.Bug

It's no secret I have the travel bug. I'm practically planning my next vacation the day I get back from one. Don't get me wrong, it has nothing to do with me not liking Edmonton. I LOVE this city and hope to live here all of my life. I just love to explore new cities and do new things! I definitely got that from my Dad. 

Currently I have four vacations (at least) I want to take while I'm on mat leave. Vegas in July (Stella & Dot's national conference), Vancouver in October (Rock & Roll Half Marathon), Australia in November (to see hubby's sister & brother in law) and Florida in February (Princess Half Marathon). The only thing that is booked right now is Vancouver - and by booked all I mean is my entrance into the race. Nothing else will get booked until we make sure the baby is born and healthy and he's doing ok. Of course there's always that fun money issue...

My husband thinks that I think money grows on trees. Funny, because my parents used to say this all the time to me when I was a kid. I'll be the first one to say that I am not the greatest financial planner. I'm definitely better than I used to be, but one would say I'm not the best with money. So to plan four vacations on mat leave pay which I believe is about 55% may be a little crazy. That being said, I am determined!

I've been a little stressed about financials during mat leave but people keep telling me it's not as bad as it seems. I won't be driving to and from work every day so that will save me gas money. I'll be eating at home more often so that will cut down on the food budget for eating out. Our plan is to buy a lot of veggies and groceries a few weeks before the baby is due and start preparing freezer meals, so on those rough days when I'm tired and feeling lazy it will be easy to pop a pre-made meal in the freezer or slo-cooker. During January & February, I'm going to really work my Stella & Dot business and make some extra money to go into mat leave with. I plan to save my pennies as much as possible and see how the year goes!

The beach on our honeymoon in Saint Maarten in February/March 2014

We all have priorities. Although I'm settled down, I still want to see the world! But there has to be a happy balance. After March, we'll be providing for an extra person! And he will take priority over everything. I guess we'll see how it goes, but I'm motivated and excited to make this work! I've been pinning some tips on traveling with babies so I will definitely be educating myself so I'm prepared. 2015 is going to bring some unique challenges but also, hopefully, great joy. Happy early new year everyone!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I am ashamed to admit I never got into the squat challenge from the last post. I haven't even done ONE. Ug. I did go boxing day shopping on December 26th and got a great work out walking around West Edmonton Mall though! My feet have been sore for two days but it was 100% worth it. I snagged some good deals. All the maternity stores were empty - I assume because most people at seven months pregnant have no desire to deal with malls on Boxing Day! :)

PPS: HUGE winter sale going on at www.stelladot.com/DianneCK - you should check it out! Treat yourself to an after Christmas present :)

.Body Image

Most of us at one point or another have been uncomfortable with how we looked. I was very lucky in that I had a fabulous metabolism while I did competitive gymnastics up to my early 20's. I could eat whatever I wanted (which included fast food and way more pop than I should have drank) and not gain a pound or lose my washboard abs. I started to notice around 25 that I couldn't quite do that anymore. Not that I went on a diet, but I started to really read labels and look more into what I was eating. I am now a constant label reader and although I still give into cravings, I have definitely convinced myself to not eat something because of the calorie content, particularly when I was running on a regular basis!

During this pregnancy body image is something I'm struggling with. When you've been around the same size most of your life, it's very odd to go through these types of changes! I'm involved in a couple of baby message boards where some woman who are at the same stage I am are and have only gained 3-5 pounds - yet I'm at around 25 (the last doctor's appointment the nurse didn't even tell me how much I've gained, so I don't really know what that means haha). Most of the weight I've gained so far has been in the belly, and so far I've been able to avoid stretch marks by using a mixture of the Honest Company's Organic Healing Balm and Bio Oil every night before I go to bed. I bought two pairs of maternity pants two months ago and I absolutely hate them: although they seem like they'd be comfortable, my belly isn't big enough so they are constantly falling down. I've been making due with most of my current dress pants/skirts during the week with a belly band - which essentially helps keep your pants up even while they are unzipped! I can tell though that some of the weight is spreading out though because some of my pants are starting to get a bit too tight, so I'm kind of an in between stage. I also fight with my closet almost every morning. This dress is too short now, this shirt doesn't fit right, I don't have anything to match these pants, etc. I'm thankful for weekends when I can live in Lulus, sweatpants and Sweet Legs leggings!

This being said, I am not complaining. I am very grateful to be pregnant and excited to be a mom, no matter what a toll it takes on my body. It's just a bit of an adjustment, and I am very lucky that I have such supportive friends and family (especially my amazing husband) who are so complimentary and make me feel good! I've noticed that people are also very supportive of my eating habits; when I start to debate whether I should eat something I get the "don't worry, you're eating for two, it's ok!" As tempting as it is (I'm seriously hungry ALL the time), I'm trying purposely not to eat for two as I really want to get back working out/running after the baby. Although I know I'm going to gain weight, I want to try my best not to go overboard!

I've decided I'm going to challenge myself to a squat challenge. I'm going to try and do 10 squats a day every day after I get up or just before I go to bed. I've been feeling particularly lazy and although I'm not able to run anymore, there are things I can still do and this is something that won't take up much time but still be a bit of a workout. If 10 gets too easy, I'll add 1-2 each time and see how that goes. Anyone want to join me? :)

My friend Steinunn asked me yesterday if I enjoyed being pregnant. I've heard some women absolutely love being pregnant, and some that hate every minute. I'll be honest, I think I'm somewhere in between. The first couple months were spent being really stressed out & worried that something was going to go wrong. I had symptoms that could have meant things were going wrong but thankfully all the tests proved otherwise. It left me very overwhelmed, unmotivated for life in general and very sad. But once I was able to get past that point and we received positives from the ultrasounds, I'm now starting to finally feel excited. Although I'm not always comfortable with the way I look or the way I'm feeling sometimes (my tough points right now are mid-back pain, sleepiness during the day and insomnia at night) for the most part I feel pretty good. So I am lucky in that sense, and am very grateful that so far everything has gone OK. I continue to think positive thoughts to get me through the remaining 15ish weeks! :)

My point is that we are all human. There's probably very few people that are satisfied with how they look every single day, and that's ok. We're all different and unique and awesome in our own ways and I think it's important to realize that because it's definitely a life lesson I want to teach my future son one day. You just have to do what you can to make yourself feel good, and always try your best to feel comfortable in your own skin. I did that this weekend when I wore the new dress I'd picked out for my Christmas party! It's stretchy so I should be able to wear it after I have the baby, and it will still fit for the hubby's Christmas party in a couple of weeks!

xo
-Dianne

PS: We had an ultrasound yesterday and Baby Peanut looked like he was trying to eat his toes! Looks like we have a flexible little one on our hands...a future gymnast maybe? :)

PPS: Gigantic Black Friday sale starting today at www.stelladot.com/DianneCK! Some sale items up to 40% off! Make sure you check it out! Some items are already sold out!

.Honest

Oh, how things change on a weekly basis! I feel like these last few weeks I've really started to pop, which in a way is a relief because now it's fairly obvious that I'm pregnant and people aren't looking at me funny trying to figure it out one way or another.

