Snowshoeing and Sledding

It's still snowing in Vancouver! Unbelievable! Never would I have thought that I could go snowshoeing in my own back yard (check out the pics of Otis) and actually get a decent workout. Watching Otis jump around in the snow makes it that much more fun!

I've opted out of my gym workouts for the last two days in favor of playing in the snow. It's been two weeks since I've started back to to the gym and my jelly belly refuses to budge. Okay, granted...I've just had a baby and it's only been two weeks that I've been exercising regularly and yes, I have been eating the odd Christmas chocolate or cookie (or two.. okay three). Anyway, enough blabber about the flab......all in time. Right now I'm just focusing on getting my normal strength and endurance back to pre-Ellie times!

It may be because I'm out of shape but getting around in the knee deep snow is great exercise! Last night Otis and I even went sledding up the back of our house. He ended up greeting a bunch of tobogganers who then offered me a ride on one of their crazy carpets. Knowing that Otis would chase me down the hill, I was still curious to witness how he would react. As predicted, he chased me down the hill but at the bottom he attempted to eat my gloves and the sled. Note to self: next time I see tobogganers, put Otis on the leash. Or maybe, I will remember to take a garbage bag on our next walk and plan to do some training with Otis as I slide on my ass down the hill. The neighbors may start to talk about the middle aged woman and her dog tobogganing in the school yard but whatever. I guess I have to wait until Ellie is a few years older before I can get away with doing kid things and not getting weird looks from stuffy adults. If I didn't have a turkey to barbecue or a baby to feed, I would have stayed a little longer. Otis was having a blast and I was too! When, other than on Christmas day do a bunch of strangers invite you to go sledding with them anyway?!

The barbecued turkey was delicious and even though the weather prevented our family guests from enjoying Christmas dinner with us, we had a great feast by ourselves. Granted, we had to take turns eating while the other tried to settle a crying baby. I was starving by the time I sat down to eat my dinner at 9pm. How fortunate we are to have a warm roof over our heads and sharing yummy food together (albeit not exactly at the same time) when so many people in our city are struggling without.

Peace.

Starting from Scratch

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

These words of Confucius are probably overused but so applicable to achieving our goals in life and in fitness. I feel like I'm starting from scratch in getting my fitness level back and so must remember that every step counts!!

I don't feel quite myself yet but wanted to take a go at running to see how my body would respond. After a lengthy warm up on the cross trainer at the gym yesterday, I hopped on the treadmill to see what running felt like again. The good news - I actually ran a cumulative total of 5 minutes! The bad news - I only ran 5 minutes, 1 minute at a time (walked 1 minute and walked 1 minute). I have to remember that it was May 2008 since I've run so it was quite thrill to be running even if it was only for sixty seconds at at time. I experienced quite a bit of discomfort in my pelvic area but amazingly, there are no lasting effects today. So, 5 minutes is now my starting point - the only way to go is up!

As I start to increase my exercise, I have to consider expanding my postpartum workout wardrobe. Particularly with respect to sports bras. With the impact of even a short bout of running, I discovered that my usual sportswear may not be up to par to contain these milk producing organs attached to my chest. I tried out the Fiona bra reviewed by Fit For 2's Melanie Osmack and it seemed to do the job! Even if you're not breastfeeding, it's a good bra that offers great support for runners that need it. You can purchase this from Lady Sport on 4th Avenue in Vancouver.

Tackling the Muffin Top

Wow! I feel human again! With Ellie sleeping a little longer during the day, I escaped the house for my first gym workout! Just me.......no little person or doggy in tow. Okay...I did have my phone with me and the gym is only 5 minutes away from home but truly, it was a bit of a thrill to be doing something purely for myself. Is that selfish?

The workout was indeed humbling but it felt so good to get a sweat from moving my deteriorating muscles! I have been walking and doing a few push ups and planks here and there but until now, I have not had the opportunity to focus on exercise for a continuous hour!

I remember once not understanding someone when they told me they suffered from "muffin top" syndrome. At the time, I had never heard the phrase before. Now, not only do I understand the phrase.... I fully embody the phrase except that I think my body shape has taken on a much more doughy appearance...kind of like bread with too much yeast rising over the pan. We don't have any full length mirrors in our house so despite my current awareness of my jelly belly, I was a bit shocked to see the full size reflection of myself in the wall mirrors at the gym. Disheartening but motivating at the same time.

I did a really light cardio workout on the cross trainer and rowing machine (still don't feel up for running) and a few weights (squats, back and core exercises). I felt like I wanted to do more but I was cautious not to push too hard - thankfully I didn't push harder as I can barely lift my arms today. The soreness in my butt and thighs is confirmation that there is still a little tiny bit of muscle left in those places. Still a long way to go but it's a start!

Breastfeeding Blackberry Bookworm

My new life is consumed with breastfeeding, changing diapers and trying to console a crying baby. I never imagined what it would be like to spend 10 - 16 hours a day every day breastfeeding. That's a whole lot of time and before you know it 7am turns into 7pm and the whole cycle begins again.

