Happy sunny Tuesday and first day of Spring to you!!

We have been spoiled with beautiful weather around here, it’s unbelievable! I actually broke out the flip-flops this weekend.. but let’s back up a little bit, shall we?

Last Friday morning, after a cup of coffee and some light stretching, I was out the door for a 17km run. The weather was perfect, I remembered not to overdress and was determined for a good run and that it was! Near the end, my stomach was a little woozy from the caffeine and lack of food but all and all it was a great run. I don’t know what my pace was but what I do know is that it felt awesome to start my day out hitting the pavement.
After packing the car up, Friday evening we headed to my parents house for the weekend because we had some meetings with clients in that area. One of my best girlfriends had a baby last week and She is the first in my close group of girlfriends to have a baby and we are SO thrilled for her! Of course, I had to see him and he is just SO precious! Congrats Lauren!! The awesome blogger that I am, I forgot my camera but here’s a pic just for fun from an event in November
Saturday morning came around and I woke up aching and not feeling so hot. I managed to pull myself together and get through the meetings with clients and had a good day with G-Man. Saturday evening we sat around the campfire [in the middle of March] in our TSHIRTS! How crazy is that? I am definitely not complaining!  The partier that I am, I turned in early for a good nights rest.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling worse with no energy. It really just felt like sharp – pressured like lower abdominal pain. If you’ve noticed the last little while I haven’t posted any TRX, abs, or HIIT workouts and that’s because for over a month now I haven’t been able to do any ab workouts (which is a huge bummer; I love that burn!) because I have a lump that has been causing me trouble and when I do certain exercises it’s be more painful. Anyways, I thought that’s what the pain was from.

G-Man had a photo shoot scheduled around lunch time and since I’m his "lovely assistant", I went with him and thought I could help him with no problems. Man, was I wrong! Shortly after the stylist and models arrived, I started feeling really rough. I almost passed out, ended up heaving in the bathroom and had to call my mom to come and get me. I felt so bad that happened. I left G-Man to do his job – he probably loved being in a room full of beautiful women!
ANYWAYS, fast forward to today… the photo shoot was a success! Apparently, I have gastroenteritis (inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract) which could last 3-10 days (that has no relation to the lump – my Doctor originally thought it was a hernia [which is no biggie] but after two ultra sounds coming back negative we’re not sure).

Oh yeah, ATB IS IN 4 DAYS. I managed to eat a piece of toast today which is more than the last three days and have been trying to stay hydrated with Gatorade and popsicles. I REALLY want to run the race that I have worked so hard towards but with how I’m feeling I’m not sure it’s possible. I’ll decide tomorrow what I’m going to do. If I can’t run it, I need to give enough time to sell my bib. The two most important things during race week are fueling and hydration, two things which I’ve obviously been lacking. Fingers crossed things work out in my favour.

Have you ever had to cancel a race due to injury or illness?

What are you doing today on the first day of SPRING?

Remember that long run I was debating? Well, I am happy to report that I had a great 20km run [last Thursday]. I woke up early, had a cup of coffee to get things flowing ifyouknowwhatImean, so I would have no reason to cut my run short. It was a bit windy and rainy throughout but thankfully not overly cold. Thinking back on my run, I actually remember running with a smile on my face (yeah, I’m sure I looked pretty special). It just felt sooo good to get a long run in and even better that I felt strong and was able to hold a good pace.

Does anyone else feel overly tired after a long run (after the runners high of course)? There comes a point in the day where I am just so incredibly tired, I can’t function or be productive unless I have a nap. I didn’t have a nap after said long run, instead, I drove to my parents house for the weekend because I had some appointments in town. Very safe, I know.. thankfully, I didn’t fall asleep.

I was looking forward to running the country roads and around my old stomping grounds. Turns out the run royally sucked so I cut it short and ended at 12km. That’s okay, it happens. Before, whenever I had a bad run, I would feel awful like such a failure and just a crappy runner. Now, that’s not the case! It happens… we all have bad runs and that’s okay! The most important part is that we lace up and head out the door for some movement. It’s still time to think and let go of the everyday stresses. Now I’ve learned to really embrace that time, especially on those days when I have an amazing run and on the days that I don’t, well I don’t beat myself up over it and I hope you don’t either!