For the last five years or so I've been trying hard to buy more things (particularly fruits and veggies) that are organic. I don't like the idea of pesticides all over my food, and you can really notice the difference between organic fruits and veggies and non-organic. I also try to shop locally when I can and support the local economy! A few months ago I noticed that I was getting a lot of ads from the Honest Company on Facebook and noticed that a lot of my Facebook friends liked them as well, so I decided to check it out. This company was founded by Jessica Alba and a gentleman named Christopher Gavigan who were looking for items that were organic, eco-friendly, free of chemicals, and just plain all-around good stuff. I admit, I was intrigued. I don't mind spending a little more on things like this - but the product has to be worth it. The Honest Company has a fabulous introductory offer of trial kits for $5.95 each, so you can see what their products are all about and try them first hand. If you like them, they will continue to send you items (based on the selections you choose) each month, or on a 5 week or 6 week time frame. You can cancel at any time, and you can change the dates as well if you don't need anything for a particular month. I figured I have nothing to lose, so I ordered the baby bundle (which included a trial pack of diapers and wipes) and the essentials bundle (which includes household items) in the trial forms. I was so intrigued by the essentials bundle that I actually ordered the full one right afterward. I tried to order things that we needed replacing for anyways such as dish soap and dishwasher detergent, so I could see if I really noticed a difference between that and store brand that I usually buy. Here is what I received:

So far in the essentials bundle trial package (on the left) I really like the face + body cream, the organic healing balm (perfect combined with bio oil for the growing tummy & trying to prevent stretch marks), and the multi-surface cleaner. I feel better using these products knowing they aren't loaded with the same amount of chemicals as the normal items I would buy in a store. The diapers are incredibly adorable - they all have cute little prints on them! I anticipate I will order one baby bundle closer to when the baby will be born and see how the diapers hold out. In speaking with my friends who are moms, you have to see what works for your baby as every one is different! In the baby bundle you get 320 diapers and 4 packs of 72 wipes for $79.95. For me that seems a little pricy, but I'd like to try them out and see how they are before I make any judgements. I haven't tried anything in the main essentials bundle yet, but I will definitely report back when I do! I ordered the dishwasher packs, dish soap, air freshener, dryer clothes, and the fruit and veggie wash (which I'm very intrigued by, so I'm looking forward to trying it out!) I will definitely report back with reviews as soon as I try everything out!

The essentials bundle is $39.95 and since I've tried some of the products I really think that I'll be keeping this subscription. The products are good quality, organic, and so far in the things I've tried they've been awesome so for me it's worth the price. The fact that I can adjust the date so I don't have to order every month is a huge bonus too, as I'm sure some of these things will take awhile to get through. I have to admit, it's pretty awesome getting this stuff delivered right to the door, especially when you look out the window on a day like today! (Not that I'm slighting winter, it IS my favourite season however when you are sick & in sweatpants going out in the snow is not that appealing). Have any of you tried the Honest Company? What do you think of their products?

Unfortunately I came down with a cold this week. Nothing major but I'm down and out today resting at home with some chicken soup simmering in the slow-cooker. Thankfully my sore throat is starting to subside and the cough is slowly starting to go away, so I think I'm on the mend! This is a good thing as I'm dragging the hubby along with me to West Edmonton Mall tomorrow morning to help me find a Christmas party dress that will make me feel perdy at both his & my Christmas parties coming up in the next month! I'm really hoping I can find something stretchy as the parties are a few weeks apart and my body seems to be changing on a daily basis!

xo
-Dianne

PS. According to the weekly baby emails I get, Baby Peanut is able to hear muffled noises now, so I read him a book today. Felt a little strange...but he kicked me a few times throughout so I assume he was listening! :)

.Antsy

I'm feeling a little stir-crazy at the moment. Part of me wants to get up and be more active but the other part of me is lazy and tired and feels a little restricted. I want to run, but I know I probably couldn't even run for a minute without huffing and puffing at this point (and the baby inside probably wouldn't be too impressed since it's been a few months since I've slapped on the running shoes).

Sometimes I feel like I've forgotten how to balance a busy work life with an active one. I was fairly good at it, but these last two weeks I've wanted nothing more to sit on my couch and watch TV and do nothing. Then yesterday I somehow managed to break my Nike Fuelband. I think the universe is trying to tell me something.

Speaking of the Nike Fuelband, I think I may be in the market for a replacement. This is now my third band in two and a half years. The first one just stopped charging after a year but I was able to get a replacement. Then a year after I got the replacement that one had the same problem. I just got a new one sent to me a few months ago and now it seems like part of the band has broken. I haven't taken a good look at it yet to see if it's fixable (it very well might be), but I'm starting to wonder if I should start shopping around for a new brand. I had a Fitbit before the Fuelband and I wasn't a fan of it - but I know Fitbit's have really evolved in the last couple years. I'm looking for suggestions for a band that counts calories doing every day things (not just running or activity), a sleep tracker, maybe a heart rate monitor (so it counts calories more accurately) and something that's not huge or bulky. If you have any suggestions please feel free to leave it in the comments below! I am pretty brand loyal to Nike but if this one really is ca-put I may need to look elsewhere!

I have narrowed down my wishlist for half marathons to run while I'm on mat leave. I think I'm three... oh my. That's slightly terrifying but also extremely motivating at the same time. The first one will be probably the Edmonton Half in August, mostly because I've deferred the last two years (last year I sprained my ankle a month before and this year I couldn't run due to doctor's orders), so I have free entry. It's in my home town, I know the course, and it's a chance for my friends and family to be able to cheer me on if need be. Not looking for a personal best in this one, but just looking to finish to tell myself that I can still rock these! The second one is going to be the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Vancouver in October (essentially a year from now). I've run the Rock N Roll Half in Vegas (it was my first EVER half) and it was a lot of fun, so I'm looking forward to what the race will bring to Vancouver! I also have many friends there that I would love to see, and haven't been in so long that I've nearly forgotten what the place looks like. Let me know if you want to join me! I just now have to convince the husband! :) Last but not least, my final goal is to run the Disneyworld Princess Half Marathon in Florida in February 2016. I love Disney, and I love their races. So far I've ran the Tinkerbell Half in California and the Disneyworld Half in Florida and both were just awesome. This one is still a little up in the air as obviously it's going to cost the most and take the most planning. I've wanted to do this one for a few years (was thinking of 2014 but then we got married on the exact same weekend!) and think it would be great to take the future little one to Disney when it doesn't cost anything for him to fly. This one will need to be decision made after the baby is born to decide whether it's feasible and do-able. Usually for races I have no issues going on my own as I just love to travel, but things will change when there is a baby involved!