Breastfeeding experts tell new moms to look into their baby's eyes and focus on them to enhance milk production and make the most of the skin to skin contact that is so important for baby development. Sounds great right! Well, after doing this day after day...I found myself in serious need of some sort of distraction to make the time pass a little quicker. Call me a bad mother but don't care, I needed some other kind of stimulation to keep me awake. Yes, I think my baby is adorable but at 3am, I really need something that stops me from falling asleep on top of my child while feeding her. Alas I discovered the games on my Blackberry. After growing bored of Brickbreaker, I downloaded Bookworm last week and have been hooked ever since. Accordingly, you think my vocabulary would be expanding but I think it's dwindling in direct proportion to the cumulative sleep debt that I am experiencing. And to think what would happen if I wasn't playing word games.....

To give more than my thumbs a little exercise, today I tried to get back on the yoga mat and do a mini practise. I put Ellie on her play mat right beside me and she seemed rather entertained by watching me breathe my way through a series of Sun Salutations A and B. When I got to triangle pose though, she seemed rather bored and started screaming again. Pause trichonasana.....on to change diaperasana and boobasana......

Blessed With a Baby Girl!

No blogging as of late as I've been consumed with the adaptations required of parenthood. Yes, our little Ellie arrived into the world on November 5th. She arrived after nearly 2 days of labour! Women with more than one child say that they forget the pain of child birth. I'm not certain that I will ever forget the experience myself. Having completed several Ironman triathlons and marathons, I know what it feels like to stretch your body physically - however, these kinds of effort do not compare in anyway to the 38 hours of active back labour that I underwent to bring our beautiful little Ellie into the world. How does that song go again......... "joy and pain"....well, you get the idea....

Let's just say that it may be a while before I'm running again! This blog started out as an account of what would be my training adventure for Knee Knacker 2008. Upon finding out that I was pregnant, I obviously had to put this goal aside. Running was also out of the question after four months as a result of some pelvic issues. I'm now one month post-partum and still finding that I'm not even able to walk quite like I used to. So now, this blog will be an account of my RETURN to RUNNING as I experience the joys, challenges and adventures of parenthood!

The good news is that Ellie likes the stroller - she seems to love movement whether it's in the car or in the stroller. Otis on the other hand is not so sure about the stroller. I think he thinks that he's going to get run over by it. Oh well, I'm sure we'll adapt! Over the last week or so, we have been getting out almost every day for a short walk and every time I go, I feel a little bit more like my old self. While she's too young to run in the stroller, I'm still not quite recovered from all the tearing (there was lots of it!!). I made a quick attempt at jogging/shuffling the other day and it still felt like my insides were going to fall out. A bit gross I know but hey...that is what child birth can do to one's body!

I can't wait until I we can all run together again! Can't wait to feel the wind at my face and the freedom that comes from exploring the world in my running shoes. For now though, I will walk, focus on recovering and enjoy Ellie as she grows every day!

Bat Dog and Babies

Look at this! If my dog is this tolerant of wearing a 'bat dog' costume, he has to have enough resilience to adapt to a newborn baby that is about to enter our household any day (or minute). I felt so guilty putting this costume on him and despite his obvious humiliation (particularly with the ear piece), Otis did not resist putting his front paws into the arm sleeves at all! Perhaps he was waiting for that extra special treat but he still does not understand that chocolate is not for dogs! He did not even mind that I took him around the neighborhood to show his human trick-or-treaters his cute little costume.

Yes, today is officially D-Day - baby due November 1st, 2008. There are still several hours of November 1^st remaining but at this moment, I think the babe is quite happy to exist within the peaceful fluid filled environment in my belly. At the same time, I think Otis is quite happy to hold on to his place within the family and be the spoiled doggy that he is. He knows something is up and is wondering why the heck we have moved various pieces of new furniture into what used to be the computer room. He is curious of the stuffed animals and mobile features in the room but somehow he knows to keep his distance – despite the similarity to his stuffed dog toys, he somehow senses that these animals are not for him. Of course, he has been wondering about my belly for some time now and I can see his hesitancy when I ask him if he wants to dance with me. The food motivated creature that he is, he will still jump up and place his paws into my hands while cautiously avoiding my humongous belly. However, I can sense that he is not quite sure how to gauge his jumps anymore! Poor little guy.

I’ve been reading a bit about how to introduce your little one to your pet. I’m kind of hoping that once Otis gets a whiff of the poopy diaper, they will be the best of friends but there are all these cautions about even the gentlest dog behaving unpredictably. Of course, I want to ensure the safety of the baby but I also want to be sure that our Otis doesn’t feel neglected. If it wasn’t for Otis, I think I’d truly be a much more unstable person or I’d probably drink a lot more alcohol than I do! There has never been a time, where Otis has not run to the door to great me enthusiastically when I’ve come home from work. The tail thumping that I hear upon first waking in the morning says so much more than any expression of “good morning” that any human could say to me. His absolute love of running and playing in the outdoors has made me appreciate my own abilities (temporarily limited at the moment!) to run, jump and enjoy nature. Dogs do not worry about the day previous or the impending future either. They are truly the most amazing creatures that teach us every day about living in this moment – being fully present. How fantastic would this life be if we could spend more time fully living the moment that we were actually in! I hope that Otis thinks his humans are amazing creatures and he welcomes the little babe as he has his other owners.

