This weekend is the Saskatchewan Half Marathon. My training up to this event has been, let's say, sub par. Are we fighting, Running Gods? Have I done something to offend you? It seems like nothing went right this training period.

First and foremost, the blisters. It seems like every second run brings on newer and bigger blisters on top of older blisters. Yum.

Secondly, the tightness of my hip flexors and my knees. Apparently my hip flexors can flare up on me at any given moment - like during a 5 second run in baseball. And my knees have been feeling like those of a 75 year old woman. FYI, Running Gods, I'm 24.

Lastly, I haven't been running as much as I have in the past few times I've trained for a half. This isn't your fault I guess, Running Gods, but I like my lists to be at least 3 things long. My lungs are never the ones to give out on a long run (it's been my feet FYI I hate them) but still there's that inkling that I haven't run enough.

So basically, Running Gods, please look down on me with mercy this Sunday. I know I'm not going to be the speediest kid on the block, but I would love to not rip half the skin off my feet. Also - I have a wedding to go to the next weekend and it would be super cool if I could wear sandal type shoes and not have children run away in horror at the sight of my feet. But that's just me being vain.

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If only.

I promise I'll be good next time if you let me come out of this one unscathed. Like I'll legit foam roll and stretch everyday no matter what activity I do. Maybe. If I remember.

Lovingly yours,

Erin

PS: If you know the Personal Training Exam Gods, do you mind putting in a good word?

Look at all that beautiful Sasaktchewan grass! So alive and healthy!

But it could have something to do with the fact that I was waking up to go golfing instead of going to work. Small detail.

Mike and I were golfing machines this weekend. We played yesterday and Saturday because Mike has officially named this summer “The Summer We Get Really Good At Golf”, or TSWGRGAG for short ;) My game improved this weekend, but it’s easy to improve when you play the worst you’ve ever played in your life aka my game on Saturday.

I’ve seriously have lost all ability to drive and I have no idea why. Time to hit the range.

I may have also lost all ability to run a decent half this weekend. I had my long run scheduled for Sunday and after fuelling up

Blueberry pancakes and bacon - nom nom.

I headed out to do 12 out and back miles on the farm road that’s behind our condo. That same day, Mother Nature decided to throw 40-60km winds at us so I spent my first 6 miles leaning into the wind and feeling like I was running up a massive hill. I seriously had to check a few times to make sure I was actually moving because it sure didn’t feel like it. The last 6 miles were way better since the wind was at my back, but I was dead tired that afternoon.

Doesn't everyone take angry selfies after a horrible long run? No? Oh.

Pro Compression and Veronica Mars were my BFFs that afternoon.

Fast forward a few hours to our regular Sunday night slo-pitch game and I attempt to sprint to 1^st after batting....and immediately felt sore in my hip flexor. Add in sitting around, waiting, batting and running again and more sitting (it is baseball after all), and both my hip flexors were so tight and sore, it was difficult to walk. The next morning, I still felt stiff but was able to do a golf swing (tough life). This morning, they’re still stiff. I’m hoping that my stretching is helping and that I’ll be able to do a great taper run this week and feel fine. Fingers crossed! Glad I’m not going for a PR with this race.

In addition to the normal amount of anxiety I always feel before a race, I will also be filled with some regular old test anxiety this weekend – MY CANFITPRO PT EXAM IS ON SATURDAY!

So this week should go by FAST! I’ve set some mini goals for myself to keep up with my UA What’s Beautiful timeline – and it will also force me to take a break from studying/freaking out about things and relax.

How was your weekend?

Did you set any mini-goals this week?

See you guys later!

Now that Mike has a summer job, Sadie is all by her lonesome all day. She’s caught onto the new routine and now she makes her sad face and doesn’t leave my side all morning. Such is the life of a needy, Velcro dog.

Speaking of new routines...

I’ve been working on my chin-ups every day! The first day we installed the bar, I surprised myself and did one full chin-up! HOLLA! I’m stronger than I think! Then Mike did 3 in a row NBD, but I will have my revenge when I can do 10 by July. I’ve been at it for a week now and I can already see improvements and progress. Practice, practice, practice!

