Running and flowers

I’ve been getting back into running lately. For the past three weeks, I’ve been following the couch to 5k program, and so far, so good. Except yesterday. Yesterday was not good. It was the last day of week three and I needed to get my third run in.

I did not want to run.

I went to a kick-my-butt yoga class in the morning, then ran some errands. All I wanted to do after that was crash on the couch for a while and read my book. The thing is, when my friend Suzanne and I started running together, I made us these motivation calendars. What’s a motivation calendar, you ask? Well, it’s a calendar where you get to put a sticker when you go running. Little feet for running, stars for yoga.

The only thing that made me go on that run was the thought of not getting a third sticker for the week. Not because I really love stickers (but who doesn’t love stickers?) but because if I didn’t go, that empty space on my calendar would mock me every time I walked by it.

So I went running. I’m not going to lie and say that as soon as I started running, I felt amazing. No. I felt like I was on a run I didn’t want to be on. But about halfway through, I got over my crankiness and enjoyed myself. I really, really enjoyed putting that sticker on my calendar!

Today, Sunday, is mother’s day. My mom is awesome, which is a good thing, because I’m becoming more and more like her. There is no doubt that I am my mother’s daughter and I couldn’t be happier about it. I hope that, when I have kids, I’m just like her. She used to take my sister and I on all sorts of adventures, playing under a bridge (seriously the coolest thing ever when you’re a kid) letting us take all the lessons we wanted (figure skating, horsback riding and step dancing anyone?) and baked, played, danced, sang, read with us all the time. And I mean all the time. She was, and still is, always there for us.

Every year, since I was little, I pick May flowers for my mom on mother’s day. Last year, I had a nasty cold and I still stopped by the side of the road and picked flowers for her. This year, don’t ask me what happened, but I forgot. I know! How could I forget!? My mom did not say anything, probably so I wouldn’t feel bad, but when my sister showed up, she asked “Where are the May flowers?”

I couldn’t believe I forgot, so I took my two little cousins and drove out to my “secret spot” so we could pick some for our moms. Sadly, my mom only got a small bouquet, as the kids were so into it, yelling “I found one!” whenever they saw a flower, that I just had to leave more for them.

Here’s a tip: If you’re going to be walking in the cold, mucky woods, don’t wear thin little flats.

The rest of the day was spent indoors, eating delicious food and spending time with family. And that included doing the dishes!

Getting back on track

Last week was awesome! I started running again, with my friend Suzanne. On Tuesday, I went for a run, then did two yoga classes, back to back. Power yoga and yin. Wednesday was yoga. Thursday, another run. I ate well: no sugar, no gluten. It was a good week.

Then, the weekend happened.

There’s only one word to describe this weekend: indulgent.

It was a great weekend, packed with family, friends and sunshine.

Friday, there was a surprise girl’s night for my aunt’s birthday. Enter red wine, bread and cheese, and lots and lots of laughing!

Saturday, another girl’s night, this time with friends. Fish and chips, beer, lattes and cookies. Again, lots of laughing and fun times. We even bought a lottery ticket, convinced we were going to win 17 million dollars. Sadly, we did not win.

Sunday morning, I woke up with great intentions. I went to yoga, went for a run and drank a really tasty sugar-free electrolyte water thing to counter the effects of the booze.

The thing is, Sunday was a perfect srping day. Nice and sunny. The kind of day that’s best spent on a patio with your best friend, eating more fried food and drinking more beer. Followed by ice cream. Oh my. When I got home, I sat on the couch and couldn’t move. Not good.

So today, Monday, I decided to get back to the awesomeness of eating right. It just makes me feel better. I did have a piece of cheesecake with lunch, but hey, I’m not perfect! I stopped for groceries on the way home and stocked up on delicious, non-gluteny, non-sugary, non-alcoholic food.

Here’s to a great week!

Run baby run!

I’m not athletic. I sometimes have shorts bursts of wanting to be sporty. Like people who play sports. But then I remember that I don’t really like sports. Sports require a lot of coordination. Also, if you play on a team, people usually want to win whatever game from whatever sport you’re playing. I don’t care about winning a sports game/match/whatever, because I don’t like sports.

It’s a good thing I have yoga.

Not liking sports doesn’t mean I don’t like to exercise. I used to go to the gym. I liked it, until I got bored. Also, I used to run. I love running. I still consider myself a runner, even though it’s been a while and I’ve never run more than a 5k.

In the past year, I’ve only been running a handful of times. I was busy. Yoga makes me happy, so I do yoga all the time and I don’t run. But running makes me happy too. Humm, this is a problem that does not require great intelligence to fix (not that I don’t have great intelligence. I’m super duper smart. Just ask my mom.)