Halloween Belly

I am not one to flash my belly around but this is a bit of sight I must admit. I was exactly 39 weeks pregnant when I had my belly painted with a big happy spider on it. I think my belly provided the largest canvas for the halloween colouring extravaganza that took place before my prenatal fitness class. I don't think I'll be painting my belly any time again soon so thought this might be worth posting! A few days to go before my due date..... I hope it happens within the next 8 days as I know my doc's are on call during that time. Until then, I'm down to about two t-shirts and one pair of stretchy pants that fit me............

The 38th Week

I have been a delinquent blogger and can't believe I haven't posted in over 2 months. In efforts to get ready for babe, we moved our computer downstairs and with the computer out of sight, it's out of mind as well. After 8-9 hours of staring at the computer all day at work, there hasn't been much of an incentive for me to do more of the same at home. Anyway, I finally finished work last week and so have a bit more time on my hands! I just hope that I get a little break between work and the arrival of the new babe.

My belly has grown large since my last post and with nearly 30lbs of extra weight on this bod, I feel like I'm doing a new kind of resistance training! The only thing is that I don't feel like I'm getting any stronger! I read about these women that continue to run into their third trimester but with my pubic symphysis pain even walking longer distances is out of the question. However, my thrice weekly preggo fitness classes and my prenatal yoga classes have been great. Physically, I still feel like I'm doing something and psychologically, it's great to be around other women with large bellies whom are going through the same things you are. Going to the community gym becomes exhausting after a million people ask you when you are due - I think they're afraid that I'm going to go into labour or something as I'm pedalling away on the stationary bike or something..........

Bladder Shrinkage and Crazy Dreams

With pregnancy comes a decline in bladder capacity. All of my pregnant female friends have prepared me for that. For the most part, I’m within close proximity to a toilet so aside from the inconvenience of having to go three times an hour, there’s really no problem. That is until I have to teach a one hour spinning class or until I hit the bush. I think a one hour spin class might be pushing it for my bladder these days but I did make it through with some minor discomfort a couple of weeks ago. When I’m in the trails with the dog, it takes me all of 15 minutes before I start scoping out the perfect pee spot off the trail. I think my dog things I'm charting my territory just like him. So far, I think I’ve been pretty good at plotting out my spots – I haven’t been caught yet. To be honest, I’m not sure that I’d really care if I was caught. When you gotta go, you gotta go.

The crazy dreams I didn’t really know about and I have no idea if it’s related to pregnancy or not. For those of you that have been pregnant….do tell. I have been dreaming crazy things recently and things that I never even knew I was capable of thinking. Imagine Alice in Wonderland but 20 times crazier. Last night I dreamt that I was luging but the luge track was through a lake. As I was scotting long this massive grey snake came out of the water and bit me. In my panic to get the fanged beast off my skin, it bit me again. Now, what in the heck could that mean? I’m not sure that I want to dig in to the depths of my psyche by analyzing my dreams but I have do have to wonder!?

Other than that I'm ticking along at 26 weeks and getting larger by the minute. This week I hate to admit that it's actually been difficult to bend down and tie my shoes!

Searching for Swimwear

Well, summer has finally arrived! With heat like this, most people want to be near water – a great way to stay cool. Jump in and you remove that sticky sweaty feeling that makes one feel lethargic. I’ve been thinking about swimming a lot lately especially given that running is out of the question and riding my bike to work is also off limits.

I’ve also gained a whopping 19lbs so far in this pregnancy so let’s just say it’s a little more effort to move this body around. Yes, pregnancy is this beautiful thing and every woman’s body responds to pregnancy differently. But 19lbs!! Holy crap – some people gain that much throughout their entire pregnancy. I may still have 18 weeks to go!!! I was not a big person to start with but man, my expanding largeness is seriously challenging my self confidence. It also doesn’t help when I walk in to teach spin class and the first thing someone says to me is “wow – have you every put on a lot of weight”. Like duh! It’s as though it’s supposed to be a surprise to me or something.

So let’s just say the thought of putting on a bathing suit is not all that appealing. However, I’m determined to get in the pool to be weightless again. So, I figure – hey – my speedo is pretty stretchy…that should fit! Well, what a sight that was. Imagine yourself trying to fit into your bathing suit that you wore when you were 10 years old. Well, that was what it was like. Not a pretty sight! So, off I go to the maternity shops to find that perfect suit. After trying on several suits with no success, I am no longer in search of the ‘perfect suit’ – I just want a suit that fits! My ass has definitely expanded but in most cases I’m a small or medium maternity bottom. The top half of my body is a completely different story. I know some of you really don’t want to hear me talk about my breasts but it’s kind of an impossibility when they are growing at an unbelievably ill-proportioned rate. Let’s just say that when I finally find a bathing suit that fits, I have my own life saving devices attached to my body. It’s really not that funny....for those of you that haven’t been pregnant before, imagine your chest growing 3 sizes bigger in a matter of 5-6 months!

So, I’m still on a quest for a suit that fits but at this rate, I’m thinking that I may have to resort to a regular sports bra and some boy shorts and expose my white preggo belly to the world.