Backbend progress has been less than stellar. That could be because I haven’t worked on it yet – I’ve been too jazzed about the chin-ups ;) I’m heading down the yoga studio by my work today to get a membership so I can start going once a week over lunch. A few months ago when I was doing yoga regularly over lunch, I saw major improvements in my backbend (along with everything else). I hope that by going once a week to a studio and then doing a regular practice at home, I can meet and crush my Under Armour goal.

Other things:

-Slo-pitch season is here!

We had our first games on Sunday and it was so much fun! The season was delayed a few weeks because of flooding/snow still being here (only in Saskatchewan), so we had a double header. My right arm was a bit sore the next morning. Time to get in the swing of things!

-It’s crunch time for my canfitpro PT exam!

My brain absorbs info better when I have Cougar Town on in the background....

I have now finished reading every chapter and my notes are done. Now, it’s time to memorize and study hard. Flash cards, anyone?

-This tea

This isn’t anything important, but I just wanted to let you know that this tea is the nectar of the gods. That’s all.

Fitness Schedule

It’s been a while since I’ve posted my fitness schedule for the week! It’s high mileage week for my half training so I should be spending some quality time with my foam roller this week.

Monday: OFF

Tuesday: Sub Zumba
                  Bike 35 minutes

Wednesday: Run 5 miles

                        Strength

Thursday: Swim 30 minutes

                    Yoga

Friday: OFF

Saturday: Bike 35 minutes

Sunday: Long run – 12 miles

               Slo-pitch

And I can actually do my biking OUTSIDE now! It’s a miracle! No more hamster wheel spin bike for me!

What’s your fitness schedule look like this week?

How are you doing on your goals?

I’ll see you guys later this week!

PS: I was a part of a shape.com article last week! Check out the article here and my part here. SO COOL!

Strawberry and mint infused water! So easy – take a pitcher and fill halfway with ice, add strawberries (washed, halved and without the tops), a handful of mint leaves and then fill the rest of the pitcher with water. You can let it sit for about an hour and it will have a light taste to it or you can mashed the strawberries and mint around in the pitcher with a big spoon so they are bruised and therefore release more of their taste.

It was pretty good, but I think I can make some tastier combinations. I’ll be sure to let you guys know what combos are winners!

Other winning combinations:

(sick segway alert)

me and Zumba

My shirt was soaked after the class! It was approximately a thousand degrees in the studio because the weather has spiked to the high 20s and no one has turned the AC on yet. Yum.

I subbed a zumba class last night and it was ROCKING. It was the first class of the series so there were TONS of people. Lots of first time zumba-ers who looked a little worried at first but were shaking it like no one’s business by the end of class. I love it when people don’t give an eff about what they look like and just go crazy – that’s when zumba is the best!

Me and my training!

I have been attacking this tri/half marathon training like no other lately. I was stressing over the Saskatoon half marathon and how fast I would run, if I was prepared enough, yadda, yadda, yadda. Then I kind of realized I should just run this half for fun and EVERYTHING changed. I no longer fret my long runs or my pace or anything else that was stressing me out. That’s NOT why I love to run! Now I run for fun (but still getting my big mileage in) and it’s just the best. Maybe I’ll think about attacking a PR at the Queen City half marathon in September but I’ve kind of come to terms with the idea that not every race has to be a possible PR run! I know, shocking information ;)

Also, I’ve been making progress in the pool! One of you guys (Tanya – hey girl) left the best comment of life on this post and recommended a bunch of training drills. I’ve been doing a bunch of them, especially the kick drills. The first time I did a kick drill with a paddle board, I was going so slow, I literally almost came to a dead stop in the middle of the lane. If this was twitter, I would put #embarrassing because it was. Now that I’ve fixed my kicking form and have been doing these drills, I move a bit faster. It’s really helped take all the pressure off my arms/shoulders!

Me and Under Armour’s What’s Beautiful Campaign

A few of you were around when I attempted the Under Armour What’s Beautiful challenge last year. I let it fall to the wayside (sad face) but I am BACK and more determined than ever to kick ass at it this year!

I get so fired up when I watch that video. Female athletes coming together and being POWERFUL! Plus a yoga and surf retreat in Costa Rica? Yes please.