Just talking about all of this makes me happy and I feel very motivated for the upcoming year. So many changes but also so many experiences and chances to learn. I guess this is what they call growing up!

xo,
Dianne

PS: I've finally figured out how to fix the comments! You can now comment in the boxes below and I should be able to see it! :)

PPS: In the last few weeks I've been able to feel baby Peanut moving around. It is a crazy, exciting, terrifying, weird feeling that I can't explain, but I love it! :)

PPPS: If you want to get some Christmas shopping done in the month of November, consider having a Stella & Dot trunk show! Lots of specials this month & our new collection just launched in October. Invite the girls over for an afternoon to shop and earn yourself some free jewels. Lots of gifting ideas too! Click on the email button on the left of the blog to send me a note if you want to book a date! I anticipate they will be going quick!

.Truth

Sorry blog... I haven't forgotten about you. It's just kind of hard to write about running when you haven't been running in a few months!

My last run was July 13th. It was fairly short and I didn't feel like running but I ran anyways. I was battling a little injury but nothing major.  

On July 5 I completed the Edmonton Spartan Race. On July 6, we found out I was pregnant. This baby is going to be a warrior!

This is FABULOUS news and news my husband and I had been hoping to receive for a few months! I can't even explain how terrified and excited I was (and have been) at the exact same time. I went to the doc the next day and they confirmed the news. I looked at the doctor and said "So...what now? What do I do? What can I do? HELP?"

A few months prior, I had really started to put more effort into my running. I completed five weeks of a 12 week Nike running program where I was running 3-4 days a week and feeling like my running was improving. I was confident that I could shave at least 20 minutes off my personal best at the Edmonton half in August. I had also stopped having that casual beer here and there to try and cleanse my system. I told my doctor about all the sports I was doing this summer and he said I could still run (but no half marathon) and play slo-pitch, but ball hockey had to go. I emailed my doctor afterward as I wanted a second opinion on the half marathon and he agreed and said it probably wasn't a good idea. Not only did he think I'd be exhausted, but he also said he didn't want me to overheat or raise my heart rate too much as that wouldn't be good for the baby. Fair enough. Baby comes first!

I really did want to continue running. I had been following blogs like Through Heather's Looking Glass and NYC Running Mama (which are both FANTASTIC blogs by the way) for some inspiration from moms who continued to run while they were pregnant and tried to gather as many tips as I could so I could prepare myself to run when I got pregnant. Then I learned a very important lesson - everyone's pregnancy is different. I'll be 19 weeks tomorrow and one of the symptoms that hasn't gone away since the first trimester has been exhaustion. My running plan prior had been getting up at 6-6:15AM a few times a week to run so I could keep my evenings free. Once I got pregnant I had a hard time getting up at my regular time in the morning, never mind super early. We also had an absolutely amazing summer in Edmonton, and a lot of July it was +30 outside. I don't like running in that kind of heat normally, and I certainly didn't think it was a good idea to run in it while pregnant either, so unfortunately I fell off the wagon. I give HUGE kudos to both those mama bloggers and any other woman who can keep up a fitness regimen while they are pregnant - you guys are my heroes! I just can't manage to get the energy!

I had a bit of a difficult first trimester, with a couple of urgent trips to the doctor and an emergency ultrasound but thankfully everything so far has been A-OK. I am also happy to report that the last month or so I've been feeling a lot better! I'm still very tired, but overall I'm feeling pretty good and starting to get more excited by the day! We found out on Sunday (in the presence of my family on Thanksgiving) that we were having a baby boy! I'm hoping we have a future NHL star on our hands who will spoil his parents when he makes the big leagues! :) Big thanks to my friends Kelly and Bryan at B and K Custom Cakes for making this amazing cake for us!

I'm going to shift this blog a bit for the next little while onto what I'm doing to keep in shape while I'm pregnant, and then getting back into shape once I have the little one! I'd be lying if I said my motivation level was high right now - as in all honesty it's extremely low, and exercise has been the farthest from my mind. However, I'm trying to do the little things to try and keep as active as possible. For example, I'm going for more walks (my doggie is happy) and trying to go for 1-2 KM and speed walk when I can. Because I haven't run in so long I'm not going to start back up now, but I am going to do my best to try and eat better (which is hard when you crave burgers and McDonald's, but don't worry I only cave 1-2 time a month) and try to continue to live a healthy lifestyle throughout the remainder of my pregnancy. One thing I'm considering is signing up for a half marathon in 2015 to make sure that I get my butt in gear once the little one arrives. I don't want to go far or use too much vacation because we're hoping to visit Australia late next year to visit my husband's sister, so I'm thinking of either the Edmonton Half in August (mostly because it's local and I'm familiar with the course) or maybe the Rock n Roll Half in Vancouver, BC in October (if it's around the same time as this year). The thought terrifies me as I feel like I'll be starting from scratch - but with the Nike Training program and some friends who have promised to help me along the way, I think I'll be able to do it! And I can't think of anything better than my little man waiting for me with a big smile at the finish line - so THAT's my motivation.

Am I crazy? Maybe. But if I'm going to run a marathon before I'm 40, I gotta keep moving. I can do this. 

:)

xo

-Dianne

PS: Anyone know where in the Edmonton area I can get a fancy jogging stroller for under $300? The ones I like are close to $1000 and that's slightly out of my budget! :)

.Detox

Ever come back from vacation feeling like you ate like crap and gained 10 pounds? I tried to justify the fact that I didn't run while I was in Florida on the basis that I walked a LOT when I was outlet mall shopping, at Magic Kingdom, and at Seaworld, however I think that basis is pretty weak. I was so proud of myself for bringing two sets of work out gear (especially since I squished 7 days worth of clothing into one carry on bag and one gigantic personal item), however I didn't go for a run once. For shame!

I've kinda gotten off the beaten path the last 2.5 weeks and quite frankly have become a little lazy. Knowing that I was toning down my training for the rest of the summer made me a little less motivated to do those runs in the wee hours of the morning. I find my running endurance disappears rather quickly if I don't run on a regular basis, so I'm determined to get back running at least 1-2 times a week even if I start off a little sluggish. My eating habits haven't been the best either - I find sometimes that when I eat something bad, I figure that day is a write-off and I don't really care about what I eat for the rest of the day, and that's a big no-no! Today for example, I'm "Detoxing" slightly as I had a fairly healthy sandwich for lunch and have a spinach salad for dinner, as I feel pretty guilty for what I ate yesterday. That being said, everything I ate yesterday was DELICIOUS...but maybe a little too much deep-fried goodness. Yesterday for lunch, some co-workers and I hit up the Taste of Edmonton, which for those of you who don't live here, is an amazing food festival that happens right downtown! You buy tickets and restaurants from all over the city have booths where you can try samples of different types of foods. Everything I tried yesterday was amazing, however I think 3 or 4 of the samples I tried were deep fried (don't get me wrong, that's not all they serve at this festival, those were just the things that caught my eye and they were delicious!). I also had a piece of cheesecake on a stick...because who can resist a piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake on a stick?! Then on my way to a concert last night, we had to pass through K-Days, which is another one of Edmonton's summer festivals, and I had half a bag of mini donuts... (mini-donuts are almost as much of a weakness as cheesecake!).

