The Parcel I've Been Waiting for!

I was so excited when I had a parcel slip at the post office today. It was my finisher's bracelet from the Nike+ Women's Virtual Half Marathon! It was designed for Nike by Hurley. Check it out. I'm really pleased with it.

Nike is renowned for their finishers' necklaces that they present at their Womens' marathon in San Francisco. They are designed by Tiffany. So, I was happy when I registered for this run and saw that they were going to offer a bracelet. I think finishers' jewelry is a neat idea and a welcome change from the standard medal.

A Fundraising Update

I am super excited that after a little over a month, my "Twelve in 2012" event with the Fundraise for Life Campaign on the Canadian Cancer Society website has received four generous donations from very special people: someone very important in Heather's life, my brother and sister-in-law, my auntie and uncle and one of my husband's generous co-workers. The total raised to date is $370!! Thank you so much for your contributions!

I am also thrilled that my soccer team has organized a steaknight fundraiser to support me! Nicki Tatchell has spearheaded the event and here's what she wrote on the Facebook event page:

Our friend Janaya Stevenson has motivated me as well as many others in her efforts to be a "mom on the run" and raise money and awareness for cancer and cancer research. If you follow her blog: Baby Steps: A mom on the run, you will see and understand her passion and motivation for this cause.

As I am not a runner I wanted to help in some way. I can do that by fundraising and I was hoping some of you would help out too. I know that we have all been affected by this awful disease in some way or another.

In Canada, cancer will develop in 45% of men and 39% of women during their lifetime. 1 in 4 Canadians will die of the disease (CMA). When you look at the odds it makes you more aware that we need to try and make a difference.

Come join in for great food and company!

Menu:
Steak
Chicken Fingers
Baked Potato with fixings
Caesar Salad
Garlic Toast
Pasta Salad
Sauted mushrooms and onions
** If there are any vegetarians just let me know and they will make a special veggie lasagna!**

Tickets are $20/each and you can get them by contacting me at
978-1548 or email: nickipar4@yahoo.ca

If anyone is interested in donating prizes for auction/draw that would be great and you can contact any of the administrators. If you are unable to attend but would still like to donate to the cause we are welcome to all donations.


It is set to take place at Mulberry's Bakery Cafe & Pub on Monday, March 26th @ 6:00 p.m. If you are interested in joining us and supporting the Canadian Cancer Society please let me know and we'll get some tickets to you. It is sure to be a fun evening!

My First Fitness Partner

In April 2004, the month after we returned from our vacation in Cuba, a little white ball of fluff followed me home from work. After a small amount of negotiation I was able to convince my husband to keep her (it helped that she snuggled up to watch the hockey game!). The thing is, he pretty much knew that taking in a pup while living in Northern Saskatchewan was inevitable. I LOVED dogs and there was always a seemingly endless number of strays looking for someone to love them. I think he was more shocked that it had taken me this long to bring one home. We named her Kasey. The vet said she was part terrier and part sled dog.

Kasey was FULL of energy! So she and I started walking twice a day. The forest was just a block over from our home, so together we hiked the trails. One evening we encountered a bear. We had nearly finished our walk when we came around the bend to find a big black bear between us and the end of the trail. He was just after the garbage, but I was sure he was going to eat us for supper. As we turned and RAN all the way back the way we had come, I remember being shocked at how slow I was going. I was so SCARED and that was the fastest I could possibly go; but if he had wanted to, that bear could have caught me without much effort!

Anyway, my enthusiasm for walking the dog didn't falter....we just made a lot more noise when we were out from then on!

We had begun discussing the possibility of starting a family. I knew that before we could do that, I had to get my weight down to a more reasonable level. I set my goal to get down to 180lbs and then we could talk turkey. So, that Spring & Summer Kasey and I walked, hiked and played. She didn't care that I was slow. It just gave her a chance to loop back and run laps around me! I walked on the treadmill, I did yoga videos and workouts from a series called "Walk Away the Pounds Express" that incorporated a resistance band and I once more started counting Weight Watchers points. Over the course of the summer I got to feeling pretty good again.

