Sabrina is making me feel guilty (Me = Claudia)

Oh Snappy, why oh why you make me feel so guilty. I know....it is because I haven't worked out for almost two weeks, when we ran in -37deg C weather. So my plans for the day have changed, so I won't feel like a total slacker. I just finished walking 4km with my dog, I will then go to the gym at work for my first bike ride in 27 years. Hahahahahaha, oh that is going to be fun. This is a short and sweet post, as P-Friddy is on her way to pick me up. We are heading to lunch, then she has a staff meeting and, like I promised will be hitting the gym. Wow. I will let you all know how that goes!

Why do I run

Sabrina here,

I came across this great forum on Dailymile.com, it's called I run because...It made me think, hmm do I even know why I run, so I read down the reasons and I came up with all my why I run...

I run because I can...
I run because I love the feeling.
I run because I got my friends into it.
I run because it gets me out of the house.
I run because it's a challenge.
But most of all I run because I have meet some of the most inspiring and postive people that run, and I want to be just like them.
and one last one, I run because it makes me feel like I can do so much more.

The link is http://www.dailymile.com/forums/general-running/topics/2337-i-run-because

Why do you run, or do whatever it is you do???

~Sabrina

I GOT IT

Yesterday I got my package for the Ride to Conquer Cancer, I was super excited I think I even did a little dance. Woot Woot. I'm wearing my bracelet as I type.

I'm amazed at how many people out there are supporting me in this adventure. I was at the gym yesterday walking on the treadmill and working on not being so hippy when I walk, and therefore run, so that I can run without pain. Man is it hard to keep your gut tight well you focus on your form. The trainer with the girl next to me starting chatting with me about my goals. As soon as I told him about the Death Race and the ride, he told me he was going to monitor how much I hit the gym and call me if I dropped off. It was great! The more people I have keeping an eye on me the hard it will be for me to fall off and disappear, not that I could because I'm pretty sure my teammates would come to hunt me down and whip me till I ran. Even at work, they offer to buy me a donut pillow for my office chair. Awwww how sweet!

This morning I was back at the gym again, and on the spinning bike. Surprisingly this morning it didn't take me 5 snooze buttons and 45min to get out of bed. It was a new record at 4 mins! I did 60 mins on the bike. Woot Woot. I must that I love my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver With Heart Rate Monitor Pay the extra $20 to upgrade from the 205, to the one with the Heart Rate Monitor was so worth it!! It was a great to know what my heart rate was at and challenge myself to work harder. I only got up to 150, and averaged 146 with a low of 137 after my warm up, which wasn't pushing too hard cardio wise , but my legs were sore and like jello when I got off.

Tonight is the Running clinic and then I'm going out to dance!

Sweet Victory!!!

Sweet Victory! Ah, to be stress free, once again. I am one of those fortunate people that absolutely loves their job. I love what I do, the people I meet, and the company that I work for, and the places I get to experience while working. So the stress that I place on my self can be enormous, because I simply want to be exactly where I am. For those people who don't know me, every 6 months I am up for 'Sim' training, which in the pilot world means, one or two days of simulated emergencies followed by a PPC (pilot proficiency check), which is graded as a pass or a fail. If you fail, it is at the company's discretion if they want to send you for more training followed by another ride. In the last three days I have experienced (in the simulator): -engine failures -engine fires -a cargo fire that would not extinguish -double generator failure -pressurization failure -double engine failure with an off airfield landing, since numerous attempts to restart the engines failed. -unable to land due to terrible weather, followed by an engine failure while in the go-around (a number of times). -and other failures and weather issues. At this moment I feel stress free and absolutely blessed. I am good to fly for 6 more months, when I have to go for more training. That is the way it is, until I retire :) Needless to say, my training, for the run and the ride have been put to the side. Starting tomorrow, I will have to get back into the swing of things. But for tonight.....a glass of red and a slice of pizza. Oh, how I love life :)

Struggles

Beautiful day for a run, and seeing as it was such - I went! Thought I was in for a fantastic run - well fed, rested and eager to go. And so it was... for the first 6km. It was around this point that I had a serious case of dead legs, first I can recall. Heavy leaden things that didn't want to move. My quads had a serious case of the hates for me today. My glorious day was turning into hell.

Frustrated, I took a walking break. Then went back at it. Stopped again 4 minutes later. Took another break. Started running, made it for probably 5 minutes, and started a cycle of sorts. Boy was I MAD at myself. I've noticed this a few times in the past, but nothing as crazy as today. I got back into it again, and made it probably 6 minutes but at this point my mind was racing: What had I done to get myself in this position?

Crossing off sleep and training (I haven't pushed myself at all this week too hard), the only thing left was nutrition. Good thing I have just purchased a book on endurance nutrition! Now, that might not be it, but this a lead I intend to follow.