Knowing that this weekend we will be hitting up some festivals, I've decided that I'm going to start of a bit of a detox starting on August 1. I don't believe in fad diets, but what I do believe is eating clean, eating a little bit from all food groups, and of course eating healthy. So this is my plan starting in a little over a week:

- no processed foods

- no sugar

- lots of fruits and vegetables

- lean meats & protein

- healthy snacks

- no soy (my stomach has been bugging me lately so I'm sure my intolerance has something to do with it as I haven't been as careful as I should be!)

Of course, it would be unrealistic (for me at least) to do this 100% of the time, but I'm really going to try and aim for 90%. The key is eating out less, and cooking at home more. I find that when my fridge is stocked with healthy veggies and foods, I will be more likely to cook at home. If the fridge is depleted I'm more likely to go out and get something for lunch or dinner, and sometimes convenience is so much easier than eating healthy. I'm going to try and rid my house of all the bad stuff like chips (although we don't buy a lot, I still manage to find some on occasion) so the temptation isn't there. On top of this, I'm going to aim to run 1-3 times per week depending on the week, but keep my mileage down under 10K so I don't push it. I'm hoping within 2 weeks or so I'll start to feel a difference. Anyone want to join me? I may need a support group!

The important thing to remember is that we are all human, and we are all bound to fall off the wagon once and awhile. As long as we can get ourselves back on track and build that willpower, our goals are definitely attainable!

xo,

-Dianne

PS: Stella & Dot's brand NEW collection got released on Monday! Check it out at www.stelladot.com/DianneCK and let me know if you want to host a trunk show and get some bling for FREE! :)

.Update

Ok, so June got away from me a little bit. What a crazy month! Between school twice a week, slo-pitch starting up, trying out a new five day a week half marathon program, training for 25K in one day, work and life in general, things have been a little nuts! I didn't mean to go this long without writing so it's time to catch up.

On June 14th, I ran two fundraising races! The first one was called "Run For Your Dad" and it started in Louise McKinney Park in Edmonton and weaved around the river valley. It was a 15K and I raised over $1500 for the Heart & Stroke Foundation and even won 3rd place in fundraising! I absolutely killed it. I felt really good throughout the race, and besides the hills I ran most of it. According to my Nike+ app, I ran 9.45 miles in 1:44:16 - and if I kept that pace for a full half I would have beat my half marathon time by a lot! I also ran my fastest 10K ever in this stretch! I was pretty happy with myself - very sore, but happy I completed it. That one was for you, Dad!

Also on the 14th, I ran in the Underwear Affair, which is a 10K to raise money for cancers below the waist. I ran this one in memory of my aunt/god mother Carmela Amelio-McCaw and was able to raise $1000 for this cause. Even after running the 15K in the morning, I still managed to complete the 10K in a decent time (for me anyways): 1:10:56. Another big one was that I could still move the day after! Usually after 1/2 marathons I'm pretty sore for a few days (after my very first one, my hubby had to push me out of the airport in a wheelchair, I was so sore I couldn't move!) but I recovered very well this time - this gives me hope that not only my running but my endurance is improving as well!

I decided that my running was going so well, why not enter one more this summer? So I entered the Canada Day Road Race on July 1st. Getting up and being at the legislature grounds at 7:00AM proved to be a bit of a challenge, but I think this race was my favorite race of the summer! As much as I love the river valley, I am used to running in residential areas and on main sidewalks, so this race was perfect! The route went over Groat Road, through Hawrelak Park, and through the university area of Edmonton and it was awesome! There were a few nasty hills, including one at the very end, but I actually improved my 15K time by running in 1:43:55! I'm thrilled with this time! Made for a tiring rest of the day but completely worth it.

This past Saturday, July 5th, I was able to run the Color Me Rad race in Edmonton, and then also the Spartan Sprint! I was pumped to do Color Me Rad as last year I had to pull out because I sprained my ankle the week before. My friends had a blast so I was eager to try it again. To be honest, I was a little disappointed. I guess I had higher hopes - the race didn't feel like a 5K at all, and the color idea was cool, but some of the stations weren't even stocked. Fun idea, but I think that will be the first and last time I do that race. The Spartan Sprint on the other hand was a lot of fun. Although the parking was disorganized, the race itself was way better organized than last year. And no running up and down rabbit hill four times (that's definitely what killed me last year). I'm still waiting for the final results, but I'm pretty confident that I did better than the year before. There was a nasty storm the night before so the mud was disgusting - but it feels so rewarding to finish!

In between these runs, I was going to school part time taking a philosophy class. Philosophy is not really my thing, but it was an option course that I had to take as I'm working towards my marketing degree! I'm still about 8 classes away, so I decided to take a summer class this summer, which proved to take up a ton of time! I also started up slo-pitch again, and although at the start I couldn't full blown run because of my groin injury, I was still able to play. I really love slo-pitch. Did I mention I was playing ball hockey as well? Our Sunday night ball hockey team won the Rec Plus division in the Edmonton Sport & Social Club! WOOP! That was a lot of fun too. I was running 3-4 times a week in the morning trying my best to following the Nike+ 1/2 marathon coaching program as well, and was blessed with really nice weather thankfully!

I had one more race planned for the summer, and it was the Edmonton 1/2 marathon happening on August 24th. I still have some time to think about it but I think I'm going to cut down on my training for now. As much as I love the coaching program I'm doing, I have some nagging injuries that just don't seem to want to get better. My groin injury completely went away, but then somehow came back, and although it doesn't bother me when I'm running, it tends to bother me when I complete one. I also still have a bit of an ankle injury that I have to go back to physio for. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I can't fully point my toe or stand on my tippy toes, which means I've been avoiding heels for the last couple weeks. This also doesn't bother me while I'm running but seems to bother me afterward so I'm doing more damage than good. I'm going to continue running 5-6 miles a couple times a week to keep it up, and see how I feel in a few weeks and then make a final decision on the Edmonton half. Although I'm disappointed it's been a fabulous racing summer for me and I'm already looking forward to finding some fun races to do next year! :)

I'm also heading to Orlando in 8 more sleeps, and couldn't be more excited to hang out with my Stella & Dot family. Speaking of Stella & Dot - I noticed I've reached over 1000 views! Thank you SO much for reading my blog! I've decided to hold a summer contest, see details below:

1) Share my blog on your Facebook page or twitter
2) Pick a day & book your summer Stella & Dot trunk show with me (you can email me at DianneCK39@gmail.com and reference this blog post)! Our new collection is launching in mid-July and I'd love to earn you some of it for free!
BONUS: Refer someone who books a trunk show before August 31st and you'll get a bonus entry into the draw!

When completed. The winner will receive a FREE engravable name bar! You can engrave it with whatever you like! Your name or initials, children's names, someone special to you, a cool word that means something to you, etc - your choice!

Small print: you must live within a 30 minute radius from the greater Edmonton area to be able to enter this contest.

That's all for now!

xo,
Dianne

.Dad

I'd be lying if I said this time of year doesn't make me a little bit grumpy. Not just grumpy, but angry and sad too. It's unfair that my Dad isn't here to celebrate Father's Day with us. He was a great Dad, and it's hard to believe that he's been gone for 2 1/2 years already.