No longer on the run

I started this blog with the primary intent of posting ramblings about life, yoga and my journey to the 2008 Knee Knacker trail race in July. I had begun with an outline of several race goals to keep me inspired along the way to KK. Instead of a year of race adventures and accomplishments, this year so far has been about balancing work, school, injury, volunteering and trying to stay above water. As a result I have not accomplished a single event that I set out to enter this year. I believe that is a first for me! However, I am trying not to be too hard on myself - life has been busy.......and somewhat draining.

In the midst of all this busyness, somewhat of a miracle has entered our lives. My partner and I are expecting our first child in November! As a result, Knee Knacker is not in the cards for me this year. I'd really hoped that I might be able to do this race before leaving BC but as you might guess, I'm no Paula Radcliffe and doing 4 hour training runs up and down mountains is probably not the best for babe. Regardless, I had been running through this pregnancy up until the last month or so. I ran the Pacific Spirit 10km race with a friend from work - nice and easy and slow. The next day I couldn't walk - the pressure on my pubic bones was unbelievable. I had felt this a little bit after running before but nothing to this extreme. As it turns out, my pubic bones have begun to separate and upon doc's recommendations, I am not to run or do impact exercise or even walk for too long of a distance for the remainder of this pregnancy.

Normally it would be unlike me to adhere to such severe recommendations against participating in one of the few activities that keeps me sane, but of course I want to do everything I can do to keep babe healthy and strong. For as long as I've been doing it, running has been my sanity. It is also the most convenient way of fitting in time to exercise myself and my dog in the midst of a busy schedule. Right now, I just don't have time to walk the dog and exercise myself. So those of you that know how much I love my dog can probably guess that Otis gets priority. However, I have been trying to get him used to the mountain bike so we can go out together - now, that's an adventure all on its own as he is so afraid of bikes! I'll write more on this in another post.

Most runners go through withdrawal when they can not run. It's during those times of injury that you swear you'll never have a moment of being unmotivated or complain about running in the rain. I have sort of felt a bit of withdrawal but to be honest, this does not compare to anything I've felt when I've been injured and unable to run. I know I'm not running to preserve the health of this new life inside of me. That is a pretty cool feeling and I'm thankful for that. To be honest, it feels damn uncomfortable even when I try to run to the bus stop right now so I could not imagine running for any distance.

The challenge now is motivating myself to do other forms of activity (that I'm not all that crazy about) to stay active and healthy so that I can return to the trails after baby is born. I wonder how good those baby strollers would cope on the Baden Powell trail....ha ha.

So, now this chick is no longer on the run for the remainder of this pregnancy. For the next 5 or 6 months this blog will be more about the tales of a pregnant yogini chick mostly likely rambling about her growing belly.

Peace.

Have you laughed yet today?

"A good, real, unrestrained, hearty laugh is a sort of glorified internal massage, performed rapidly and automatically. It manipulates and revitalizes corners and unexplored crannies of the system that are unresponsive to most other exercise methods." ~Author unknown

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." ~e.e. cummings

I remember getting into trouble as a kid for laughing at the dinner table. My sister and I would get into uncontrollable fits of laughter where we were on the verge of having food fly out of our mouths or milk come out of our noses. Usually, there wasn't one thing in particular that inspired the laugh. The joy must have been so bountiful that we just couldn't contain ourselves. So...we got in trouble. That made us laugh even harder! As much as we tried to squeeze our lips shut, the sounds would squeek out and lead into another belly-aching outburst that might have ended in a race to the bathroom to pee.

I've been caught laughing in church at my cousin's baptism and at a family reunion gathering where one of my relatives was delivering a sermon. In this instance, my aunt and I were laughing so hard we had no choice but to disguise our laughter by pretending to cry - we thought tears would be more socially acceptable as it might appear that we were emotionally moved by the sermon. (As you can probably guess, this was not in fact the case). I'm reflecting on this because of all the times in my life where I've felt so joyous to laugh, I've felt pressure to contain this fantastic expression and conform to some social rules about adult laughter. Those that know me may say otherwise particularly if they've watched a movie with me. I've been known to laugh at things that the audience doesn't find nearly as funny or laugh a little after the punch line. Regardless of whether or not a laugh is timed right, why are we sometimes compelled to quell such a powerful expression?

I think this laughter suppression is why we see the rise of laughter yoga, laughter meditation, laughter therapy, humour therapy and laughter clubs. Don't you find it odd that we have to structure laughter back into our day? It's kind of parallel to the fact that we've engineered movement out of our daily routine and now we have to re-integrate exercise back into our day in order to keep ourselves healthy.

I'm reminded of all this because of my yoga class today. We closed with a laughter yoga session - the instructor suggested that we 'fake' laugh as fake laughter generates the same beneficial physiological response as genuine laughter. Blood flow increases, good hormones flood the body, and our immune response is enhanced. From my yoga mat, there was no need to fake it - after the instructor let out the most hilarious gut-busting laugh, I joined right in with pure genuine laughter. We really should not let a day pass without one of those abdominal aching laughs! I read somewhere (can't remember where now) that 100 laughs is equivalent to 10-15 minutes of aerobic exercise. Can't you just picture it ..."4 more now... ha..ha..ha..ha...okay only 96 more to go......

Let's Pick up the Phone!

