Keep on keeping on.

Wow, it has been such a busy few weeks... hmm let me update some of the going on's:

1. Exercise:Mountain biking: Upgraded to a new park. I knew the degree of difficulty was upgraded by the serious looking athletes in the parking lot. This was a tough day of riding which I did pretty darn good on..... until the 5 mins before leaving when I wiped out ans smashed my shoulder and hip on some rocks. My legs are covered in bruised the worst being a particularly nasty one on my hip, which is the size of a grapefruit.... But I LOVE that trail system. Because of the mountain biking my legs are much stronger these days and my running times have improved. I just feel much stronger when I'm running. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder this week doing TRX training, and haven't felt great since then.... Hoping an osteopath (accupuncture) treatment this week will solve that. My trainer is leaving on Friday for 3 weeks vacation so I need to push myself hard while he's gone.

2. Work: I was presented with an award at work this week - A principles in practice (PIP) award. Considering I am covering a mat leave which is a higher level than I am currently doing makes me very proud of my achievement. It makes me happy to know my bosses are recognizing my hard work.

3. Personal: I am on vacation for the next two weeks - I have also challenged myself to lose a large amount of weight in the next month. I plan on pushing myself to the limit for 1 month and see what I can accomplish. I am not going to post any numbers because I don't want to set myself up for failure, but will post whether or not I reached my goal at the end of the month. It's also my birthday on Tuesday. I am turning 45. I totally do not feel 45 (and I don't think I look it either). I took a picture yesterday before going out with some friends to celebrate(posted below). I couldn't help to notice how healthy and happy I look. I see that sparkle in my eyes again. No major plans to celebrate, however I am looking into booking a night away with my three nieces next week at a spa/hotel/ adventure park where I hope to ZIP LINE for the first time ever. Whoo hoo picture will follow!



and here is a comparison pic from when I started to today:

Exhausted

I remember my life not too long ago when I was tired all the time from just sitting around doing nothing, fast forward to the last few weeks and I haven't had a moment to myself. Last Friday boxing, saturday mountain biking, sunday- boxing, Monday: weight training, tuesday - mountain biking, today - running.

Tomorrow is my rest day, so I won't be going to the gym or working out at all. Hopefully I will be able to catch up on some sleep.

Today I worked out with my trainer in the empty covered parking lot at the mall where my gym is located - It was really hot!!! I ran the perimeter of the parking lot 5 times (2.5k) then did a bunch of running drills (around cones, backwards etc) and then he set out a 40 meter distance and I had to do sprints (think 100 meter dash). I was surprised at how I was able to accelerate. My first attempt was 6 seconds (my trainer was hoping I would be under 15) My average time for the 10 sprints was about 10 seconds. Not to shabby for a 240lb 45 yr old ;) I still keep saying to myself, imagine what I could do if I were 50lbs lighter...... One of these days I am gonna get it all together.

Mountain Biking - First time out

Saturday was my first time out on the trails on my new bike. It was a beautiful morning and the park wasn't too busy. I have to admit I was feeling a little bit rusty out there, since I haven't been on a bike since last summer pretty much. At the park you get killed right from the get go as you climb a steep hill right from the parking lot to the main road - I had to stop for a sec and catch my breath. Then there is another hill (off road) that is a bit rocky and very steep. I had to push my bike up part of this. So by the time I got to the main trail, I was already tired.

After about 10 minutes, the burn in my legs dissappeared and my breathing shallowed and we hit an off road loop - the trail is pretty rocky, there are hills that are covered with rock and tree stumps and there are areas that are smooth but have sharp inclines. My bike was fantastic on the rocky areas. My old bike was a leisure bike so it had thin wheels and no treads and I use to get knocked around on these trails - my new bike has nice thick wheels with solid treads and I just breezed through the rocky areas. The only downfall was that because of the treads I find I am a lot slower on the smooth areas and I get more timed because it takes more effort to move the bike. I guess that really isn't a downfall though because I'm probably burning more calories. So we rode yesterday for 90 minutes and covered approximately 20k of trail.

Looking forward togetting out there again next weekend. Right now my focus is moved to today. I am going boxing.

Happy Canada Day!

Fantastic Canada Day today spent with some good friends out in Milton Ontario. Did a walk down to the fairgrounds where we did tons of walking in the hot sun and then came back to make a beautiful BBQ of pepercorn steak, grilled zuccini and peppers and an amazing Californian wine to go with it. Then we walked back to the fairgrounds to listen to the live band - A BeeGee's cover band and then watched the fireworks..... lots of sun, lots of walking and lots of fun....

Now I am gonna catch some zzzzzz's before heading back out there tomorrow for some mountain biking- Can't wait