My Dad passed away on December 23rd, 2011 from a massive heart attack. We knew he had been stressed out and his health wasn't the greatest, but we certainly never expected something like that to happen. Hearing the words "Your Dad has a heart attack, we need to go the hospital right now" just made my heart hit the ground. We were all actually on our way to catch the pre-season game between Canada and Sweden in the World Juniors tournament, and we hadn't even made it 5 minutes from the house before we got the call. Getting to the hospital and being told that your Dad didn't make it, particularly two days before Christmas, is most definitely the worst feeling I've ever had in my life.

Thankfully, earlier that afternoon we had lunch as a family at one of our favorite restaurants, Thanh Thanh (The Oriental Noodle House) on 101 Street. I was working as it was a busy time and I was trying to get everything organized to get my work visa for the London Olympics - but I am so thankful that we were able to carve out some time to go for lunch that day, which had actually been planned almost a week prior. Although dinner was good, my Dad and I had gotten into a stupid argument about the work visa, because he thought he knew the process to get one and I was sure he didn't. At the end of lunch, I rushed out and didn't give either of my parents a hug before I left because I was in a hurry. I still think about that moment often, because it was so selfish of me to just leave. Of course I didn't know that it would be the last time I'd ever see him alive, but I really wish now that I hadn't been in such a hurry because that little moment would have made a difference, at least for me.

I have so many good memories of my Dad. He was a great sports Dad; he came to almost every single one of my baseball games, gymnastics competitions, and pretty much anything my brother and I did as kids. He picked me and all my friends up at the bar and drove us home when I didn't have a car, because he wanted to make sure we didn't drink and drive and that we'd all get home safe. He was so supportive in everything I did, and was so proud when I got my dream job of working for the Oilers. He always thought it was awesome that I always managed to get the coolest jobs, and that I had managed to work for both of the major sports teams in the city. He told silly jokes over and over again and even though we rolled our eyes, he giggled about it every time. He was a fantastic photographer, and took pictures any moment he could. He also loved Paris, and since his passing I've found myself loving it even more. I was so pumped that my Dad was around when I told him I got accepted to volunteer for the 2012 Olympics in London, and he was even thinking of joining me for awhile when I was there. I did head to Paris for one day while on my trip as a tribute to him, and made sure to have a real croissant this time, as when I went when I was in Grade 8, he couldn't believe that I didn't have a fresh croissant at a French cafe! Once at the dinner table, he was trying to get mustard out of the squeeze bottle and it literally exploded all over the table, walls, and even the ceiling - and we all just couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. He always called me his #1 Daughter, even though I was his only daughter.

I'll probably be staying away from public places and social media on Sunday just because I know it will make me a little sad. But I feel so blessed that I have such great parents, and that my Dad was around for as long as he was. 

Happy Father's Day Dad. I miss you.

xo
-Dianne

PS: I am running in a 15K race tomorrow morning called "Run For Your Dad" and I'm raising money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation in my Dad's memory. If you would like to donate, please use the following link: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1079555&supId=406821148

.Training

#OperationMCO was a little hit & miss this week. Although I was eating healthier, I wasn't eating as healthy as I wanted to. I find it hard to adjust when you get used to eating fatty or fried foods, and it doesn't help that they are delicious! I've also been bad with recording in my food journal; I started out with good intentions but as the week went by, I got lazy. I vow to be better next week!

In the few years I've been running half marathons, I haven't really followed any training program. I've looked up quite a few online however I've never followed them exactly. The one I have been trying to follow lately is two shorter runs during the week, and then a longer one on the weekend. Before I got sick, I was also trying to incorporate having one two run day on the weekend so I could prepare for my double run on June 14th, however unfortunately I haven't gotten back to that yet. This weekend, my plan is to run 11K tomorrow with some friends who are preparing for the Spartan Race in July, and then play ball hockey in the evening - so there won't be any time for a double run. That's ok though, as that's a lot of physical activity for one day.

I've decided to try something different before the Edmonton Half Marathon this year and try to up my personal best of 2:43 by maybe five to ten minutes. Before I ran Canmore last year, the Edmonton Half was my personal best, so I'm confident that this is an attainable goal, particularly because the course is mostly flat. Enter the Nike Running coaching program.

This program works on the Nike Running app and involves 12 weeks of running to prepare you for your next half marathon. I typed in the date of the half, and it has me starting on Monday. I chose "intermediate" over "beginner" simply because I've been running for a few years now, and even though I'm slow, I don't want to start over. I've been doing some training on my own so I think this will be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it. The coach will have me running five times a week, cross training on Thursdays, and then a rest day on Sundays. This does change a little bit as the weeks go on, and some of the runs aren't just straight runs - they include intervals and different paces which is a type of training that I haven't done too much of. I'm hoping that I can stay strong and avoid getting injured during this time period so I can see how effective this program really is. The big challenges will be on week seven and week nine, when my scheduled long runs will be 14 miles. I've never run that long before! This will be a good test to see if I'll be close to running a marathon in the next few years, as that's not something I want to tackle until I can run a half in 2:15 or less. We'll see how it goes, but I'm feeling optimistic!

June is a ridiculously busy month for me, so I anticipate that most of these runs will be in the early morning. Thankfully the runs during the week for the most part will be completed in less than an hour, so I shouldn't have to get up too early. Even though I find it hard to get up in the mornings, I also think that the morning is the best time to run! It's nice and cool in the summer, it's quiet, and I find myself re-engerized for most of the day afterwards. 

One thing I do need to look into is the use of chews or gels to help with a pick me up during races. You aren't supposed to run super long distances with just water, so I'm going to need to do some research on which ones are good (and which ones are soy-free) and that don't taste like crap. Does anyone have any suggestions? I don't like the taste of artificial fruits and I'm not really into chocolate (I know, what's wrong with me?)

Until next time,

xo

-Dianne

.Operation MCO

I've been an "ingredient-reader" for I'd say, the past four years or so. I find that if I look at the ingredients and find that it has too much sugar or too many bad foods or chemicals, I'm less inclined to buy it. Now, I look at labels 100% of the time to make sure there's no soy (and believe me, LOTS of things have soy in them). I was sick over the weekend and looking for some soy-free chicken noodle soup (as unfortunately my go-to favorite Lipton contains soy as the 4th ingredient) and was looking through the chunky soups aisle and noticed that a lot of the Campbell's soups that had chicken in them, said "modified chicken" with soy in brackets directly afterward. So all this time I thought I was eating real chicken in these soups and it may just be a soy by-product? Ew, no thanks! I did cave and buy the Sobey's brand of Alphaghetti's since it's soy-free - I don't know why I like them so much, but they are delicious and my guilty pleasure!

I've been crazy busy at work the past couple weeks and we've been spoiled with catered lunches and people bringing us snacks all week. Although most of the lunches are on the healthier side, I noticed that during the past two weeks I was eating just for the sake of eating. By the end of last week, I wasn't even hungry most of the day, but was eating anyways because I felt like I should! Needless to say, my body was NOT happy with this and I ended up feeling sick and gross for the majority of the weekend. Looking at myself in the mirror, I was not impressed - my jeans are a little bit snug so I think it's time to get back on track! My injuries have finally healed, the weather is nice enough to run outside again, and I have to bikini ready in less then two months! Insert #OperationMCO.