Okay, I'm on a bit of a rant today. I think it started with the horribly stinky feet smell in the gym at lunch. The smell near the cardio equipment was so intolerable; I nearly gagged out loud and ended my workout early. With running being off limits as per the doc, I quelled my gag reflex and continued on the X-trainer in the quest for a little sweat.

However, the negative olfactory incident was the apparent impetus for more objectionable experiences for the remainder of the afternoon. I will refrain from providing an inventory of all my pet peeves but I will just mention one that reached a breaking point for me today: overuse of email carbon copy!! I call over users of “carbon” copying: cc happy. I don’t know if the motivation is to remove responsibility or to keep people informed but I do believe that too many of us hit “reply all” without really thinking about whether we need to send that email to 20 people. However, some believe that if you are not cc happy, you are not being transparent! Come on…we already get more than enough email to respond to in a timely manner.

On another note, if you can avoid sending 10 emails back and forth (and to 20 people 10 times), pick up the phone. One conversation can clarify a lot especially when there may be underlying tension in the email exchange. Why so reluctant to pick up the phone or walk to the next cubicle? Please, let’s bring humanity back into our offices before I go nut bar……..

Okay, I’m off to check my email…..no more rants tomorrow……..

Divinity is in Everyone

Yoga means 'union'. The goal of yoga is to create 'oneness' - within ourselves, with each other and with our natural surroundings. Yoga does not believe in divisions yet our western mind likes to categorize and segregate and classify things and people. When you pass a homeless person calling out for spare change, what do you think? When you pass heroine addict passed out in the street, are there judgments that run through your mind? If I have money in my pocket and am free of addictions, am I so different from these people. Yoga says that we are one with each other - we are a part of everyone and everything. I think I am beginning to understand this concept more and more.

Through my practicum experience this semester, I have had the fortune of meeting some amazing women. These women have had very different upbringings than me and many of them lead very different lives with numerous struggles that I could not even imagine myself going through. They are more courageous and brave and inspiring than I could ever hope to be. Yet on many levels, we are one and the same with the same needs for love, connectedness, self esteem and the opportunity to contribute. It is only the mind that points out all the differences - the heart quickly discovers that we are so similar.

Out of the storm!

School has consumed most of my time over the last two months. Endless hours of reading, web posting and paper writing have led to the scarcity of blogging of late. This kind of busyness had led to breakfasts for dinner, mounting piles of paper all over the house, growing laundry piles and basically ignoring whatever is not necessary. Even running and yoga have fallen into those categories on too many occasions. My two essential life giving practises have been overtaken by paper deadlines! Uggh!

No longer - I have come out of the storm! Hallelujah! I submitted my final paper on Tuesday – I expected to feel elation and boundless energy but instead my body became consumed with unbelievable fatigue and a great desire to sleep. Instead of feeling frustrated by my listlessness, for once I need to honour the need for my body and mind to recover from the last four months. Of course, I still have an astounding ‘to do’ list (as you may recall, I am somewhat fanatical about lists..) of all the things that I have not had the time to do over the last semester! Most of the list is filled up with house chores, gardening chores, banking tasks and the like… I had planned on scheduling these tasks on my few days off next week. At the top of the list, I think I need to focus on the ME tasks and then whatever else gets done is a bonus……sleep, eat well, do your yoga practise………read fiction (yes!)…….perhaps then my energy will surge back to what I once knew it to be.

Eternal Sitting

I wonder if there is study out there that measures life expectancy according to how much one sits or how much one sits in front of a computer. There must be a correlation because I honestly feel the life being sucked out of me the longer I sit here. The irony of all this school work is that by the time I'm actually finished my masters, there is no way I will want to go near a computer to do any work. I will then have to resort to a new career path related to climbing mountains or scuba diving or anything that does not require such long periods of sitting for extended days, weeks and months on end. All this sitting in front of of a computer is stealing me of energy and creativity and making my body rigid and saggy all at once. Yes, I chose this path.......must keep telling myself that. Oh man....... I try to live in the moment but I really can't wait for this course to be over.

Can't see the forest for the trees?

Caught up in the details of life, preoccupied with what happened yesterday and what needs to happen tomorrow, it is so easy to lose perspective and focus on seemingly important details that easily grow to become unnecessarily central to our lives. I have wasted too much of my time this past weekend worrying about what I wasn’t accomplishing (that I needed to) that I just set myself back further. While this would normally be my cue to go for a run – the computer hunch syndrome and a strange pain in my right hamstring necessitated that I opt for yoga practise instead. In lieu of running today, I fit in a short lunch hour yoga practise and evening practise to stretch out my aching body and racing mind. I just had to do a second practise because there was no way I was going to make any headway with school tonight or even consider the thought of sleeping.

The first three breaths, my mind is still speeding along thinking about the stresses of the day ………..then, somehow I find a groove. I focus on the breath. I focus on the inhale, the exhale – the pure simplicity of this nourishing oxygen slowing down the frantic thoughts and re-awakening my body. I finish the practise, with a massive appreciation for my health, the people in my life and miraculously leave the mat with a much healthier perspective.

Note to self: get on your yoga mat tomorrow.