Cumberland House is a neat place to live because it is on an island. The Saskatchewan River is on one side, the Cumberland Lake on the other and all of it is smack in the middle of the swamp. So this translates into a lush habitat with giant fiddle ferns, squishy moss, beautiful huge soggy maple trees (which incidentally produce maple syrup) and mosquitos unlike anything you've ever seen!

It rains a lot in the summer and come winter the precipitation just converts to snow. HUGE amounts of snow....SO I DUG OUT MY CROSS COUNTRY SKIS. I'm not talking about a state of the art pair of sleek, shiny skis. Mine are the kind you find at a garage sale with the old blue boots and bamboo poles. The kind we learned on in Grade 7 around Wascana Park. Anyway, they weren't pretty (and I'm sure the sight of me using them wasn't either), but when the snow came that Fall, Kasey and I continued to loop around and through the forest trail happy to spend our time after my work day out together getting a sweat on!

I've heard it a gazillion times, research shows that we are more likely to stick with something if we have a partner. This partner holds us accountable, makes it harder to back out of a workout, makes exercise more fun & social, encourages healthy eating choices, etc. etc. etc.

Well, for me, Kasey was my partner. She was like that girl at the gym with her sweatband on who's just so pumped and excited to workout. There was ABSOLUTELY no way of getting out of our walk. She knew the routine and as soon as she saw me walking on my way home from work, she was ready and she was RELENTLESS. In fact, on the days when it was so cold her paws would freeze or when it was too dark to be safe in the bush, Kasey would actually run on the treadmill! She was an endorphin junkie.

I have since had a couple of great running partners, the regulars that I looked forward to seeing at step aerobics and more recently at BOSU class, my awesome soccer teammates, last summer's fellow diet followers (seriously, without someone to share the pain with, the 17 day diet would just not be doable!) and the camaraderie of the larger running community. However, I have yet to find anyone who can match the quirky intensity my little pup brought to the table every time we went out the door!

At the end of March that year we went on a holiday to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The skiing and walking had paid off, I had a little more pep in my step and had met and exceeded my weight goal. I was weighing in somewhere between 175-180 lbs.

In May 2005, my pregnancy test came back positive! GULP!! It worked, we were going to be parents.

Winter Running in Saskatchewan - A True Test of Commitment!

Despite the frosty weather, Uncle Bob was happy to join me for the Hypothermic Half. Here's what he has to say about his experience:

Mornings. Winter. Running early.

Three of my most hated things in the world. So it must be a strong testament of how highly I think of Janaya as I report about running the Hypothermic Half Marathon on a Sunday morning in February. Truth be told, I was happy to join her for the run to support her worthy cause.

When I read her first blog posting about her running endeavor, I was impressed with her undertaking. She had included an invitation for a show of support for anyone to join her at any point during the year and that is when I first thought about doing so. 

I had started running again that summer after a far-too-long hiatus from it and thought that it would give me a goal to strive toward. And that it did! I increased my daily runs after Christmas to ensure that I would be able to finish/keep up and, sure enough, I finished it and lived to tell the tale.

It was a great way to mark my 8 month return to running. I didn't finish first, but we didn't finish last either. We decided to run together for as long as we could, but agreed that if one of us wanted to go faster, to feel free to do so. It was nice to find that we ran at the same pace and were able to keep each other motivated all the way to the end.

As we came to the finish line, I remember Janaya grabbing my hand and saying, "Let's go for it!" and so we did. It was great to see my nephew with his boys Owen and Myles at the finish line taking pictures and giving high fives all around. What also helped me during the run was knowing that a week from that date, I would be spending a week on a warm holiday in Mexico and so, when I got too cold, I focused on that!

It was a real privilege to share this experience with Janaya. Thank you for including me in your worthy cause!

(After doing this run with Janaya, I *think* that I have stopped my habit of singing along with my ipod as I run. At least, I sure HOPE that I have! The things you learn about yourself when running with someone else after training alone! Haha!)

Thanks Unk! I think we should plan our next run together for somewhere with great weather.....maybe we should do one of the Rock 'n Roll Marathon series where THEY provide the tunes!

The Hypothermic Half Marathon

The Scenario

Yesterday was the Running Room's annual Hypothermic Half Marathon. I ran the 13.1 miles with my Uncle Bob. Well, he's actually my uncle-in-law, but I've called him Unk for many years. I was fortunate to be able to get to know him well when I lived with him during my last two years of university. He is a running veteran having completed the full Saskatchewan Marathon in 2001. After a few years off, he has recently re-discovered his love of running and volunteered to join me for this event.

