Thursday, July 24, 2014

.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! :)

Monday, July 7, 2014

.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