Last year when I was looking at getting a new day-timer, I found this cute little Etsy shop called Plum Paper Designs that made custom planners, one of which had a food/work out diary in it!  I am ashamed to say I haven't used the food/work out diary portion of it since...January. PAINFUL, I know! So as part of #OperationMCO, I am going to start making use of this way more often and tracking what I'm eating and what I'm doing for exercise during the week. I find keeping a food diary will help keep you accountable for what you eat! Obviously there are going to be days where you may have a cheat meal, but as long as that cheat meal doesn't turn into a cheat day or week, this is totally doable!

#OperationMCO is all about getting fit and ready for the summer! I'm headed to Orlando, Florida (airport code MCO) on July 16th for Stella & Dot's national conference (fingers crossed this time it WON'T be on crutches) and I want to look fit and fabulous! This means making an effort into making lunches and dinners on a daily basis, eating out less, and working out more (my work-outs will be a mixture of running, boot camp, yin yoga, and hopefully some fun things like November Project and Nike Training work outs as well). I'm going to try and go back to follow the Eat Clean diet as well - which essentially is no refined sugars, no white bread, rice or pasta, and no processed foods. I'm aiming towards eating clean 80-90% of the time as I know for me, 100% of the time would be near impossible.

I'll be documenting #OperationMCO daily through my twitter account, so feel free to follow along there and join in! Keeping a little notebook with you to mark down what foods you are consuming is easy-peasy! Summer is coming and the weather is already getting nicer - why not look and feel your very best by eating right and getting a work-out in every once and awhile? :)

PS: Check out this article on why refined sugars and "fake" sugars are not good for you! It pains me that the whole wheat cheerios I ate this morning actually taste like they have more sugar than the normal ones!

xo

-Dianne

.Back In

It's been a long few weeks but after heading to physiotherapy on Thursday last week, I was able to get the all-clear to start running again! YAY! Turns out I have agitated/pulled my sartorius muscle, which actually goes all the way up from your knee to just under your abs.  I had no idea it went all the way down to my knee until the physiotherapist starting pressing on it and I felt pain! I'm still not exactly sure how I did it; I know I tweaked it during ball hockey three weeks ago but I can't pinpoint what exactly I did. Thankfully, she gave me the green light to run as long as I wasn't feeling major pain (minor discomfort is OK) so I am quite relieved! I went for my first run this past Sunday since I've been injured, and although I felt tired and sluggish (which could have partially had something to do with the beers I consumed at the Backstreet Boys concert the night before, which was AWESOME by the way) my time wasn't too bad. I made it just over two miles before I decided to walk the rest of the way home. I did feel some discomfort in my left leg, but not enough to stop the fun. I ran again with my hubby on Monday and this time we covered just over 5K, and I felt no pain or discomfort during the run and I was much closer to my normal tempo for time trials, so I felt a lot better! I'm still feeling fatigued and I can tell my endurance has suffered, but I'll get that back. I'm going to arrive early to work tomorrow or Friday and do a run in the river valley to start my day, and maybe try to do that one more time this week, so I'm hoping by the weekend I'll be back up to close to my normal pace!

I went back to physio this morning and let her know about my runs this week, and she said I'm making great progress! I made a follow-up appointment for next week, however she said that if I can continue to run and work out with no major pain, I should be good to go! I still have some sort of joint issue in my right ankle that hasn't completely gone away, so I might keep the appointment if that stays the same. Essentially running and walking don't hurt, but standing on the ball of my foot does. It looks like I'll be wearing flats for another week!

I also did another class of Yin Yoga this past Saturday at Lotus Soul Yoga and what a difference this instructor made! I enjoyed it about 10 times more than I did the other instructor, which I found interesting because in hot yoga I didn't find it really mattered what instructor I had. I'm going to try and go back during the times that Joe is instructing because that class was amazing!

Since I've stopped taking the vitamin with soybean oil, I've started feeling a little bit better, but my stomach has still been a little uneasy. I'm looking forward to meeting with the naturopath again next week to see if we can find out what's bothering me and I can go back to feeling normal again! I know sometimes it can take more than a week for soy to leave the body so hopefully by the time I go see her I'll be feeling better already!

The next few months are so busy with school! Currently I'm taking part time classes to eventually complete my Marketing degree, and I am about a year and a half away from finally graduating. If there's one thing I'm going to tell my future kids, it's going to be to finish school before they get into the work force! I've found it to be quite challenging to work an eight hour day and then sit through three hours of class. I didn't want to take a summer class this term, however I only ended up taking one class during the winter because of the wedding, so I had to catch up this summer. Usually I take two classes per term in the fall and winter and take the summer off. Thankfully this class is only until late June so I'll have the rest of the summer to enjoy! We've got a camping trip planned, and hopefully a trip to Florida, along with some slo-pitch games and training for the big Dragon Boat race at the end of the August. 

I LOVE the Edmonton weather right now! Feel free to comment and share your plans for the summer; I'd love to read them!

xo

-Dianne

.Stupid Soy

I grew up with a few allergies as a kid. I was allergic to peanuts, nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, dogs, cats and snow mold. I remember being rushed to the hospital when I was about four years old, when the daycare I was at gave me a cracker with peanut butter instead of cheese whiz. It kind of scares me to one day have kids with allergies, because when they are young and in school or somewhere that you aren't, you just never know what they might accidentally eat! Thankfully, I grew out of a few of my allergies as I got older. I beat the eggs allergy when I was about 10, and to this day I'm not a huge fan of them unless they are cooked a certain way, added to a meal where I can't really taste them, or if they are my mom's special scrambled eggs with cheese. I actually have switched over to egg whites in the last few years for the majority of my egg eating in order to eat a little cleaner!

I took an allergy test about eight years ago just to see if I had grown out of any other allergies. I told the allergist that I knew I was still allergic to peanuts so please don't test me again for it...but he did anyways and the dot swelled up like a balloon. I'm still very allergic to peanuts, cashews, walnuts and fish, but found out that I can eat shellfish (yup, I'm the opposite of most) and almonds which was pretty cool. Since then I've found a new love for shrimp, lobster, crab and scallops, and I even tried sea urchin in San Francisco when we were there in July of 2013 (and it was DELICIOUS!). I also seemed to have grown out of my allergy for some dogs and cats, as I have one of each now and don't feel sniffly all the time! I still have seasonal allergies, but that's something I think I'm stuck with. I used to get so sick when I'd roll down the hills with my cousins near my grandparent's place as a child, but it was so much fun!