It is not only the running aspect of my project that is appealing to Uncle Bob. He had a chance to get to know my friend Heather while I lived at his place and he is saddened by her passing. Hitting even closer to home for him was the loss of his mom (my husband's Grandma) due to leukemia in 2006. Grandma was a kind woman with a beautiful and caring spirit. Cancer took her from us too soon.

So, together we met up with the other runners yesterday morning near the Vimy Memorial. Despite being the middle of February in Saskatchewan, the temperature was a crisp but manageable -17 degrees Celcius when we started heading North along the river at 9 a.m.  By the time we were returning back South along the route, the sun was shinning warmly. The temperature was around  -8 degrees Celcius when we finished. I was thankful that I had purchased a new pair of windproof pants last week. It was a brisk run, but it could have been much worse.

The Event

Overall this was a great running event! The route was well marked and there were enough friendly road marshals to keep us going in the right direction. The warm gatorade at the aid stations was a nice treat, the finisher's medal is really nice and the post-race brunch at the Delta Bessborough was delicious. My only complaint is the jacket that came with the registration. It's not just that it is BRIGHT yellow, but it's a unisex size XL....so I'm not likely to get much use out of it, lol!

The Excuses

When we were coming up with our plan of attack a couple weeks back, Uncle Bob and I agreed on two things: we wouldn't aim for a specific time (being happy, rather, just to finish) and that music was totally necessary. This came as no surprise since Unk sings in a jazz group named Solstice and he LOVES music.

So, here's where I made a BIG ROOKIE MISTAKE! I got up extra early to allow enough time for a good breakfast; and, while I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee I checked my emails etc. I saw that the girls at Another Mother Runner had recorded a new podcast. So I decided I should download it and give listening to it during my run a try. While I'm sure that this is a good idea and I'm still going to give it a try, I couldn't get the podcasts to upload onto my ipod. In fact, when I got to the start line and put in my earbuds, I realized that I had managed to remove most of my music from the device! I'm lucky that there were a few songs remaining in a playlist that I had used a couple years ago. It was enough to get me through about 6km so I ended up playing them each at least three times!

The lesson: don't mess with things the morning of a run! I've heard horror stories of people using new gear or different energy gels or beans than what they trained with, and I guess I should have realized the same goes for the running tunes!

The Best Part

I really enjoyed running with Uncle Bob! We finished in 2 hrs 27 mins. We ran at a steady pace and only stopped to grab our drinks and continue on. Between the 11-13 km marks on the route Unk's hip started to bother him (it's as a result of an old childhood injury). At one point, when my ipod wasn't cooperating, I could hear him saying something. At first I thought he was chanting a mantra (yes, it's a lame thing that runners sometimes do to get themselves through the rough patches). Then, I realized he was singing! He didn't even realize he was doing it, but every time we hit an incline or the going got tough, he sang along to his music. I think this was his form of a mantra and it gave him the strength to push through. Thankfully, his singing was much better than my limited playlist!!

My strength comes from my boys. Having them waiting for us at the finish line, ready with high fives and beautiful smiles means so much to me.

I'm excited that this half has put my 2012 total distance to date over the 100 mile point! It feels great to have my second run of the year under my belt and I'm thankful to have had such great company! Now I've got three weeks to prep for the Brainsport Brainfreeze on March 4th.

Cuba: Then & Now

Don't worry, this isn't going to be a post about changes in the Cuban political climate. Although I'm sure such a discussion would be quite riveting, I am choosing instead to keep things a bit more...fluffy.

While I was in Cuba a couple weeks ago, I took a few minutes to think back to the first holiday we had spent there.  As I did so, it struck me that this would be a good point from which to start sharing my story, my weight-loss journey, my history, my whatever you want to call it. For me, it's just my life and the baby steps that I've taken to get from then to now. So, here it goes:

This is me in Cuba in March 2004. We had a fantastic trip in this eclectic & unique country. We stayed at a great resort, explored Havana on a day trip, went on a snorkel tour and enjoyed taking pictures with our new digital camera. However, weighing in at between 215-220lbs and wearing a size 18 and sometimes a 20, I was at my heaviest for the second time in my life. My weight and appearance burdened me and inhibited my ability to really enjoy myself.

