Where are the damn s'mores???

No, that's not a fancy lens filter, it really WAS that smoky.

So, yesterday we head out on our second trio 5K. It's a bit warmer than Tuesday, but what the heck, we think, we're running the race in Florida anyways, 20C will do us good!  30 seconds in, we realize the folly of our plan.  We'd all commented on "the weird California smog" hanging over the city, but otherwise didn't think much about it.  Turns out, there are massive forest fires in BC and Northern Alberta that getting socked in here in Calgary. It turns out to be a pretty terrible run, and when I say "run" I mean shuffle-while-gasping-and wheezing-as-our-lungs-burned-us-from-the- inside. I made us stop to walk at least 4 times so my insides didn't burst out my parched and burning throat. It was the also the quietest run ever as we concentrated on you know, not dying. Taking anything but the most shallow of breaths sent pain shooting through our chests. We have never been so happy to be finished a run, yet find our lungs continue to burn as we cool down and catch our breath. The kicker? We get back to our desks to find out Environment Canada has issued a warning against strenuous outdoor activity due to extreme smoke in the area and the forecast actually shows Calgary as being ON FIRE. We'd have laughed if it didn't hurt so much.

Lesson learned, I guess?  Sore throat and lungs persisted throughout the day until self medicated with ice cream, and we've decided to postpone the weekend run until we can see the sun again...

Ursula's revenge?

In the interest of cross training, I went deep water running tonight.  Like the name implies, it involves "running" around in the deep pool at my local swimmin' hole. It's supposed to be good for your joints as well as increase your range of motion and offers resistance from all sides in the water which gets all your muscles working.  I used to go pretty regularly and figured it would be a good chance to channel our favorite water princess Ariel!

The class is an hour long and in addition to jogging, you do jumping jacks, bicycle kicks, skiing and so on to boost cardio.  I like that it doesn't feel too hard, yet I find myself gasping for breath throughout the class and so exhausted at the end, I can barely drive home. 

The only thing I don't like about DWR is that you really need to wear a one piece exercise swimsuit.  Since I have a long torso, this makes me look like some kind of water beast, no matter what kind of vertical stripes , plus I always feel all hunched over and sad. I did try a 2 piece at my first class, and found...things....kept... popping out....a lot. North and South. When I'm kicking my arms and flailing about underwater, this is pretty much the unsexiest thing you can imagine (wait! Now imagine it's the dead of winter and my skin is pasty and my legs aren't shaved! Hey, it COULD get unsexier!)  Either way, I'm glad it's all underwater, because I feel like this:

In this class, the teacher kept yelling at me when I was doing things wrong...which may have happened a lot but geez lady, you were kinda hard to hear over the dance remixes of Kid Rock.  I kept a smile on my face throughout the class (especially when those long pink noodles came out, hee hee) and kept picturing the end of the Little Mermaid when Ursula gets her comeuppance.  That helped tide me over (tide! Get it? Sea theme!! hahaha!)

Soaked in the hot tub too before heading home. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....

August 17: Banner Day for the Princesses!

August 17 was another glorious summer day with temperatures soaring around 13C when the princesses embarked on their first ever run as a team!  Yes, we've all been running, but this was our first 5K as a trio! We start with a commemorative photo of the event and we're off!

5K ROCKS!!

We've mapped a route right from our office that is a perfect 5K.  Located out by the YYC airport, it always has a nice breeze (only sometimes caused by the 737 flight path directly above our heads) and is relatively flat.  We practice our royal wave at the dozens of gophers we pass, shield our eyes from the territorial hawks in the area, and finish in just over 34 minutes.

Milestones today:

-first run as a trio!
-Princess Crys' first 5K run with no walking breaks!

Day #8 - PrincessChris - Training

I feel like it must be said how hard we princesses work every morning at our weight training. Dan recently thought it necessary to make these mornings even more pleasurable with an even harder weight workout. Twelve exercises in a circuit, done twice... I don't know if I could do this every morning without the support of the morning workout 'group'.
This morning was no exception.. Week two of the new workout and we're still figuring out how to make it work in 1/2 hour and not cry during the toe touches (harder than they sound). I guess it will be interesting once we start our actual run training to see that we don't drop this part of our day. Jillian herself would be impressed, though I guess we're just glad that she can't actually talk to us on the alternate mornings while we do her 30 Day Shred!!

Salad Schmalad!

So Apart from the actual running that goes along with the whole training for a half marathon thingy, there is the nutritional part as well so I’m told. I hate this part. I’ve always been able to just eat whatever I want and I have a massive vice for deep fried foods. The other night while working at OJs I challenged myself to get through the whole shift without eating any fries. I made it 20 minutes. Deep fried goodness!! I can’t help it! Anyways, so we all know that the major food group we need the most of are fruits and veggies and I certainly do not get enough of either. One of the things I can’t stand eating is salad. I HATE SALAD. Everyone knows I hate salad because I talk about it all the time and the whole time while I eat a crappy salad I complain that I hate salad! And it’s not because they taste bad or anything. It’s because of the eating experience. You can’t make a good bite portion on your fork without the stupid stems sticking out everywhere, then getting all over your face when you try and take a bite. Take smaller bites you say. Well no! Then I would be eating one piece of lettuce or veggie at a time!

The only salad I have ever loved was the Thai Chicken Salad from earls and they took it off the menu! It was full of noodles so I guess that’s why I liked it, but even then, I ended up with Thai sauce all over my face. The only other salad I love is also from earls, the Salmon Provencal Salad. It was loaded with Goat Cheese and some sort of yummy dressing. I bet the salad dressing was simply called “CALORIE MAX! Shhhh, don’t tell you’re thighs!” but was in a replica bottle to some light dressing. It was a whopping 1212 calories, 828 of them coming from fat!! No wonder it was a salad I liked!! Mmmmmm!

I made a salad today, which was alright I guess. All the things in it were delicious but I still complained the whole time. I think next time I might try taking my salad and rolling it in a wrap. I may have to resist the urge to smother it in mayonnaise that way though. While making my salad I overheard a woman at the salad bar ask her friend if there was too much sugar in Red Peppers to put on her salad. Wtf? I never want to turn into that person. I’m having a burger tomorrow.

Day #5, 6 & 7 - A Wedding and Relaxation..

Apparently while my compatriots spent the weekend in 'training'.. I spent most of it on the couch. The effort was made to get up and exercise all the way up to last night at 7:30 when the last effort was made to do so.. Let's just say, it never happened. In my defense Friday night was spent at my girlfriend Paula's wedding where we were on our feet for almost 12hrs. This included at least five of dancing so needless to say, my legs got quite the workout. My girlfriends helped me out by explaining it was like doing two marathons on top of each other. That might just have helped their argument as the rest of the weekend was spent in a 'rest' induced coma .. apparently I needed the 12hr sleep on Saturday night! Must also be noted that in order to get through Saturday, there was some time spent at Pfanntastic Pannenkoek House. Calorie intake.. oh about 50,000.. but worth every bite!!

Got up this morning feeling energized and must have been as I rode in (with no headwind) and we beat our last time by over 4minutes!! It's amazing what a little sleep will get you!