Sleep

Oh how I love thee. My love of sleep makes my alarm clock my greatest enemy. As much as I truly wish to rise early, I blindly and frantically press that snooze button at least four or five times before I can will myself out of bed. This morning, I slept past my alarm for one whole hour! How can I wake up feeling good when I’ve already failed on my first goal for the day?! My sleep is not all that restful so when I am in that dreamy space, the intrusive sounds of overly cheery morning radio show hosts only remind me of all the millions of things I have to do during the day. As I visualize the foreboding ‘list’, I press my snooze button again snuggling deeper under the covers.

I have tried multiple alarm clocks and set them up in various locations in the house. This strategy has proven unsuccessful. I have tried changing the alarm sounds from the horribly obtrusive beeeep beeep beeeep to the softer sounds of morning radio. Neither make a difference.

I wasn’t always a “snoozer” and I’m not exactly sure how I came to be one. Maybe it was when my life became consumed with sitting in front of a computer screen day and night. Or maybe I just have no discipline. Could it be my iron levels? Or could it possibly be age? Rising at 5:30am used to be be part of the daily routine for several years - to go to swim practice, do yoga or fit in a morning run. Why is this so difficult for me now? Could I be so sleep deprived that I am constantly in a state of sleep debt?

If that is the case, why then will a sunny vacation allow me to be free from alarms and rise with the sun? Hmmmm......

ALS Adventure

Every year, through my so called racing and recreation adventures I aim to contribute to a different charity. This year I've decided to put my efforts toward raising money for ALS by participating in the ALS Adventure Challenge. This race is in honor of my friend Art, who was recently diagnosed with ALS. If you are interested in supporting our team Art's Army, please check out my fundraising page.

The race is a short adventure race that consists of trail running, mountain biking (that part will be laugh for me), kayaking and of course some 'mystery' events along the way.

The picture you see here is Art looking over the Grand Canyon. I thought this race was an appropriate event to support Art as he approaches life with a sense of adventure, enthusiasm and greatfulness. He inspires me with his outlook on life. I hope you will join me in helping to give something back...

Not Quite as Planned

Planned Run:
30:00 @ HR Zone 1
40:00 @ 8:10/mile or somewhere close to it
30:00 @ HR Zone 1

Actual Run:
1:54 penguin pace

My body was just not capable of upping the pace at all today. There was just one speed and that was slow! It may have been all the travelling this week, or remnants of the flu from last week or quite possibly it could have been the big flax muffin I stupidly ate for breakfast. What was I thinking? Anyway...despite my inability to stick with the plan, the sun was shining through the trees and the clear skies were magnificent! Every moment I thought of how painstakingly slow I was going, I reminded myself that I am so lucky to be running for the pure sake of running. I think of other parts of the world where it's actually illegal for women to run. I think of those that want to run that are physically unable. I think of those that are running but running for pure survival..away from violence and other terrors. I am grateful to be healthy and free to run.........

Blowing Snow and 30 Below

The bite of 30 below experienced in Moose Jaw this weekend is a brand new experience for this chickadee. I'd like to say that I'm unlikely to repeat the experience any time soon but I have a few work trips that are going to take me into the northern cold this month. That kind of cold with the wind chill dropping temperatures even further makes it feel like your face is going to freeze off within seconds. The frost bite warning was 10 minutes but with my circulation, 10 minutes sounds like an eternity.

You guessed right that my workouts took me indoors this weekend. Eighty minutes on a treadmill made me feel a bit hamster-ish but I was happy to be over with the viral evil that took me out last week and thrilled to get in some good mileage without any knee pain. I suppose those boring physio exercises are doing me some good. Also, with Tim running along beside me on his own treadmill, how could I complain?

As much as Saskatchewan winters inspire me to dream of palm trees and warm surf, it's hard to come home when you're leaving someone behind. I'm thankful that my other running partner, albeit he has 4 legs instead of 2, was here to greet me back to Vancouver where to no surprise, it's as wet and grey as when I left. Geez...30 below doesn't sound all that bad.

Oh my aching head

I've pumped my blood with extra vitamin C, Cold FX and tried thinking anti-flu thoughts to somehow boost my immune system. Psychoneuroimmunogy and vitamin therapy aside, I still feel my head gradually getting bigger and the increasing exhaustion is making it hard to complete a sentence. This is not looking promising for a Yeti race tomorrow morning. Hopefully soup and sleep will boost my T-cells overnight and kick this evil out of my body.

When a runner can't run...

Well, I'm supposed to be doing school work but noticed I have not posted in over a week! The usual franticness (yes, it really is a word) of school and work have officially set in. To make things even more stressful (or shall we say exciting?) my overall ability to be my usual resilient self (some may argue this point) has been somewhat compromised by my lack of running this past week. Oh, yes, 4 weeks into the year and my left knee starts complaining to me. Can you believe it! I am so bummed but I am not going to let this get the better of me. We (that is my mind and my body) are going to think positive and believe that all that soft tissue will calm down and get strong very fast.

Let's go back one year. Too many hours spent in front of a computer working and studying did not stop me running. However, they did inhibit my ability to fit in swimming, cycling and all the 'maintenance' stuff that I obviously took for granted in terms of my physical function. Eventually, a serious bout of patellofemoral pain in my right knee kept me from running the Honolulu marathon. Not too bad considering I've been pretty much injury free up 'til now. Regardless, this put me back to the old run/walk plan and set me on a path of religious physiotherapy. The past year has been a painstakingly gradual approach to increasing running distance.