Fast forward to today and look at the weather we are having:

AMAZING!!!! It is soooooooooo nice outside!! Fingers crossed it’s like this come race day. If so, I may have to put my winter gear away. How cool would that be? I headed out the door later than usual for a run and oh geez, am I seeing a pattern here? It sucked. I was way overdressed, overheating and everything hurt. I walked a lot and ended up taking my jacket and headband off and carried it. It was however incredible to run in the sunshine again. LOVE it!
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I have been really stressed out lately, so it was nice to spend some time with The Sista laughing and catching up. Friday night we baked some muffins, surprise surprise. They turned out more like bread in muffin shape and were maybe just a little bit dry. Did I mention we didn’t use a recipe?  Hey, it’s more fun to make your own rules sometimes!  Mi Madre surprised me with some goodies… I am loving the vanilla bean Gu along with blueberry pomegranate chomps. They taste so good and are easy to get down.

Saturday night we went to my Aunt’s 60th birthday party. It was nice to visit with family who I don’t regularly see, especially my cousin who is visiting from out West. Can’t wait to spend more time with her in the summer!
holy, shiny faces!
I had two, TWO small glasses of red wine. I should mention that I am not a big drinker and G-Man doesn’t drink AT ALL. Well, on Sunday, I think I was feeling a little under the weather if you get what I mean.. how ridiculous is that?! That was another confirmation that I really am a Granny. Man, I’m getting old.

Hey all!

Two weeks and four days until race day. I’m not really sure how I feel about that… but let’s back up a little.

I have been getting in some decent runs in the past few weeks and feel pretty good.. Sort of. Last Friday night, I prepared all of my things for a long run the next morning; my lip chap, Gu chomp’s, water, halls (I still have my cough).. you know, all the goodies. But I had also charged my iPod just in case I had to run on the treadmill. It was crazy windy out, there was gust winds of I don’tknowhowhigh but it was even difficult walking as it felt like it was going to blow me over. I woke up early Saturday morning to the winds howling and decided I would hit the gym up instead and challenge myself with a 22km run on the dreadmill. I’m always up for a good challenge…

Well, I get everything set up (yes, I’m an organized freak) and start a run’n. I felt so good and knew with the way that I was feeling, I could for sure do it. I found my rhythm, had a good pace going and thankfully didn’t fall off the treadmill. Bonus! About 40 minutes into my run, I started to feel like I was going to pass out and things got blurry. It was frustrating because I was feeling so good in the beginning! I took two Gu chomps, drank some water but couldn’t shake it for some reason. Not only did I need to get my long run in but WANTED to as well!  I pushed myself to 60 minutes, 6.8 miles, took a break for a few minutes and tried again but stopped within the first 5 minutes. How embarrassing would be that to pass out at the gym? No thanks. I was disappointed but reminded myself that the important thing is that I tried and felt like the run that I did complete was a quality run.
Sunday morning came around and I pushed myself out the door for a solid 14km run. I was happy to get my legs moving but even happier that the winds had died down quite a bit! But I still really want to get another long run in before the 25th, more so mentally than physically. Ok, maybe both. I don’t know.  30km is FAR and I want to make it across that finish line whether I’m running or crawling. Hopefully I’ll cross it running strong though! Is it a bad idea if add a long run into my training? Come on you experienced runners out there, I need our advice!! 
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I have been baking a lot and experimenting with some recipes lately.. mainly muffins and loaves (yes, I need to expand my horizons a bit, I know) but they have been turning out great and the boys love them. These "Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal" were a big hit and definitely my favourite. I had planned on sharing the recipe with you but somehow the piece of paper I scribbled the recipe on got thrown out. Oopsies.
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What’s your workout today?
~ a TRX workout and a ZUMBA class!

How many of you watched The Bachelor on Monday and what did you think of Courtney?
~I’m ashamed to say that I look forward to watching The Bachelor every week and unfortunately, I think her apology is too little too late for a lot of those girls.