PT Diaries

My long weekend launched off Wednesday with a late lunch at Cactus Club with my friend Shauna. She was there when I arrived and was holding a beautiful burgundy drink.  “The sangria is awesome!” she said as the waitress came up to our table; I pointed at her refreshing looking cocktail “I’ll have one of those please!”

After one glass I was feeling my happy place.“Holly Yum…!”I smiled. “Aren’t they the best!” Shauna said. When the waitress came back and we ordered a second round. I sighed “Yikes… I could really get on roll here but I’m supposed to do the Grouse Grind.” Shauna slightly rolled her eyes “Have fun with that?!” I started to think it may be a bit ambitious of me to hike tipsy especially as I recalled my disappointing first hike of the year a few weeks ago where I didn’t come close to breaking an hour (1:07:44). I don’t know if it was too early in the morning or what but I couldn’t find my pace and just wasn’t able get my breathing in check. It felt as is I had to stop every twenty steps.

Mike, Michelle and I headed up around 6 p.m. and my only intention was to find a pace where I didn’t have to stop. I reached the first quarter mark in 15 minutes and knew if I was able to keep my rhythm I’d make it under and hour. I reached the top in 58:14  “Bring it ON!! I shaved ten minutes off my first climb! I said jumping around. Every Wednesday is social night at the top of Grouse Mountain so we decided to stay and have some nachos and of course a few drinks. The elevation really does wonders for your buzz We chatted about Mike and Michelle’s Iron Man experiences and laughed our asses off while “beerstorming” (brain storming) for innovative fitness ideas I could bring to my blog.  (Which I will share with you in future posts)

When I got home I popped a melatonin and slept for six glorious hours. It was heavenly! Thursday morning my girlfriend CC came over for a short run. We ran my usual seven kilometres Cambie to Burrard bridge loop. She’s training for the Okanagan BMO Half Marathon in October and managed to convince me to sign up as well. “Twist my arm!”

Later in the day I meet Hank and Jules at Local in Kits. The vibe there is pretty relaxed and the drinks over the bridge are so cheap! But today’s 20 something fashion trends are seriously disturbing.  All the girls were wearing scarves (it’s not winter) flannel chequered shirts and/or flip flops. I just don’t get it?! A few sangria’s..blah blah blah… a few tequila shots, fast forward….fireworks and “Happy Canada Day!”

Friday morning I had to go into work- blech! I took care of the few necessary tasks and rushed home to grab my fur baby Gucci (Yorkshire Terrier) and went to North Vancouver to meet my friend SM and his dog Reggin for a hike in the trails. We walked about five km then headed back to his house which is absolutely gorgeous; it looks like it’s permanently staged for a photo shoot in Modern Living Magazine. We sat in the backyard basking in the sun drinking Frenz Rose from Naramata,B.C. I was pacing my intake because I planned on running 17 km the next morning, when deWolf sent me a text and told me he had an opening for a session instead.

Saturday I woke up refreshed and got ready for my PT session. I decided to run the 7 km to the gym. I was unsure of how long it would take me because of the elevation on the last few kilometres. I made it in 42:55 and could instantly tell that deWolf had no intention of taking it easy on me; I knew he was actually going to push me harder than normal!  Argh! I know he thinks I can be problematic. I sometimes bring tude’ to our session’s and tend to question why he makes me do certain exercises. He’s stubborn, I’m stubborn and we butt heads from time to time.  But he’s encouraging and supportive in his own unique way, yet never forgets to remind me that I am capable of more. Given that I’m surrounded by friends and family who tell me I’m fantastic all the time his form of motivation typically works. After an hour of arms drills, core exercises, squats and hill sprints I was feeling surprisingly okay. I geared up, grabbed my iPod and headed out for the 7 km trek back home. My legs started to get heavy and forced me to slow down as I headed over the Burrard Bridge.  In total,  I ran 14.10 km in 1:22.

That evening the girls came over for dinner and copious amount of wine.  We all ravaged the low fat turkey lasagna I whipped up earlier that day and shared lots of laughs.

On Sunday I didn’t roll out of bed until ten am. I lazed around and later on hooked up with Alicia for a long overdue chitchat …and yes… more sangria!  But as all good things, the weekend has now come to an end and the reality of my week ahead has set in. I’m staying upbeat by enjoying the wonderful weather and as much running (away from life) as possible.

