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

It all a distant dream… my girlfriends and I went to Scottsdale AZ for a spa getaway a few weeks ago. Our flight left Vancouver, BC at 7:30 a.m. We landed in Phoenix, got the car rental, stocked up on snacks and bevies and were at the Princess Fairmont pool by 1 p.m. After a few hours in the blazing sun I headed to my first spa appointments; a sixty minute massage is just want I needed to shift into relaxation mode.

“Beep beep beep…” I pushed the snooze button on my blackberry alarm two mornings in a row. CC and I hiked Camelback Mountain and Pinnacle Peak. We figured it would be best to start before it got to hot. Jules was perplexed by the sound of alarm clocks on vacation. “Have fun girls, I’ll be by the pool when you get back.” she yawned waving from her cloud like bed.  By 9 a.m. it was well over 100 degrees but we persisted and kept going even though I was sweating profusely and CC was showing symptoms of dehydration.

The first hike was followed by coffee, a shower and breakfast. I had about two hours of R&R  then changed in my workout wear and headed out to the hotel gym to meet Charles the Personal Trainer for a session. I was strangely energized and ready to give er’. I was also curious to see what I’d get for a $89 +18% gratuity PT session. Twenty five minutes in Charles asked “How you feeling?” “Greeeeat!” I grinned. “Huh?” He seemed surprised then kept insisting I maneuver the most difficult variation of each exercise he presented me. Charles was really nice and was able to quickly determine how hard he could  push me. “You’ve been taught great form” he complimented. We talked about the hike I’d just done and I explained that overcoming the heat was the most challenging part for me. “Camelback is a small hill compared to the Grouse Grind” I told to him. “I’ll have to come to Vancouver and hike this Grouse Grind you speak about.” Charles said. The Fairmont charges $64 for a 30 minute stretch session so it was nice of Charles to include a 20 minutes stretch at the end of my session. He observed the same as every other trainer and massage therapist does “You need to stretch more!” he said. My review of my Personal Training session at the Princess Fairmont was A+. Charles was friendly, personable, knowledgeable and adaptable. If you live in the Scottsdale area or plan on traveling there and would like a good ass kicking I would recommend calling him for a workout.

The week we got back I was swamped at work and only managed to squeeze in one PT session with de Wolf and one climb up the Grouse Grind. Our first attempt of the year was executed at 6:30 a.m.  The only good thing about going that early is the lack of other ‘crazy people’ in our way.  de Wolf  suggested we go up twice but by the time I got my sorry butt to the top there was no way! “I’m not going again, not happening!!” I shouted.  How quickly I forget how hard this hike is. “How did we do this three times in a row?” I asked de Wolf reminiscing of the day last summer we hiked up the Grouse Grind three times in a row before 11 a.m. where I’d actually I finish each climb under an hour and he’d finished his well under 50 minutes each. To me that seemed impossible right now.

This week was way more productive.  I had two PT sessions where abs seemed to be the “core” focus; fitting as bikini season is upon us I also laced up for the first time in seven weeks and did two short seven kilometer runs. Yesterday morning after the best uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep in a very long time, I decided to attempt a real run. Out before 8 a.m. the sun was shining, Stanley Park was all mine as I enjoyed my new tunes and the great West Coast scenery. Nowhere near a record time I was still pleased to complete 17 km with ease after such a long running hiatus. So even though I haven’t been training and will probably not run a personal best I’m thinking of signing up for the Scotia half marathon next weekend. “JUST DO IT!” Right?

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