Despite my efforts to be smart, my left knee (feeling somewhat left out I suppose) has presented itself with this lovely syndrome. After a fantastic snow shoe run last Thursday, my left knee put me in slump of self-pity as I felt the familiar sensation of the joint 'giving way' , swelling up and providing sharp tastes of pain. Determined not to let the dreaded 'syndrome' fully show itself, I made a quick trip to the physiotherapist and I'm back to a rigid schedule of boring core and stabilizer exercises. No running for 5 days but snowshoeing is okay.

So, snowshoeing it is. Got up for a great run to Dog Mountain again last Friday night. Woohhooo - knees felt fine. I love it up there when the night is clear and you can see the city lights. I truly feel alive. Otis was feeling particularly spunky in his reflective coat (see pic). After a great night of romping in the snow, I slept soundly for the first time all week. Got up to Cypress again on Sunday for a solid hike up the peak trail. Nothing vigorous but it felt great to be breathing in all that mountain oxygen on such a beautiful day. Tomorrow is day 6 so I'm going to try running home. Wish me luck for pain free knees.

Canine Capers in the Trails

Woof! It’s Otis here…I’m stepping in for my owner today. She’s occupied with reading lengthy text books and journal articles. I’ve already tried a million times to get her to play with me with my stuffy toys but no luck. So here I am!

My owner and I get into the trails most days - mostly UBC and North Van and when I'm really lucky, we go up to the top of the mountains and run in the snow. That's my fav but the car ride is a real drag...... anyway, one of the things I’ve noticed about you humans is that you always run in straight lines. You ALWAYS stay on the trail and you generally run at pretty much the same pace. You never bother to chase wild life and man, you don't even bend down to check out the great smells! Well, I want to tell you, you’re missing out – there’s a lot you could learn from a dog like me… I want to tell you how to make your trail runs much more fun. Check it out.

1. First, pull you’re your owner to the trail head by pulling on the leash as hard as possible – show her where you want to go. Enthusiasm counts for something!
2. Sit nice so she lets you off leash and you’re free to sniff around.
3. Make your mark at the next bunch of bushes where that other dog (must be a terrier) keeps trying to claim the trail. Share the trail man…….
4. Chase as many squirrels as you can…the more you chase, the more likely you are to catch one. I haven’t caught one yet but I dream about it. One day!
5. Lie down in the middle of the trail until the pretty chocolate lab comes up to you wanting to sniff your butt and then – bam – spring up and chase her down. Yahoo!
6. Run into the bush and chase more squirrels
7. Pee again. It's really cool when you're in the snow!
8. Sniff….sniff…sniff……….ahhhh yeahhhh…sniff…
9. Go back to your owner, heel beside her for about 50 meters or so and she’ll give you a treat…sucka!!!!
10. Pick up the big log in the middle of the trail and run as hard as you can until your mouth hurts so much you have to stop.
11. Try to persuade your owner to throw the stick so you can chase it. If you wag your tail really fast it usually works
12. Don’t forget to take water breaks…stop at the nearest creek and chug back as much water as you can. There are occasionally signs that say ‘no dogs in the creek’ but I don't think the same rules apply to humans, so you're probably safe. Is that discrimination?
13. Chase more squirrels in the bush.
14. Pee
15. Sniff
16. Run
17. Sprint
18. Pick up more sticks
19. Man…are we back at the car already?
    
20. Show your best puppy dog eyes for a really sweet post-run snack!
    

Now, that my human friends is trail running! Guaranteed much more fun than running on the beaten path.

Parking nowhere to be found...

Okay, perhaps I was not meant to snowshoe this winter! The Seymour parking lot was chalk full AGAIN and therefore no room for me. Why drive you ask, when I could just hike up the mountain and then go for a snow shoe run at the top? Well, I considered it but it has been years that I've considered myself any type of endurance junkie. I'd be lucky if I could make it 1/2 way up the mountain right now (even with Otis the sled dog pulling me) and besides, I wanted to get home before dark so I could tackle the 100 plus pages of reading I need to get done by tomorrow. Oh the joys of student life...

Anyway...all was not lost as Bob and Amanda and gang could not find parking at the bottom either - Otis and I met them at the bottom of the mountain and did a nice smooth run/hike through the lower Seymour trails. Unbelievably, the sun started to shine through the trees! What a relief from this unrelenting rain! Well, hopes for better weather and snow shoe runs this week.

Not a bad few days for getting my but in gear...

• Thursday - Hill Repeats
• Friday - Off unless you count reading journal articles while sitting on the bike trainer..not!
• Saturday - 1:45 trail run with Otis and Bob through UBC
• Sunday - 1:45 trail run/hike at Seymour with Otis and his pack....

This week will be the true test as I get right back into the swing of work and school...uggh!

