Category Archives: Hydrate

12K Tempo Run and a First!

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Yesterday was tempo run 12K day. I had to prepare my body for this run so I tried my hardest to hydrate ALL day long. So, my large bottle of water took it’s place on my desk in the morning:

I finished it all by lunch. That was a first number one for the day. I was so proud. I rewarded myself by drinking a Vitamin Water an hour before my workout:

I followed that by a coffee ten minutes before my workout. I would have had a picture but I downed that coffee as I walked into the gym.

I stepped on the t-mill and decided to be adventurous. I selected the “Top 25 Most Played” playlist. I was nervous to see what was going to happen. The first song was, I Do Not Hook Up by Kelly Clarkson. The first thing that came to my mind was my wardrobe ladies. When I worked in professional theatre in the costuming department, I was the DJ of the wardrobe. Kelly Clarkson’s album had just come out and we loved to belt out her tunes while working. We also took dance breaks. And everytime I had to go pull a costume from storage I would always come down with a costume on.

Yes, that is a wig. I liked to pull those out as well. I was also nicknamed Gidget. Small and a surfer? Yes, please!

During this run I realised that my life really is defined by music. I just have so many great memories that songs accompany. When John Mayer’s Half of My Heart came on- I immediatley thought of my 2010 Valentine’s Day date with John Mayer and some of my best friends. You can enjoy a highlight from the show and our hilarious commentary. Sorry if it’s jumpy. I just cannot stand still at a John Mayer show for the life of me. One might say that I was in love.

My cool down and stretching song reminded me of my Grand Bend Family (aka GBF). My friend Craig introduced me to the song You Don’t Know Me by Ben Folds and Regina Spektor. The image I have when I think of my GBF is this one:

I miss those beautiful sunsets. And my beautiful friends.

I could go on and on with more memories from more songs in this playlist. It was such a good one. I actually had a dopey smile on my face from the beginning to the end of this run. I had that “zen” feeling of living in every moment and I kept reminding myself that every step I take is different from the last one and will be different from the next one. I didn’t think of any pains that might have cause me–wait– speaking of. After the first km my shoe came untied because I didn’t get a chance to put my race runners into my shoes yet:

I had to jump onto the hard plastic on each side of the running band on the t-mill to tie my shoe. When I went to lift my hand I accidentally scraped it on the moving band. I know, I’m ridiculous. I ended up scraping a few layers of skin off my hand. But luckily, it didn’t bleed. So, I hopped back on the t-mill and just kept going. I forgot about it after about 0.1 km. I think I have my ZEN and the ART of RUNNING book to thank for that one. I was in the mode and living in the moment and not worrying about the past.

And my biggest first– I didn’t drink any water at all during my 12K tempo run! Can you believe it?! I actually hydrated myself all day inorder to keep myself from depending on that waterbottle infront of me. Actually, I didn’t even have my waterbottle– I forgot it. But I didn’t even have that feeling where I needed water. Amazing! Now I know I can continue to do it. And I will.

The Top 25 Most Played Playlist
I Do Not Hook Up- Kelly Clarkson
Party in the U.S.A- Miley Cyrus
Shake It- Metric Station
Steer- Missy Higgins
Untouched- The Veronicas
Don’t Let Me Stop You- Kelly Clarkson
Half of My Heart- John Mayer & Taylor Swift
I Don’t Need A Man- The Pussycat Dolls
Circus- Britney Spears
Give Me The Music- Eva Avila
Knock You Down- Keri Hilson, Kanye West, & Ne-Yo
All Dressed In Love- Jennifer Hudson
Love Song- Sara Bareilles

Cool Down/Stretching
You Don’t Know Me- Ben Folds and Regina Spektor

Stats of the Run
Distance: 12.03 km
Pace: 4:26 min/km
Incline: 1%

Don’t forget– there are only 9 days left to vote at BEST HEALTH MAGAZINE’S BLOG AWARDS! You can vote for me HERE!

eat, Eat, EAT after a run!

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The biggest problem I found myself having lately is getting back from a run and then an hour later I feel zonked. I started thinking that I am not eating enough food for the amount of running that I am doing. So I reflected on it when I was asked, “What do you usually eat on a typical day?! Because you are just so healthy!” So here it is: in the morning I will wake up and have a bowl of oatmeal. The original large flake quaker oats kind. Then I dress it up with some honey, wheat germ, ground flax seed, oat bran, and bran flakes. Deeelish. It really is! It may sound boring but it’s full of flaaava! If it’s still kind of bland for you, you can try throwing some fresh fruits on top. I continue my day as a grazier. I snack all day long. My mid-morning snack is usually a banana and a yogurt. At lunch, I tend to have a veggie sandwich, a tuna sandwhich, or an egg salad sandwhich to build up some protein. (I also love sticking a spoon into the peanut butter jar and getting my protein that way. It’s just soooo tastey!) Sometimes, a nice homemade soup will go on the side. And then it’s time for a mid-afternoon snack and I break open my bag of veggies which usually contains carrots, green and red bell peppers for my Vitamin A as well as broccoli, blueberries, and grapes for my Vitamin C. Then on my way home I have another fruit which is usually an apple. For dinner, I don’t really mind what I eat because I know my day was filled with all of my nutrients. So in the evening I eat carbs, meat, and veg. After dinner I will have tea and lately some chocolate from leftover halloween treats for the trick-or-treaters. Mmmm sooo good! I can just eat so many little bite sized chocolates- they are just too good to only have a tiny amount! After doing whatever it is I do that evening I find myself hungry before bed. So, I eat some cereal and have a cup of tea before going to sleep. 
The thing is even after eating all of that and going for a run I just feel zonked! Annnnd– I think I just figured out the reason why. If I don’t eat within an hour of getting back from a run, I become sluggish. It’s because when you run you burn glycogen (the fuel stored in your muscles) and the enzymes that make glycogen are most effective after a workout. Which makes it vital to eat within 60 minutes of a workout. Whoooooooooops! This is the hard part for me: eating even if you aren’t hungry. It’s just soooo hard. But I am realising more and more how important it really is. I just can’t come back from a run anymore and get those headaches that lead into laziness and you feel like you have been out drinking all night. So, it’s time to kick my butt into gear and eat, Eat, EAT after a run!
Water is still hard to keep drinking all day long but I am working on that too. One day I want to be able to trust that I can go out for a run without a water bottle and know that I am hydrated enough to not want to pass out with thirst. It’s gonna happen.