot Camp

I had boot camp this morning, bright and early. We did some High Intensity Interval Training, along with some TRX Suspension Training.  I really like the TRX – it was originally created for US Navy Seals to have the ability to workout in the middle of the desert. (H-Core!) You resist your own body weight, so it alleviates the need for various weighted dumbbells. Mine are currently gathering dust in the guest room. I’m sure Heather makes use of them, while visiting on the week-ends.

It was a super good workout – I felt on. Technically, it was our last session after 8 weeks of boot camp, as Friday will be our assessment day. Eight weeks! We’ve come along way in weather alone. The first session I rode up with my headlamp on and it was snowing. Insane.

Lisa had great words of wisdom to end our session: Exercise increases our body awareness. When you eat some crappy food (some say delicious, but not nutritious) or don’t catch the proper amount of zzzz’s, you feel the impact when you exercise. I really learned this lesson during Detox and Cleanse week, where it felt like I had lead weights in my shoes. When I exercised less, I would simply feel less energized and a sense of malaise. Now, there are consequences for moments of weakness – whether by choice or not.

Tonight, we ran errands for our upcoming week-end of camping. There will be veggie dogs, hiking, and fresh air galore. Can’t wait!

High Intensity Interval Training

Recent lesson of note.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a performance improvement activity that takes interval training to a whole new level. It consists of short bursts of cardio (95% of maximum) followed by a brief rest period for the duration of 15 to 20 minutes. There are claims that it is just as effective, if not more, then a longer endurance activity.

We do a variety of HIIT at our MissFit Boot Camp sessions. Lisa has researched this type of exercise and her personal training resources all say the same thing: HIIT burns just as much fat as endurance activities and can also increase your resting metabolic rate 24 hours after the activity. All good things and all accomplished in a shorter length of time.

As the focus of my challenge is endurance training, I can still greatly benefit from this type of activity. My main issue is that my body and mind fight to conserve energy for long endurance activities. Lisa is a long distance runner at heart and understood my plight. She said it takes some time to figure out what your body is capable of. Back in her Bison Track days, her coach would have them run a series of short sprints. The spinters would be exhausted after each session, where as Lisa was slower but could go longer. The sprinters knew how to push their bodies to the max. The long distance runners know how to conserve and endure. These are both great skills to have, the trick is to push your body as your training requires.

When Lisa has us do one of these drills, she says we should be out of breath. Lately, I have been frustrated as I feel that I am working hard, but my breath is not labored. These sessions usually include on the spot lunges, bench work and side-to-sides. Monday, Lisa had us sprint intermixed with strength. This may not be the traditional HIIT, but I can tell you – I was breathing HARD! Leave it to running to push one to the max!

The morale of the story is, quick effective workout sessions are possible. If you hit a plateau and are looking to up your performance level – Hight Intensity Interval Training is the name of the game. Lesson learned.

Happy Summer Solstice

Run: 6 km – Walk: 2 km – Bike: 4 km

Monthly Total: 221 km

When Jeremy woke up this morning, he thought, “If Pamela changes her mind and wants to sleep in, I’m totally game”. He turned to his side to find that I was no longer in bed. Suddenly, his second alarm went off and realized he better start moving.

Truth was, Monday was a killer for me.  Summer Solstice is one of the happiest, longest days of the year. Unfortunately, my work day had equated to one of the crappiest, longest days of the year. I may be a little dramatic, but I did go to bed last night with a tummy ache. Come morning, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. Crazily enough, I have become used to early mornings due to my MissFit boot camp experience. Thus, I knew I was off this morning.

With Ultimate Frisbee cancelled tonight, we scheduled a run instead. I threw on my cute green lululemon top (compliments of my sister) and we left the house at 5:30 AM. We were scheduled to do “4 X 10 minute run and 1 minute walk” sessions. Despite the rough start, I can honestly say I enjoyed our entire run. You heard me and I did not stutter. We took it easy and just enjoyed the early morning scenery. The bugs weren’t bad and the temperature was still cool – it was perfect. I consider Boot camp an intense workout and usually running is too. However, I think I’ve finally reached a point where I can either push the pace or just experience the pace – instead of all my run sessions feeling like agony.

My day was much better today, perhaps due to the fabulous endorphins gained early this morning. This evening, we enjoyed a nice vegetarian dinner,  followed by a walk through the park. It’s nice to start and end the day at Assinboine Park – even with the friendly neighbourhood mosquitoes!

Twitter was all about the Sun Salutations with it being the Summer Solstice. I learned this yoga sequence last year, when I attended classes at Yoga on Corydon. They are awesome to do before or after a run. I also like to do them whenever I feel I need a good stretch. Here’s a video on Sun Salutation A, as found on the Fit Sugar site. (Great one to follow on Twitter, if you’re into that.) The only thing I do differently, is step back into four-limbed staff.

Happy Father’s Day!