I was talking to my friend Suzanne about this a few weeks ago. She just had a baby, and she’s never run before, but she said she wanted to start. Since I’ve been on hiatus for so long, we decided to start together and do a couch to 5k.

If you’ve never heard of this program before, look it up, it’s great! It’s a program designed to get you to run a 5k in 8 weeks.

Today was our first day and it was absolutely fantastic! We had such a great time! I’ve always run by myself before, so this was a treat. Also, it helped that we went to Starbucks when we were done. But mostly, it was the running that was so freakin’ fabulous.

We didn’t coordinate our outfits on purpose. But it is totally something we would do.

We’ve decided to run together once a week, and do the other two runs on our own. It’s a pretty gentle start, with the first week being a 25 minute run/walk interval sequence. I have big plans for running and yoga tomorrow, so I’m pretty excited!

This next part has nothing to do with running, but everything to do with helping me become a yoga teacher! Please click on the link to watch my video and help make my dream come true! If you’ve watched it before, please watch it again, every view counts! Thanks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FymAS1je9o0

Run for the cure

This morning I participated in a 5k run for “Run for the cure” to help in the fight agains breast cancer. Ok, it was actually a 5k walk, not a run! I haven’t been running lately. Participating in a 30-day yoga challenge meant I had to chose, I couldn’t do it all. It was still lots of fun and we had a big team, called Pink Power. It started off cloudy and I was hoping the rain would hold off, but as soon as we started out, it started to drizzle. Not pouring or anything, so it could have been worse! It was like being at Niagara Falls, where there’s a mist everywhere. There were 10 000 people there, all wearing pink!

Now I’m off to the final class of my yoga challenge. Lots of people from the challenge are going to be there, so it’s going to be one big yoga party! I can’t wait!

Positive motivation, from me to you!

Yesterday I came across some very disturbing pictures and messages online. I’d heard of thinspo, short for thinspiration, but I had no idea how awful it really was. Girls are posting and liking pictures of emaciated young women as their inspiration. This is what they aim to look like. I refuse to post any of the pictures I saw, but some of them had messages like “I only feel beautiful when I’m hungry”, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” and “Your stomach is not growling, it’s applauding”.

When I started this blog, I decided it would be my happy place. I could go on about how horrible and dangerous these thinspo photos are, and how damaging they are to young and not so young girls everywhere, but I won’t. Instead of adding to the negativity, I decided to create my own form of inspiration. Let’s call it Blisspo. I know that word makes no sense. That’s not the point.

What is the point? I think it’s about balance. I try to eat right and excercise, but I also like brownies and watching tv. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be a little slimmer, usually when I wear a bathing suit, but I work out to be healthy, not to be skinny.

So here is the first ever collection of Blisspo photos I created just for you. Enjoy and don’t take it too seriously!

Just add water

It’s been really hot the past few days. I live on the third floor, so there’s no escaping the heat. I’m not complaining, partly because I know this is just a taste of what’s to come!

Yesterday, I was supposed to spend the day with a friend, but she drank too much wine at a wedding the night before, tsk, tsk! It was such a beautiful day that I couldn’t just stay in. It might have been a good idea, since the end of the school year is close and that means lots of papers to grade and report cards to fill in. Yuck. I decided to go running along the canal instead.

It’s very pretty but it can also be quite smelly. The water’s not stagnant, but it doesn’t move much either. I saw a guy doing stand up paddling. I really want to try that. Maybe not on the canal thought. I’m pretty sure I would fall in the water several times and canal water is yucky.

I hope he didn’t think I was a stalker.

Going running along the canal was also number 23 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. I put it on the list because it’s one of those things I always said I would do, but never actually did.

Today was another hot day. Since it was Monday, I had to work, but Julie and I decided to go have lunch at the marina. It was much cooler there and we had a nice breeze. Lots of ducks, too.

I forgot my camera (I know, strange!) so Julie took some pictures with her phone. She took one of me eating my lunch. My skirt is kind of blowing up, but I’m still decent.

After work, I wanted to test something out. If it’s 40 degrees outside and 40 degrees inside the yoga studio, is is still hot yoga? Or is it just yoga? I wondered if I was crazy going to hot yoga on a day like today, but I was going to be hot no matter what I did, I figured it might as well be something fun.

Turns out, hot yoga is hot yoga, no matter what the temperature is outside. It was a great class. It wasn’t as hot as usual (31 degrees) and the fans were on, but I still got plenty sweaty. It was a fearless flow class, where the ultimate goal is an inversion. We worked on handstands. That stuff is hard! My hands and arms were so sore! I can still only lift one leg at a time, but I kind of hop around and pretend I’m a cirque du soleil performer. It helps with the motivation.