FYI: I want to be upfront with you guys on here. Even though I would 100% participate in this event on my own, I am being sponsored by Under Armour through FitFluential. It absolutely does NOT change my opinion on this campaign. I loved this challenge a year ago when I wasn’t sponsored and I still love it today. I think it’s doing wonders for the female fitness community and helping change the perspective of who the female athlete is.

My goals have to do with strength and stretching, two things that I struggle with all the time in my training. I always say I’m going to make strength training and stretching a priority, but then life happens and I choose running, biking or swimming over them. Whoops.

So there you have it. The official declaration of my goals. By July 20^th, I WILL:

-be able to go into a full backbend and hold it for 5 breaths

-do 10 unassisted chin-ups

-have maintained a clean diet

I’ll do a separate post talking about how I plan on attacking these goals within my training plan because this post is already pretty long for me and I’m sure some of you are just here for the Sadie picures ;)

It won’t be anything different from my training plan I posted a few weeks ago, I just now have a solid plan for those strength and stretch days.

If you have something you want to get better at, join me in this challenge!

You can sign up here.

My profile is here.

And my team is here! The team is basically a group where we can post our accomplishments, motivate each other, and share our successes. Let’s redefine the female athlete!

If you're on twitter, you can use those hashtags to join the convo.

Guys, I’m one more “rah-rah female power” sentence away from posting a Spice Girls picture.

Who am I kidding.

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This may be the best picture of the Spice Girls ever. Girl power = grabbing yourself/blue steel/giving the guns? Sure, why not.

Name one thing you want to be better at. Do you want to do X amount of push-ups/burpees/squats? Run a mile? Run a mile in a specific amount of time? Or go 8 weeks without weighing yourself (ie break up with that demon scale)? Catch and stop yourself from comparing your body with everyone else’s? It can be anything!

See you guys later!

Erin

The Bombshell Spell from Tone It Up! It’s a concoction that increases metabolism, provides digestive enzymes, and gives you an energizing effect first thing in the morning. I used to drink it every morning but then got lazy. Whoops. But now it’s back! And I honestly feel better now that I start my day off with this drink. Side note: Unfortunately, I can’t share the recipe since it’s part of the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan (which you have to pay for).

This has been my breakfast routine for the past few weeks now:

Water, bombshell spell, and greek yogurt with granola and fruit. Quick and easy.

All my breakfasts will be filled with strawberries this week because....

Check out what I got at the farmer’s market this weekend! All these strawberries for $10. Pretty excited about that deal. I’m going to try some strawberry infused water later so I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Some other eats and happenings from this weekend:

My sister made us an awesome meal on Friday – thinly sliced steak marinated in a soy sauce mixture with sautéed peppers and broccoli served on lettuce. We found that making lettuce wraps out of the steak and veggies was super delicious.

Spinach salad topped with chicken, cashews and – what else – strawberries! This is my lunch all this week. I’m going to turn pink from all the strawberries I’ll eat this week.

Making kale chips = sister bonding time?

Gina’s cool ranch kale chip recipe! Best kale chip recipe ever.

Homemade iced tea made from David’s Tea’s Berry Good.

Shiny new accessories from Aldo. They suck me in with the nautical theme and then really crank it up with my spring/summer favourites – mint green and neon.

New candle alert! My parents were in Yellowknife this past weekend and brought me back this beautiful candle holder. Now I have two or more candles in every room of the condo. God help me if Bath and Body Works has a 3 for $30 candle sale any time soon...I’ll need a bigger house to accommodate my candle collection.

CPT Exam Prep Update

I’m almost through the entire Can Fit Pro textbook! After that, it’s flash card/memorization time. It was amazingly warm and sunny this past weekend, so I took my studying outside

And I swear, I learned SO MUCH MORE by reading/studying outside in the sunshine ;)

I’m getting pretty excited about all the new stuff I’m learning. I can’t wait to put together a program for myself and one for Mike to practice everything!

How was your weekend?

Is there something you do every day start your morning off on a healthy note? Now that it’s light outside before my alarm goes off, I’m going to get back in the groove of running before work. Such a great way to start your day.

I’ll see you guys later this week!