About a year or so ago, I started to feel like I was having trouble digesting foods. I was bloated all the time, and food would just sit in my stomach. I felt miserable, and it interfered with my social and physical activities. I went to the doctor and they sent me for a bunch of tests. Besides my iron levels fluctuating from high to low, everything they tested for (including celiac disease) came out negative, so he sent me to a naturopath. The naturopath figured it was probably some sort of intolerance to food, so she put me on a restricted diet for about eight weeks before Christmas. I had to cut out gluten, dairy, corn, eggs and soy from my diet for a full month. Those I guess are the most common allergens, and the point of the diet was to see if one of them was the culprit in making me feel so gross. This diet was HARD when trying to eat out - most foods in restaurants have one of these things! Working on game nights, I was very lucky to have a very friendly kitchen staff who made meals for the media - and they worked with me for that time span to let me know which foods had what - and if I couldn't eat anything on the menu they would prepare something just for me. Eating at home was no problem, as I have been a "label-checker" and eating mostly organic for a few years now, so most of the food in our fridge was OK.

After a week and a half, I really felt no different and was convinced it wasn't one of those foods. I emailed the naturopath and she encouraged me to keep going, saying that some of these foods can stay in the body for long periods of time if they are consumed regularly. So I did...and a few days letter, I finally started to feel better! I even lost 10 pounds (and of course gained it all back when I started eating normally again)! After one month was over, the key was to slowly add things back in once a day, and see if I had a reaction. I thought long and hard about which item I should add back in first, and finally decided on soy because I was 99% sure that wasn't the problem. Boy was I wrong. I had tofu noodles for dinner that night and within about 30 minutes of eating, I started to feel that gross feeling again that I hadn't felt in weeks! Tried three different types of soy in a three day span and got the same reaction, so took it back out of the diet and added everything else back in, to feel fine.

So, it turns out I have a soy intolerance! It's not severe enough to be an allergy, but it's annoying enough that I want to eliminate it from my diet so I don't get that gross feeling all the time. It's strange to ask at restaurants if they use soy, as most of the time the servers have absolutely no idea. Sometimes the cooks don't even know if they bring in packaged items! However, I've found that certain restaurants in Edmonton such as Joey, Local, and the Keg have knowledgeable, friendly staff and/or allergen menus so I can find out what I can eat beforehand and don't have to be fussy at the table. I really dislike being "that" person who has to be picky about their meals, but feeling good is important so if I can do my research in advance it makes things easier for everyone!

You'd be shocked how many foods have soy in them. Mostly processed foods have soy, so in a way this is a good thing for me to avoid them. But I will miss edimame beans, tofu, Lipton chicken noodle soup and Clif bars! I just found out last night that the VITAMINS I was taking had soybean oil in them. Really!?!

Living with an allergy/intolerance is not the end of the world but it's certainly an eye opener! I've started keeping a list of restaurants that are soy-friendly and know which items that I can have, so if you have a family member or relative that is intolerant to soy (as apparently it's fairly common now-a-days) or just want to avoid it (which may be a good idea considering after doing some research I don't think it's the best thing for you to eat anyways), let me know and I'd be happy to share!

That's all for now! First slo-pitch game of the season tonight! Hoping my injury is starting to heal enough that I can jog to first base! :)

xo
-Dianne

.Namaste

I haven't been to yoga in a very long time. I love it, and I still even have some class passes left, but there's always an excuse not to go that I can't really pinpoint. I keep meaning to go back, but now I actually have a reason! My friend Debbie suggested that I check out Yin Yoga to help stretch out my groin muscle, and also suggested that I continue doing it once a week as it will benefit my running. The only type of yoga I've ever done is Moksha, which is done is a very hot room. I absolutely loved it! I loved the stretching and the softness of my skin afterward as all the toxins sweated out. They do Yin Yoga at the Moksha studio too, but I thought I would try looking into something a little bit different this time.

Randomly - I remember watching a segment on the news a few weeks back about the pros and cons of juicing. Although I would never do a juicing cleanse of any sort (because it doesn't make sense to me or seem healthy to only drink juice for an extended period of time), I think it's definitely something I would consider to add to a healthy diet and drink on occasion. On TV they also spoke to some people from Lotus Soul Gym Yoga so I thought I would take a look at their website for my new yoga needs. I also recalled seeing somewhere that they had a Groupon, so I searched my trusty mobile app and found it. $39 for an unlimited month of yoga? Ok, why not?! I even roped my friend Keenyn along for the ride!

I have never done "normal" yoga. The only yoga I've done is in a hot room where you can't leave without having a shower afterward because you are so soaked from sweat that you look like you just came out of a swimming pool (not that's I'm complaining, it's seriously a blast!). I wasn't really feeling antsy about it, but I'm not really sure what to expect. Is it going to be as easy to stretch when you aren't in the hot room? Is there music? Will it be able to keep my attention? This morning, I had all my questions answered when I arrived at Lotus Soul Gym to take my first Yin Yoga class!

Yoga went well. Yin Yoga is all about stretching and holding poses for a long time and it was very relaxing. I could tell that my groin muscle still hurt, but I feel better that I stretched it out. The class was super full but we had a great time and the instructor was very good. Although I think I still hot yoga better, I will definitely go back and do this one again. My weeks are pretty busy for the remainder of the month, but I'm going to do my best to hit up Yin Yoga at least once or twice a week for the remainder of my Groupon for sure and hoping to feel better! I'm also considering heading a physio consultation to see if they can recommend anything I can do during my injury, as I feel like I'm losing my running endurance - so we'll see how the week goes!

Random fun fact I learned this week: a five year old in Trenton, NJ completed a half marathon in 2013 in 2:22. That's 22 minutes faster than MY personal best time! If that's not motivation to pick up the pace - I don't know what is! Check out the article here and prepare to be blown away.

PS. Happy Mother's Day Mom. So glad I got to spend some time with you yesterday since you were sick today! You are so strong and I love ya! Dad's looking down on us today. :)

xo
-Dianne

.Throwback Thursday

This blog will be a little off topic (since talking about my injury and how frustrated I am that I can't work out isn't that exciting), but it's hard to believe that my winter wedding was almost 3 months ago! It's amazing how much planning goes into one day, for it to fly by unbelievably fast! What an amazing day it was though.We got our pictures back yesterday! Here's a sneak peak:

 

 

We were lucky enough to get married in a beautiful church, surrounded by 200 of our favorite people, and have a lovely photographer (Photos With Ashley) to capture all of our special moments. It was only -20 or so, so the outdoor pictures were a tad cold but we had enough beer in us by then that I don't think we really noticed! Special thanks to the Alberta Aviation Museum and Central Social Hall for letting us do some indoor pictures at their venues!

 

I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful day. Love you husband! Cheers to many more happy years to come! :)

xo
-Dianne

.Injuries

I am what I think you could call "accident-prone". My first (and only) major injury doing gymnastics was a sprained ankle, and I did that doing a simple round-off (essentially, a cartwheel with oomph and landing on two feet) the day before one of the biggest competitions of my gymnastics career. My dad took me to the medi-center after practice where the doctor told me I shouldn't compete the next day. My response: "Oh, I'm competing. Tell me what I can do to make it through." I ended up taking all the elements of difficulty out of my routines and completed everything but vault; I even placed 7th on beam out of the 20 competitors! I'm sure the other girls were just shaking their heads as I hobbled up to get my ribbon.