Because my husband is the one who enjoys photography, he hid behind the lens while I was in most of the shots. I remember being horrified as we showed the pictures from our trip to our families when we got back. I mean, I knew that I had had to buy new bigger clothes for the trip because my honeymoon wardrobe no longer fit; but, I hadn't really realized how big I had gotten. The weight had just crept up on me.

I don't think that the path my life took to get to that point is much different than what a lot of people have experienced.

Growing up, I was a dancer. I didn't play organized sports. All the activity that I needed to stay fit, I got from dance class. When I finished high school in Regina, I was healthy and weighed around 160lbs. However, by the summer after my second year of university in Saskatoon, I had gained enough weight that I no longer felt like myself.

I think this happens to a lot of people when they move away from home for the first time. I ate out at least once a day, sometimes up to three times a day. My favourite was McD's. Then add on top of that the mass consumption of beer! That, combined with the fact that I was no longer dancing (and didn't really know how to 'workout' any other way) and it's no wonder I gained the "freshman 15" and then some!

To say that I didn't know how to workout is not ENTIRELY true. I had, after all, seen the Billy Blakes infomercials and had purchased the 4-pack VHS set of TaeBo workouts. It was going to be the answer to my prayers....but, of course, that's not the way it worked out. It was a tad overambitious of me to think that, at that point, I was capable of completing a workout of that intensity. My inability was deflating.

However, when my boyfriend left university to pursue his professional training, I was determined to lose weight while he was away. My dad helped me buy a treadmill and I started walking. My diet was still a complete train wreck, but I walked enough to lose a few pounds during that time. At his graduation in February 2001, I was still wearing plus sized clothes, but I felt a bit better about myself. Unfortunately, it was short lived.

We got engaged and I went to live in Beauval with my man for the summer. I was once again almost completely inactive and I spent countless hours in front of the television with a bowl of chips never too far away. I worked as a substitute teacher at the school and I cleaned rooms at the fishing resort. We had a lot of fun fishing and exploring the area, but I also spent a lot of time by myself while my fiancee worked long hours.

When I went back to complete my fourth year of schooling in the Fall, I was at my heaviest weight of 220lbs for the first time. I was 21 years old. It was embarrassing to say the least.

With a wedding in the works, I re-dedicated myself to my treadmill. My friend Heather and I hit the gym and we started counting weight-watchers points together. During Christmas break we went dress shopping with my mom. I found my dress. It was a size 18, but I took solace in the fact that even if I didn't lose another pound, I would look alright in it. We took a picture of me in the dress at the store; and, on the days that I didn't feel like walking it served as motivation.

By the time we were married in October 2002, I was able to do the entire TaeBo workout and I was down to 175lbs! The alterations my dress required were SUBSTANTIAL and it felt FANTASTIC! I was even able to buy some cute clothes for our honeymoon in Jamaica (going from plus size to regular size made everything seem cuter...even if it was a size XL!).

However, with the wedding done, I totally lost my motivation and the treadmill started to gather dust in the basement. It's ridiculous, but it's true. I fell back into the bad habits of being isolated, turning to food and forget about doing a workout! When we moved to Cumberland House that summer, I was already back at 195lbs. And I continued to gain weight because I continued on the same path. We were living in a different place, but the circumstances were mostly the same.

As I said, by the time we were going to Cuba 1 year and 5 months after our wedding, there was no way I was going to be able to use those cute holiday clothes from my honeymoon.

So that is where this story starts! The gains & loses, the ups & downs of my early 20's!

When I was in Cuba this time, I was once again thankful to be in a charming country, at a beautiful resort, enjoying wonderful weather and copious amounts of food and beer. We went to a lively baseball game that was one to remember, we took a moped into town to see the sights and we soaked up the sun at the swim up bar. However, this time my favourite things were our 8 mile run along the beach and a 5km run that turned into a hike through a forest & bat caves. The best part of the trip though (other than the company), is that I don't mind looking at the pictures we took. I'm still the same as I was eight years ago in many ways, but different in many others. Most importantly, I'm so much more HAPPY.