I’ve signed up for my 6^th spring/summer race of this year! I can’t WAIT to do this one – it’s on my fitness bucket list and one of my 2013 goals! Plus, I’m running it with Allison and my TIU sister Tahnee – go Saskatchewan online fitness buds!

PS: We made a team for this race! If you want to sign up with us, our team name is Hue Wants To Know and we’re doing the 9am wave.

I had to resist the urge to sign up for another race yesterday when my local tri club sent out an email about a new women’s only sprint tri in July. I need to give the Visa a break. And probably try out the whole triathlon thing with See Jane Tri to see if I even like it.

I have a whack of fun stuff I want to share with you guys so how about another “Things I’m Loving” post? Let’s go.

-Starbucks. Okay, I ALWAYS love Starbucks and our love affair began a long time ago. However, I recently found out that a hotel close to my work sells Starbucks coffee. Hello.

-American Eagle. I just found out that AE offers an X-Long length in jeans, but you can only get them online. And their X-Long is 36”! And they’re not $100+ per pair! PRAISE THE JEANS GODS!

The current frontrunners.

Okay, that might seem a little excessive, but my fellow 36” inseam ladies know what I’m talking about. So much for giving my Visa a break....

-1 Day in May. From the website:

The site has stories of people living with MS, links for information about MS, the research taking place and places to donate, as well as information for how you can get involved in 1 Day in May. Check out this page to see how you can participate and help spread MS awareness. I know that I knew next to nothing about MS before Mike was diagnosed so I LOVE campaigns like this that get people involved.

-These Nike Pro Compression shorts

I wore them running for the first time last weekend (usually just wear them for volleyball) and now I’m in love. They don’t ride up, they’re not too shorts, and they don’t dig in at the sides. Perfection. And I want all the colors. Except for white. Because let’s get real – who wants to run in white spandex??

-Tone It Up 3 Ingredient Cookies with Perfect Fit Protein.

I’ve been going off the deep end with my sweet cravings lately and I need to calm down a bit. Instead of reaching for something that’s processed and full of sugar, I’m going to turn to these bad boys instead. So easy to make and super delicious.

What’s something you’re loving?

I’ll see you guys later!

We had about 2 inches of snow this morning. Hoorrraay.

At least this weekend was nice since we had the Regina MS Walk on Sunday!

Our MS Walk Team!

We all gathered Sunday morning for a lovely 5K walk around Wascana Lake.

There was a pretty large turnout and they had water, snacks and bathrooms along the walk path for us. Lots of people brought dogs, so Sadie was in puppy heaven. Except she was super scared of Gainer, the Roughrider mascot. And she thinks she’s so tough.

After the walk, we dropped the Pants off at home and went out for brunch at Fresh and Sweet. Their breakfast menu on the weekend is basically the most amazing thing ever. Clean eating? Not so much. Delicious eating? OH YEAH.

My breakfast - maple bacon waffle.

My sister's breakfast - red velvet pancakes. Basically, cake.

After brunch, we all parted ways and I went out to work off my delicious breakfast by way of a 10 mile run

Oh to have it be two days ago when it was shorts weather. Also, I wore my compression socks to run in (as opposed to the lounging and TV watching I usually do in them) and I’m on the fence about it. I found they were maybe too tight to run in? I’ll try them again this week. I liked having the high socks to hide my lack of leg shaving though. Laaaazzzyyy.

The path I ran went by the creek and Wascana Lake that runs through the city. We got a lot of snow this year and it looks like the city is preparing for a big flood

I had to hurdle/jump over the sandbag barrier on the path at some points in my run but otherwise, it the path was pretty clear! Let’s see what it’s like in a week or two when all the snow is (hopefully) gone. Flood city, probably.

How was your weekend?

Who else got out for a lovely spring run?

I’ll see you guys later this week!

PS: It’s my friend Ricki’s birthday today! I know she reads this blog so I wanted to give a little shout-out and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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FYI: I tried to photoshop our heads onto this but you have ZERO pictures of you with your head turned. What the hell.

Can't wait to christen Big Carl/Joe/Lou!