When I got home, it was still pretty hot, so I decided to have dinner at the beach. I grabbed a few things and put on my swimsuit. Now, I don’t know about you, but for me, the first time I put on a bathing suit in the summer is a slightly traumatic experience. I didn’t think I would go swimming, but I wanted to be prepared in case I got the urge to fling myself into the lake.

I ate, I read a little and dipped my toes in the water. It was windy and perfect.

It’s supposed to rain tomorrow, so I guess I’ll be getting more water!

Frog feet

After dinner I went for what was supposed to be a run, but turned out to be just a walk. My ankle has been hurting lately, making me think maybe I need to look into those weird shoes with the toes that make your feet look like frog feet. From what I’ve heard, people who had all kinds of aches and pains while running don’t have them with these funny looking toe-shoes.

I don’t see a difference.

I’ve been finding it very hard to motivate myself lately. I’m tired after work and all I want to do is sit on the couch and watch the food network. Maybe if I had new running shoes…

After I finally got my butt out of it’s groove on the couch, I went to Leamy Lake, which is just a 5 minute drive from my place. I thought it might rain, because it was really windy and the leaves were turning, but it was fine.

The first thing I saw when I got there were Canada geese. They even had baby geese! Goslings, I think. I got as close as I dared to take a picture, but those are scary animals, all beaks and long necks and weird honking noises. You don’t want to mess with them. They’re not very smart either. Once, I had to stop on the highway because one genius decided to walk across 4 lanes. He was in no hurry, just slowly making his way to the other side.

After the excitement with the geese, I walked around the lake. It’s really a bike path, so there are all these kids on skateboards zooming around and making me freak out because I think they’re going to fly off their skateboard, hit their head on a tree and fall into the lake. Then I’ll have to go in to save them, and it’s swampy and gross. None of them wear helmets. Makes me feel old.

Lovely bike path/dangerous skateboard accident waiting to happen.

Any tips on the frog feet shoes? Yes? No? Have they changed your life? Made you feel like you were a frog who can run? (Because really, I don’t think frogs run. They hop. Or climb trees. Or swim.) Thanks!

Trail running

Sometimes I think I’m not a real runner. Other days, I’m convinced I can run circles around anyone. Well, around turtles or squirrels or really slow rabbits. Today was an I-am-awesome-and-I-will-kick-ass-and-no-one-can-stop-me day. Never mind that my legs are still feeling the effects of Sunday’s 108 sun salutations or that my ankle has been feeling funny.

I’ve been trying to do a 30 x 30 challenge, where I spend 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days. So far, not so good. It’s been raining a lot and I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to running in the pouring rain. I’m not so girly or fluffy that I can’t handle a little drizzle, but when it’s coming down in sheets, I mean really, what’s the fun in that?

Today was sunny, so I decided not to waste it. Well, to be honest, I almost did. I came home and crashed on the couch after work. I was watching a show about people trying to lose weight and I thought “Why are you watching people excercise instead of doing it yourself?”

I headed out to Pink Lake to run along the path that circles the lake. There are a lot of stairs.

Stairs going up.

Stairs going down.

I decided to run the trails and walk the stairs. When I came to the first set of stairs, I thought “I’m sure I can run up.” So I did. Then I walked along the path clutching at trees and branches to keep from falling over as I tried to breathe for about 10 minutes. The sad (crazy?) thing is, as soon as I could breathe, I did it again. I proceeded to make my way around the lake this way. I think I scared two old ladies. Better me than a bear.

Trying to breathe.

It was beautiful out there, even though about a third of the way through, the mosquitoes found me. The sun was still out, but it wasn’t too hot. Perfect for a trail run/stair climb/stagger around the lake.

I even saw a turtle. His name was Walter. He was just floating in the water with his head sticking out. I asked him to turn around for a better picture, but he was camera shy. This is the best I got. I know, not great. Blame Walter, not me.

And now, as I write this, it’s starting to pour outside. Makes me happy I went out while the sun was shining!

Super Saturday Flow

I went to an amazing flow class this morning. Well, it was actually at 12, but since it’s Saturday, that’s considered morning. It was with Jen at Pure. This is good because Jen is one of my favourite teachers and Pure is one of my favourite places to be!

I was amazed at how my energy level was so much higher than when I go to a class after work. This turned out to be a great thing because Jen had all kinds of things for me to try. Well, for the whole class, but it felt like it was all for me.

We did crow pose. Awesome, because I can do this one now!