Bike: 4 km – Run: 5 km – Walk: 10 km – Canoe: 2 km

Monthly Total: 209 km

Bonus Activity: Boot Camp

We went to Killarney this week-end to spend Father’s Day with Dear Ol’ Dad. All the sisters were home and the house was a rockin’! There were eats and drinks, but a lot of activity points. Thus, a well balance week-end.

Saturday morning, Jeremy and I got up to run around Killarney Lake. The weather perfect with the usual “minor” inclines to contend with. We did some fun sprints to finish it up and it felt great!  We then did a tour around town and took Amy for a canoe trip. Nature was performing for us, with many turtles sightings. Turtle creeping is our new favorite activity at Killarney Lake.

Sunday morning, we decided to climb the hills around the water tower, followed by a tour of the official Killarney Nature Trail. On our way home, we found a lost little Jack Russell Terrier. After marching him around the nearby camp grounds, we ended up taking him home to ma and pa’s for a drink. Such excitement! Jeremy and I then took Lisa out for a canoe ride, where we spotted more turtles, a muskrat and a baby heron. We came back to find that poor Heather had burned her shoulders, which is a sign that summer is officially upon us. Poor girl!

We drove back to the city, very satisfied with our week-end. Mom called to inform us that little Jack Russell’s mom had be found, so all and all – a successful week-end.

Here’s a sunscreen’d me holding our new little friend. Love that pup.

Detoxify and Cleansify Review

Over a week ago, I undertook the complimentary, no obligation U-Weight Loss Cleanse. Lisa tried it and reported fabulous results. She is a certified personal training with a degree. She must know what she’s talking about.

The D & C, as I like to refer to it, was an interesting experience. As I didn’t buy into the U-Weight Loss Program, they didn’t give me all their secrets. However, I picked up some tips and hints from their sales pitch and Lisa’s experience. The week woudl consist of a vitamin pack taken twice a day before meals (supplied by U-Weight Loss), low calorie meals (aiming at 1100 cal/day), foods higher in protein, and no booze. This last for 1 week, which ended on Sunday.

I personally didn’t count my calories, as I have pretty good awareness since using my “Lose-It” ap this spring on my iPhone. I am not an expert, but I do know that cheese packs more of a calorie punch then I like to let on! In addition, I kept up most of my fitness conquests, so 1100 calories really wouldn’t cut it. My meals were repetitive but satisfying:

• Breakfast: Vega smoothie conquation or Vega Straight up. (Vegetarian protein powder)
• Snacks: Fruit
• Lunch: Pesky Salad (chick peas, pollack, feta, and whatever veggies were in the fridge)
• Dinner: Fish, veggies, light portions of pasta – NO ice cream, no matter how tempting it looked in Jeremy’s bowl. (The man loves his sweets! He was super supportive throughout the whole experience, I might add).

Through out the week, I felt very drained of energy. Boot camp, ultimate, and biking were all very draining. I felt a little headachy and dizzy at the beginning of the week, which lessened my appetite and was supposedly an indication of toxins leaving the bod.

It wasn’t a fun or easy week. However, here is what I got out of it:

• Less cravings for junk food this week. It’s like I’ve reset for the moment, although I am not sure how long it will last. It may be all in my head, but – isn’t that where cravings come from?
• I lost around 5 pounds. Checking the scale a couple of days later, they have remained off – so, possibly a solid weight loss?
• I have new meals to the repertoire. I have always had breads, pitas, and wraps for lunch in order to compensate for my lack of meat consumption. The creation of the Pesky Salad is sweet and I can’t believe we didn’t think of it earlier. I’m still toting them to work this week – minus the pollack, but added artichokes and olives. Some other future variations may include black beans and corn.
• My energy spiked by Monday night – a day after the D & C ended. That’s when I got the bright idea to test my limits with the Mega Tuesday: 5 km run, bike to work, and ultimate. Wednesday I did feel it, but I definatley managed the boot camp session.

Interval Training -Yikes

Bike: 16 km – Run: 5km

Monthly Total: 188 km

Bonus Activity: MissFit Boot Camp

I couldn’t believe when Lisa greeted me with “we’re running today” at 5:32 this morning. What?! After testing the limits of my endurance yesterday, running was the last thing I wanted to do.

However, I endured. Sigh. We did 2-4-6-8-4-2. I chased Sarah the whole way, but couldn’t quite keep up. (Normally, our pace matches). As I tested the limits the last couple of days, she had properly rested – and it showed. I definitely see the benefits of resting, as Sarah looked in top form and kicked my butt.

My lesson was not completely lost. I did run the entire interval and when Lisa finished it up with some “fun” sprints (and I thought I was the “marketer” LOL), it felt really good. Lisa recognizing my over anguish throughout this morning’s workout, prescribed me a week off after boot camp ends. I protested I HAD a week off during my D&C, but she disagreed. Three mornings of boot camp, plus ultimate frisbee, plus bike commute does not constitute as a “week off”. So, the first week in July, I will play ulti and have 2 cardio session 20 minutes each.

Until then, I’ll keep pushing… while minding my form. Big time.

P.S. I saw a fox in the park this morning. So cool!