Okay, well to some of you, this might be crappy weather, but for us Saskies coming out of a horribly long and cold winter, these temps basically feel like summer! I even broke out flats yesterday

And immediately went jean shopping yesterday. Little known fact – I have exactly ONE pair of pants that are long enough for my legs. The rest are halfway between flood pants and capris, but boots cover that up in the winter. The time has come where I have to put the boots away and bust out the flats and sandals. And to make matters worse, I guess the trend this season is a slightly too short pants?

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Which sucks big time for tall girls. Now the limited selection of pants that are out there are even SHORTER to accommodate this trend. Is it too much to ask for a pair of decently priced black jeans in a 36” length? I’ve basically given up the dream of ever finding long enough colored pants – even though I die over the thought of a pair of mint skinnies.

Holy #tallgirlproblems.

What’s this blog about again? Oh right, fitness.

-I’ve been studying my face off lately for the Can Fit Pro PT exam! I’ve mapped out a day-by-day study guideline so I stay on track and have a few weeks dedicated to reviewing and flash cards. The date is officially less than one month away so I’m kind of getting nervous!

-My spring Zumba class at the university got cancelled (sad face) so I’m trying to look for other classes to teach! I think I may have missed the boat on the majority of the spring/summer sessions (a lot of them have started already) but I’m still hopeful! Any Regina peeps looking for a Zumba instructor – holla!

I’m so white.

-And last but definitely not least – my training! I did my first brick workout the other day just to see how my legs would feel. I biked for about 30 minutes and then ran 4 miles. Legs definitely felt like jelly when I first started running but I loosened up quickly and got into a groove. I have a 10 mile run planned for this weekend and I am SO FREAKING EXCITED to run it outside without millions of layers! In honor of this joyous occasion, I download a TON of new music to my running playlist. Here’s what I’m jamming to lately (links go to YouTube):

We Come Running – Youngblood Hawke

Kiss You – One Direction (yes, I’m a 24 year old woman who jams out to 1D. Don’t judge me. You do it too.)

Same Love (feat Mary Lambert) – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (FYI be prepared to get teary at this video and song that first time you hear it. I did. And depending on my mood, still do.)

Good Vibrations (feat Loleatta Holloway) – Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch

Ashtrays and Heartbreaks (feat Miley Cyrus) – Snoop Lion (What can I say, I’m a sucker for a reggae beat)

Sail – AWOLNATION (Not the official video, but this video made my morning. Also the first video that comes up when you YouTube this songs so good job ladies)

Fame is for Assholes (feat Chiddy) - Hoodie Allen

Wild for the Night (feat Skrillex & Birdy Nam Nam) – A$AP Rocky

Cups (When I’m Gone) – Anne Kendrick

Thin Line (feat Buffalo Madonna) – Makclemore & Ryan Lewis

Any new or new to you music you’re loving lately? Between runs, workouts, and bus rides, I listen to my music A LOT so I get sick of it really quick. I’m always looking out for new jams!

Tall ladies – any tips on what stores sell long (36 inseam and up) jeans? Most stores that claim to have “long” jeans are usually too short for  me :(

It was -14 with a very strong windchill that morning. Hence all the gear.

I found out about a community 5K run for Boston late last week and got Mike, our roommate, and my sister on board – who then got her fellow University of Regina women’s basketball teammates and coach to come out!

I was pretty impressed that a bunch of 19-22 year old university students all showed up at 9am on a Sunday for a run. Good job ladies!

Mike was initially going to walk/run it, but decided to power through and ran the whole 5K with me without stopping.

I can see why he did – it was a fantastic environment to run in. I’m guessing at least 150-200 people showed up.

Unfortunately, we were at the back of the crowd at the start of the gathering when they were giving a speech so we couldn’t hear what was being said. We all had a moment of silence and then were off for a 5K around Wascana Lake.

We saw a handful of runners with 2013 Boston Marathon jackets on and LOTS with Boston Marathon jackets from previous years. We saw a wide variety of runners – fast, slow, old, young, strollers, dogs (made the executive decision to not bring Sadie with us. She’s not quite focused enough to run in a straight line in a crowd). There was a walk and walk/run group that did a shorter group as well so everyone could participate.

It was an event that unfortunately derived from a sad incident. However, I think that all of these Run for Boston events are making communities stronger and produce a feeling of positivity in a scary time.  