Then we did flying crow pose. I ended up looking an actual crow who has flown into a window, as I was always falling to the side. To keep things interesting, I alternated between falling to the right and falling to the left.

Then Jen said we would be doing some forearm balancing postures. She came up to me and said “I’m doing this for you!” It’s a really great feeling when your yoga teacher becomes your friend and she does whatever she can to help you achieve your ultimate yogic goal. In my case, it’s an inversion.

I tried to bring as much weight as I could into my arms and kicked up. Jen held my legs up. I actually don’t think they went all the way up, but it was fun. Then, when we did it again, I think I got overexcited and kind of gave a little hop, which made my right arm move off the mat. There was no saving this one and I ended up in a sweaty pile on my mat.

I could have kept going, but there were other people in the class who might not have been quite as interested by my attempt at a forearm stand, although I’m sure it was very entertaining to watch.

I also did bird of paradise, which I really enjoy, even if it’s another pose that gets me tangled up. I did wheel again too. That was a lot of fun, because I did my first wheel in Jen’s class. Now, I’m like a wheel expert. Ok, I’m not, but I can do it most of the time.

After class, I saw this on another yoga teacher’s facebook wall, and I felt like it was written for me!

I wanted a picture of Jen and I to post here, but I forgot my camera. We took some with my phone, lovely yoga hair and all, but I can’t figure out how to get them out of my phone. True story.

When I came home, all I wanted was a hot shower, but I knew that if I didn’t spend my 30 minutes outside right away, then I probably wouldn’t do it at all. I was already wet and sweaty, so I figured running in the rain wouldn’t be that bad. There’s a park close to my place, but it only takes about 5 minutes to run through it, as there are only 2 paths. Actually, it’s more like 1 and a half. One of them leads nowhere. I didn’t really want to run in circles, so I didn’t stay in the park, but I looped back at the end of my run to go through it one more time and I walked, to make it last longer.

I could smell the trees and the leaves like you can only when it’s raining. I saw some very pretty flowers I considered picking. I’ve done it before, even though I’m not sure it’s allowed. I know, I’m such a rebel. Outlawed flower picking.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Rainy Day

When was the last time you enjoyed rain? I mean, really enjoyed it? From outside, not from inside a nice, dry, house looking out? It had been a while for me. Then today, I got caught in a storm with 19 kids. How can you not enjoy that?

We went out for a field trip to paint mugs and bowls for father’s day. The weather was calling for an afternoon storm, but it was bright and sunny when we headed out, so I just assumed it would be ok.

I was wrong.

While we were painting, it started pouring. And this was no sissy rain either. Big raindrops that bounced when they hit the ground. Louder than the kids.

I love storms. When I was a kid, my mom used to tell us storms were like movies and we would open to door to watch the show. I try to do this with my students, because so many of them are afraid of thunder and lightning, and I want them to be excited instead. I think it’s working. Whenever the weather reports call for a storm, the kids tell me as soon as they get to school, just to see my reaction. Last year, we had a really big storm one day and we all turned our chairs towards the window and watched “the show”. Some of the kids even mentionned it today. (I have my students for three years, so they have lots of time to get used to my quirks!)

So back to today’s storm. It rained really hard for about 15 minutes, with some thunder and lightning, then the sun came out, so I told the kids we were leaving right away. The sun was pretty much just an illusion, because as soon as we started walking, everything turned grey again. When we heard thunder, the kids actually clapped and cheered! Thankfully, there was no lightning.

It was only a 10 minute walk back to school, but about halfway there, it started to rain again. Kids really know how to enjoy everything. They were looking up, jumping in puddles and squeeling. How often, as adults, do we walk in the rain without thinking What’s this doing to my hair? These are new shoes! I’m getting all wet and dirty! I did have to tell the kids to hurry up, however, because as much fun as it was, we had to get back to school.

This is what they looked like. Me too, actually.

When I got home from work, I fell asleep on the couch. I hardly ever have naps, and when I woke up, I remembered why. I was cranky and I just moped around. It’s not good for me to mess with my sleeping schedule. After a while, I couldn’t stand myself anymore and I decided to go for a run. I kind of wished it would rain again so I could get my happy feeling back. About halfway through my run, I realized I felt better and didn’t need the rain. Obviously, that’s when it started to rain! It was only a sprinkle, but it was like the universe was telling me “I hear you!”

My run inspired my picture of the day. The prompt was “a number” so I went with number 2 on my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. (yes, I know the numbers 101 and 1001 are messed up.) I’m not sure I’ll do it this week, but it will definitely be soon!

If you want to check out all the pictures from my challenge, click here.

Don’t forget to embrace the rain!