PT Girl xo

I had an off week. My legs were sore and tight at the beginning of the week and don’t feel any better today. Work was busier than usual and had a hard time sleeping. I either tossed and turned all night or suffered through crazy nightmares. This combination made me irritable and cranky; so keeping positive and on track with my training this week was definitely trying. Monday was my rest day, which was needed after my long hilly run last Sunday; but sleep deprived I went my Tuesday personal training session with de Wolf feeling lethargic. Wednesday I ran 9 km, slower than I would have liked. Thursday I was in a mood but went to my second personal training session anyways. Come Friday I was exhausted after work but forced a short 6 km run before going out for dinner. Fatigue finally caught up to me and I actually slept 7 hours. Saturday morning I felt sluggish. I could have sat around, read the paper and sipped on coffee and Baileys till noon. But the sun was shining and I knew I should stick to my scheduled 19 km run in case the rain came on Sunday.  I psyched myself, pulled on my favorite Nike crops and luluemon shirt, pressed shuffle on my iPod and started running.  I had a slow start but gained momentum around 7 kilometers and felt strong through to 14 kilometers. I popped a Cliff Blok at 15 kilometers. I refused to carry a water bottle on my runs but find that a few Cliff Bloks gives me the boost I need.  My glutes were burning during most of the run and I mentally struggled, feeling as if I was behind pace; yet somehow managed to finishing 19.1 km in 1h 49mins. Considering my negative state of mind and the pain in my legs I was content with my time; for this week.  Saturday night I attended my friend’s birthday party and indulged in a little alcohol for the first time in 20 days.  Although I didn’t have to nurse a hangover this morning I was “fuzzy” and sat around watching “Mean Girls” on TV. Once the credits ran at the end I was mortified that I’d lost 2 hours of my life on such a ridiculous movie. I tried to read but was unable to relax so I laced up for a short recovery run, hoping it would take the edge off; with no avail. Blah! I’m looking forward to my rest day tomorrow…. maybe I’ll make an appointment with a registered massage therapist to loosen up my legs.

PT Girl xo

Hank and I have been friends for a few years now; he was actually one of the people who persuaded me to get a personal trainer. When I first started working out he somehow convinced me to climb the Grouse Grind with him. For those of you that aren’t familiar, the Grouse Grind is a hiking trail that measures 2.9 km in distance (1.8 miles) with an elevation gain of 853 meters (2,800 feet).  My first time was painfully slow taking me an hour and fifteen minutes to reach the top.  He can easily reach the top in 40 minutes but he stuck by my side. “You see that little old lady behind you? Whatever you do, do not let her pass you” he said,  pushing me not to stop.  Like many people in Vancouver I’ve developed an obsession with the Grind and hike it regularly every summer with Hank, Mike and deWolf; each time pushing for a new record time to the top.  But when Hank and I go we always partake in what we think is the best part; the beer sales at the top!

Hank is what I consider “natural born athletes.” He can run a half marathon without training and does a 5k in 18:30 and doesn’t break a sweat.  He’s on a basketball team, soccer team, hockey team and plays golf; just to name a few. He is younger than me, fitter than me and can definitely party harder than me. My problem is I try and keep up. Last time we got together was on Thursday after my personal training session for dinner at Trattoria. We had a great meal and polished off 3 bottles of wine. Argh!! What pain the next day at work!

After the ‘Olympic Party’ left Vancouver at the end of February we both vowed to stay away from alcohol for the entire month of March. This goal is a stretch for me but is definitely going to be a challenge for him. When I’m with deWolf breakfast is usually involved after our athletic activities but drinks after a workout goes without saying when I’m with Hank. So when we made plans to get together on Monday we had to swear to each other that no matter what we would to stick to our plan and stay away from booze; especially since we had both made it through our first weekend ‘dry’.  The deal was to do a leisurely run and then have sushi for dinner. “Sounds healthy right?”

We meet at Marinaside Crescent and headed down the seawall towards Burrard Bridge, right away catching up on gossip (of course). Rather than taking my usual loop around False Creek, Hank suggested we turn right when we got over bridge and jog along Cornwall Street towards Kits beach. The view of the mountains along the water was fabulous. “I should really venture out to this side more often” I thought to myself. Though it was a chilly the sun was out and lots of people were milling about enjoy the weather. We crossed back under Granville Bridge heading towards large staircase that brings us up to the Cambie Street Bridge.  I was just about to start the climb when I turned around to find Hank on the pavement doing pushups; I giggled as I notice a couple on a bench looking at him as if he was out of his mind. “I’ll take a picture…” teasing I’d post it on my blog. In all we ran about 8 km in 50 minutes, not bad considering our nonstop chatter and frequent photo stops.

We decided against sushi and choose to have dinner at the Hurricane Grill instead. “I’ll have an Ako Salad and an herbal tea” I said. “I’ll have the steak salad and a cranberry soda” Hank said. We ate our salad and as always swapped ab exercises, workout routines and new fitness goals. “Would you like refills on your drinks?” the waitress asked almost mockingly. “Yes please” we said as one.  It felt odd not to have a cocktail, as if ‘something’ was missing. As we were finishing up the waitress came back with the dessert menu; we paused awkwardly and Hank said “hummm…ok, maybe we’ll have a look…..” Well, we did run 8 km and burned approximately 500 calories each. We both had salads for dinner and drank non alcoholic beverages; which technically means we save about 450 calories each. Yup… that’s justification enough for us…. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry I was ‘high’ from all the sugar…yum!

PT Girl xo

Last night started with poutine and ended a drunken catastrophe on the dance floor. But I guess that’s what 10 GG cranberry martinis will do to a girl. The dark hours were definitely good for my fragile over 30 ego!  But the problem with being so carefree is the lack of motivation that is guaranteed to follow in the light of day.

My plan to run 17 km was replaced with bacon and coffee with my trainer and sans real effort on his behalf made me feel like a sloth for committing to sofa surfing all day. I can run hung-over but not if I feel as if I’ve been run over. Lacing up will not happen until tomorrow.

PT Girl xo