On Procrastination

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. ~William James

Why drive to the top of the mountain to go for a snow shoe run in the rain when I can get just as wet and cold by stepping right outside my front door? Well, that’s my rationale for not heading up to Seymour for the planned snow shoe run this evening. With training plans gone awry, I’m struggling for motivation to head into this ugly Vancouver weather. My running partners (including my dog) have left me solo tonight so that gives me one more thing to whine about. Yes, it is only week 2 into 2008 and I have already found myself procrastinating.

So what do runners do when they enter this ever-dreaded avoidance type behaviour? Well, they make lists and develop training schedules and then read the latest training articles and redevelop their trainings plans. (And they blog...) Well, you might think us list makers are being smart by taking the tame to plan up front. After all, an effective training plan is required to ensure gradual builds in training intensity and duration and reduce injury risk, right? Well, some people believe that list makers spend more time managing their lists than they do carrying out what is on them – I wonder if the same holds true for developing training schedules?.

My name is Corrina – and I am a list maker.... I honestly can not function without lists. And without a training schedule, I'd probably have way more blog entries and be competing in dance dance revolution contests (sad, but true). I made my to do list this morning and crossed off nearly everything except for my daily workout. Does that make me a self-proclaimed procrastinator? Right now, I am in the middle of revising my training schedule and trying to find a way of fitting everything in among work, grad school, teaching spin classes, yoga and exercising the dog. Okay, enough already…. I’ve got to get out the door…...

Playing in the Snow

Day 3 into the New Year and I've quickly discovered my lung capacity is no where near where it should be. We celebrated New Year's Eve with a show shoe run to Dog Mountain from the Mount Seymour parking lot and each uphill had my lungs wheezing. Yet, the snow was awesome, the fresh air exhilarating and the downhills inspired me with the intangible spirit of Wahoo!

January 1st was bit lazier with a nice flat 50 minute run to the anchor and back along Spanish Banks. Otis's sliced paw is still healing so I opted to stay close to home so he didn't have to stay on his own for too long. Not to mention the sad but true fact that my legs were a bit sore from the snow shoe run the day before. I've definitely got my work cut out for me if I'm to tackle the KK this summer.

January 2nd we headed up to Cypress for some skate skiing. The Nordic trails were completely socked in with fog and only the lower trails were open and track set. The last couple of years, we've exchanged our skis for surfboards over the holiday season so this was the first time skiing in a long while. Despite suboptimal ski conditions and my waning fitness level, I quickly rediscovered my love for skate skiing.

Part of my plan over the winter is to snow shoe run or skate ski at least once a week. It's such a blessing to have the mountains only 40 minutes from home - I must enjoy more often! Having only trained for road marathons and triathlons before, I'm not entirely sure how to go about planning for a 30 mile trail race but I'm sure any mileage I can get in the hills is going to do me good. Here are a few events in the hills I plan to enter to keep me motivated throughout the winter and spring:

• Seymour Yeti Race Feb 2nd
• Grouse Yeti Race Feb 16th
• Cypress Yeti Race Mar 8th
• Burnaby Mountain Fat Ass Run April 5th
• Iron Knee May 31st

The trails are calling...

The year 2007 has come and gone and there are no tales of travel, adventure or athletic achievements to recount. This past year, my energies were spent primarily on work, school and taming my overexcited puppy to be more vigilant of his owner and oncoming mountain bikes during our trail runs. I also spent the first part of the year rehabbing a right knee injury back to health to be fit enough to run a few races in North Vancouver’s great trails (Squamish Thunder, Five Peaks Seymour Race, Iron Lung and Hallow’s Eve), however, the longer distances still remained out of reach. The last marathon I ran was in Boston in April 2006.

This year, there is no urge to set any road marathon aspirations but instead to explore the amazing trails in the North Shore Mountains. There is no better way to do this than by signing up for Knee Knacker. After a year of tender footed training runs and single leg squats, I think I am ready to step it up. Running the trails means that I can run with my dog and therefore I am absolved of any guilt I would face with leaving Otis behind for paved runs that make doggy paws go raw. The Knee Knacker race has always been something I have wanted to complete and with an impending move outside of BC in the next year, there is no time like the present. So, I’ve paid my money - the lottery will seal my fate.

I had signed up for Knee Knacker on one other occasion (in 2004) and I discovered that a daily Ashtanga yoga practice and long trail runs did not serve my knees all that well. I had to opt out of starting the race, scale back on my running and continue with my daily yoga practice. This was part of a yoga teacher training course that I had been studying for over the least year. I spent the last 5 weeks of this year long course in Thailand during which time, I was advised not to run at all. I wholeheartedly respected the advice but that was the longest time that I have gone without running. For me, running is part of my yoga practice.

I practice yoga almost daily even if it is only to do a few sun salutations. The second of Pantajali’s yoga sutras is “yogah cittavrtti norodhah.” Essentially, this means that yoga is about stopping the fluctuations of the mind. Of course, this is a simple translation for something that is much more complex but in this sense, running is my yoga – it quiets my mind and connects me with this greater world like nothing else. Perhaps my asana practice will one day become like running for me but for now, I choose to do both. I run and I do asana – both of these practices remind me of who I truly am.

This blog will be an account of my 2008 running adventures and aspirations with a few associated ramblings of yoga practice, the yoga of running and my perspectives on life as I balance work, grad school and all the other responsibilities of life.