Other things that went down this weekend:

-I played in my volleyball league’s year-end tournament on Friday and this is the best picture you guys are going to get.

Blank stare, pulling down my spandex. AKA Sexiest Picture EVER. Models, take note.

My sister is quite the photographer.

-We saw the movie 42 and it was pretty good! It had more of a Disney movie feel than I initially thought it would, but it was still a great, uplifting sport movie.

-We also spent some quality time with Veronica Mars

I’ve watched this series about 3 times through myself, but felt it was time for round 4. Especially because the movie’s Kickstarter campaign raised of $5M!! And of course I’m one of the backers. LoVe forever.

-Aaaaaaaaand it’s still basically winter.

Not impressed.

I have not yet retired my big wool scarf. It’s April 22^nd. Let’s go, spring.

Did you do a Run for Boston?

What’s something fun you did this weekend?

See you guys later this week! Thank you so much for you input on my blister issue! I think my running form is the culprit, but we’ll see!

My legs and hips have never been tighter. All this running, biking, swimming, volleyball-ing, and Zumba-ing (not verbs but go with it) have taken its toll! Volleyball ends this weekend with a tournament and my last Zumba class was last night.

I don't think you're officially a Zumba instructor until you own a wide variety of loud, obnoxious clothing that you own solely for teaching in. Hence, my new tie-dye shirt - perfect for Zumba!

Zumba picks up again in May but at least now I can give my legs a bit of a rest by not playing volleyball every week :)

Anyways, on to the main point of this post...which is basically just me complaining again BUT I actually need some advice from those of you who are more experienced than me!

BLISTERS. ALL THE TIME.

Yum, right?

Okay, background: for my first ever half marathon, I went to the Running Room and had them recommend a shoe for me.

They gave me sauconys and those shoes were the WORST. I couldn’t run more than 4 miles without feeling like every bone in my foot was broken. So I said screw you fancy running shoes and trained and ran the Princess Half in my super old Nike shoes I had been using for volleyball, spin, Zumba, and general gym stuff. Those shoes are officially done and I only use them for beer league slow pitch games in the spring and summer. For my next half, I went back to the Running Room, told them about my problems with the sauconys and they gave me the New Balance shoes.

They worked great for training and I thought I had found my kindred spirit. Except when I actually ran the half, they gave me the BIGGEST blisters on both of my feet that I couldn’t wear anything but sandals for about a week after the race. And ever since that half, I get blisters around mile 2 of my run only on my left foot. I’ve been switching the New Balance shoes with the Under Armor shoes I won, but I don’t like wear the Under Armor ones for longer runs (they’re great for 1-5 mile runs but are too clunky for my taste for longer runs).

So many first world problems, am I right?

Since our money tree isn’t producing this year, I don’t exactly feel like dropping $100+ on ANOTHER pair of running shoes, especially if they’re just going to give me blisters again. So I’ve been bandaging and wrapping my left foot when I go for runs, which holds the blisters off until mile 4-6ish. But after that, it’s blister city.

TL;DR--> Is there any type of insole, magic sock, or anything else I can use to try and hold off the blisters? Has anyone experienced this or have magic cures for blisters? Or do I need to bite the bullet and get another pair of shoes (maybe from a different store this time...sorry Running Room, I love you but your track record in this category hasn’t been so hot)?

I know that I have very narrow feet, I run/walk on the outsides of my feet, and my feet are BIG so maybe those play a part in this incredibly drawn-out, unnecessary drama. Any of you out there have similar feet and have found a great make/model? I know you’re suppose to go and get a sales person at a running store to look at your feet and stride, but that hasn’t exactly worked out the past two times I’ve gone that route.

PHEW. That felt really whiney but seriously....these blisters are killing me.

Here’s a Sadie picture to make it all worthwhile:

She’s been my incredibly helpful study buddy. And by incredibly helpful, I mean she keeps trying to get me to play with her when I’m studying by nudging her nose into my arm, legs, stomach...

See you guys later!

PS: Who else ran for Boston? I did a 4.15 mile run in my Queen City Marathon race shirt the other night. No music or podcasts and no TV...just me, the treadmill and my thoughts. It was actually one of the best runs I’ve had in a while.