Most of my major injuries have come by accident, or plain stupidity. In 2012 while playing slo-pitch with my company team, a ball from another field came over the dugout and hit me in the face while I was playing first base. The ball broke and shattered my nose and I needed 3 stitches, but thankfully I came out of that without a concussion or anything more severe. Then last summer, again playing slo-pitch, I jumped to catch a ball that was overthrown to me at first base. When I landed, I landed half on the base and half on the ground, so my ankle rolled and I ended up spraining my ankle quite badly (to be quite honest, I can't even remember which ankle I sprained the first time, so it may have been the same one I did as a gymnast, I'm not sure! This sprain was much worse though, and I spent 3 hours in emergency for them to suit me up with crutches and give me some T3's). Being on crutches for almost 2 weeks was definitely not fun, especially because my house has a lot of stairs, and I was headed to Stella & Dot's national conference in Las Vegas in 10 days!

The trip ended up going very well, people were so nice and helped me get food and such when it was a buffet, and I was able to get early entrance into our conferences so I could get a good seat without worrying about getting trampled in the crowd! Thankfully, I also went to physio and was able to train and successfully complete a half marathon less than two months later - and hit a new personal best while I was at it!

It's every athletes nightmare to get injured or sick; it puts a dead stop to training and when you're in the groove, it can sometimes it can be very hard to get that motivation back. That's kind of how I feel right now. The last few weeks, I've been making an effort to run and work out more, and then last sunday playing ball hockey I pulled a groin muscle (I know it sounds dumb, but I didn't even realize a girl could do that. Apparently I should have paid more attention in my anatomy class in university). After being in pain the first day, in the days following the pain started to subside to the point where 4 days later, I didn't feel it anymore. Unfortunately on Wednesday I started to get sick and caught a nasty cold that's been going around, so that kept me couch bound for a few days as well. I had contemplated going for a run yesterday, but then the weather gods decided to make it snow here in Edmonton (and I don't run much in the winter; more about that in a future post). It was probably for the better; I went dancing last night for my friend Sheena's birthday and I felt a little bit of pain while dancing, but not while walking. I went to play ball hockey today and realized damn, the stupid pain is still there. It's just in a different spot than when I started!

I had high hopes for this week including an early morning work out tomorrow, November Project on Wednesday and Friday, bootcamp Tuesday and Thursday, and some runs on the weekend. I was going to start it off easy since I had to take a week off, and see how the week went. Now it looks like I'll be spending the week with an ice pack! I'm trying to think of the positives though, as there is still 6 weeks until my first races of the season, so I still have lots of time to prepare. In reading a couple running blogs, I've also found out that there are other runners out there who do double runs in one day, so I'm not the only crazy one! (I will be running a 15K and a 10K on June 14th, both for different charities. They are both close to my heart so I couldn't choose - I'm hoping next year they will be on different weekends!)

Tomorrow starts a new week! As per my friend Debbie's advice, I may look into some yin yoga this week to help stretch everything out. Fingers crossed!

xo
-Dianne

.My "Why"

If you would have asked me in junior high or high school what kind of sports I liked, I can guarantee you that long distance running was the farthest from my mind. My first love was artistic gymnastics, which I did faithfully until I was 20 years old and involved in a car accident. I had to stop cold turkey for 6 months, and my body couldn't really handle competing at a high level after that. I dabbled in adult classes and occasionally go to drop-in, but sadly it's probably been a few years now since I did a back-handspring.

I participated in track and field through school, but mostly in long jump and shot put, which was fairly shocking for most considering my scrawny frame at the time, but I had built up arm muscles from gymnastics. I even qualified for the city finals a couple of times to represent my school! I also remember in gym class being told we had to run the 1500M, and having to walk for most of it and being one of the slowest in the class. It wasn't until a year after I met my now husband Brian that I even considered doing anything long distance.

Brian had mentioned to me in our first year of dating that his new year's resolution was to run a half marathon or complete a triathlon. I thought it might be fun to do that together, but wasn't sure I'd actually be able to do it. I had just joined an outdoor bootcamp which I loved, but when it came to anything running I couldn't even run a full mile without being out of breath. My body had changed a lot since I quit gymnastics and although I still had the small frame, I wasn't nearly as muscular or had the cardio fitness level I used to have. I also have a mixture of normal asthma and exercise-induced asthma, which I had never let stop me in the past, but worried that it may in this case.

So I thought to myself - I want to help him complete his goal AND I want to take part in this challenge as well. As I was taking part in bootcamp, I overheard one of the participants talking about a half marathon in Vegas that they were attending. I went home and looked it up - and said to Brian "Hey - how would you like to complete your new year's resolution in Vegas?" I had excellent travel benefits with my job at the airport at that point, so we booked our trip and started to train. We did some running together, and I continued in bootcamp. When it got too cold to run outside, I ran laps at the Kinsmen Sports Center. I think the most I ran before the big race was about 8 miles...and that was tough, so my goal was honestly just to cross the finish line before the 4 hour mark when they started removing racers from the course.

To this day and 4 half marathons later, the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon is still one of the coolest races I've ever run. We ran the inaugural race in 2009 which involved closing down the famous Las Vegas strip and running all the way up and down it (and then some) in the early hours of the morning. All the big hotel signs were lit up with encouragement for all the runners, and showed pump up tweets from friends and family. We ran the race together, and unfortunately Brian re-injured his knee while running so he ended up power walking after about six miles. Because of this, we ended up being the same speed and ended up crossing the finish line at the exact same moment holding hands. After that, something clicked. I was so happy I almost cried at the finish line, and even more thrilled that we were able to do it together. My goal was to finish the race in under 4 hours, and we finished in 2:58:16. I was hooked.

Fast forward to 2014 and I've fully caught the running bug. I've completed half marathons in Edmonton (AB), Canmore (AB), Disneyland and Disneyworld. I've completed some 10K's and 5K's along the way too. This summer I'll be running Color Me Rad (5K), Spartan Race (5K + obstacles), the Underwear Affair (10K to raise money for cancers below the waist), Run for Your Dad (15K to raise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation), and the Edmonton half (13.1M). Currently I'm working hard on my 5K time to get it under 30 minutes, doing bootcamp 1-2 times a week at lunch, and fitting in some stairs and hills workouts with November Project Canada (which I will definitely go into more later in other posts). When I'm not running, I want to run! My personal best in a half marathon is 2:43 and I'm looking to improve that to 2:15 before I start training for a full marathon. My running goals include qualifying and running the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon one day!

Whenever I do a Stella & Dot trunk show, I start off by telling the ladies my "Why". This is something I've learned while working with Stella & Dot; and it's essentially the reason why you've decided to go on your journey! My "Why" for running is not complex; I love doing it, it keeps me in good cardio shape, and it provides that sense of accomplishment that I was missing in my life. One thing I really miss about gymnastics was competing - and although I don't race to win against other competitors, having people cheer you on and wait for you at the finish line is incredibly rewarding for me. I decided to start writing this blog to keep myself accountable with my running goals, and to share the random ups and downs I go through. Thanks for reading!

Keep calm & run on. Right? :) Now, to get over this bad cold so I can get back on track...

xo
-Dianne