Something funny happened around this realization - I kept going. The dead legs seemed to resolve themselves and suddenly I'm back to running like there is no issue. What what? Awesome! Somewhere between distraction and just letting myself rest I found the energy necessary to keep going. I need to remember this and not get mad at myself for perceived failures. Which makes me wonder, why should taking a quick break be considered anything other than what it is? I still finished the run, and more importantly, I WENT for a run, instead of sitting on my bum.

Guess I need to work on my attitude as well as my nutrition. HAHA.

~Pam

Oh CRAP....

Good Day Sabrina Here...

Yesterday I was playing around with a new widget to add to our blog that counts down the days till “The Ride” and well it’s only 192 DAYS!!!! When I think about it being in June it seems so far away, but when it broken down into day( AHHHHHHHHHHHH) Let just say I start to panic a little (ok so not a little a whole lot, I'm now nervous and my heart is beating fast, can I do this???) So I guess the idea of taking a week or 2 to get used to the idea of waking up early to go to the gym was quickly changed!!! So this morning I woke up early and off to the gym I went. It really didn't go quite that quickly it only took me 20mins to get out of bed, and another 10min of wondering if I was crazy, and maybe I should just go back to bed. After stumbling into a couple walls in my tired eyes half open state I was awake for good. Off to the gym I went...50 mins on the bike, wasn't too bad, but boy do I feel out of shape. I may be able to run, but biking is a whole different story.

And if the time frame till we do the Ride wasn't enough of a scare. I got my firt week training for my Marathon, I thought we started at 10km which I can do, but no it's 13km, so now I go from running 4km 4 times a week, to a my first week, is 6k 8k and 13k. Yikes I have 20 days to up my training, because the clinic starts Jan 5^th. Last night I did my first 6k straight through no walking, it was nice even though the snow made it a little tough. You get a new perpective of shoveling snow when you have to run on sidewalks that haven't been shovel. Good side of that is that it builds stability muscles.

Got to stay positive and stay running. Tonight is another 4k and I may add another 4 in after.

~Sabrina

Just do it...

I managed to drag myself down to the gym this evening, kicking and screaming. It was indeed a sight to behold, even if it is physically impossible and really only happened in my mind.

Did. Not. Want. To. Go. The comfy chair swallowed my motivation and I was completely ensconced in my slug mode. But yet something weird happened. I stopped procrastinating. Just like that, out of nowhere. WEIRD. Ask anyone who knows me. Bizarro!

I suspect it may have had something to do with the information package that came today for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. I looked at the training program it suggested. Ah crap. I mean, AH CRAP! I have *no* freaking clue how I am going to sort this one out, throwing cycling into the mix. The DeathRace was an easy target - am running now so to continue to build endurance seems not that daunting. But with cycling - and a suggested ride of 120k by June - I feel completely out of my league.

And yet, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt it's possible. I'm going to do it, I just don't know how exactly. Yet.

Which brings me back to me going to the gym for a quick round of strength training when my bum wanted to stay put. The only way I'm going to get through this is if I don't think about it, if I just do it instead. Throw myself at the mercy of ... myself, and see just how far I go. I am going to post this to remind myself the next time I lack the motivation that I've been there, mustered the energy and managed it just fine. And felt much better for it.

And hope that in 3 months I can lift more that 1o pounds with my shoulders. HAHAHA *so embarrassed*

~Pam

Changing the way I think.

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday was a great day filled with great friends and a lot of fun, but it was the type of fun that you can turn your brain off for. I went to Edmonton to shop and play in the Waterpark. For me it was a beginning to an end, I figured that this month I would still run, but I would eat crappy food, and get it out of my system so that come January my training get serious and my eating gets healthy. So I ate CRAP oh my, there was a burger and well lets just say that was the healthier side of what I consumed, my stomach HATES me today, and on my run it showed. I really don't understand why what my mouth and nose say is great, my stomach says it's not, somehow the wiring in my head needs to be changed so that Broccoli tastes like chocolate, mmm what a great idea!!!!

Since I didn't get home till 1am running at 8:30 this morning was not fun, based on lack of sleep either!!! Then there was the Weather side of things...if running in -41 with the wind chill doesn't make me crazy I don't know what will. I had everything against me, and still Claudia, me and 7 other crazies went out for a run. I couldn't run the full 10km because my stomach was sore, but I had 2 great people stay beside me to help me in. I love the running store I run out of for that reason. The people that I have found there are the reason I stay running, and they have helped me in so many ways.

Then if that wasn't enough, I got the sit down with 2 ladies that are amazing and inspiring in so many ways after for a coffee. They did the Ride to Conquer Cancer last year, and are driving one of the sweep vehicles this years. Wow did they have stories for me. At the end of the day, I want to do the ride, but I don't have the list of family and friends I was close to that died of, or suffer through cancer, I just see what my friends go through when they have someone that they are close to, deal with cancer. But now I have my list of reason to get through that ride, for the all the people that have encouraged me to do this, and will help me to get through. I know some really great people and I don't want to let them down. Thanks Claudia for getting me into this mess, :) thank you to Pam for jumping on the Death race bandwagon and thank you to everyone else that has or will help the 3 of us get through this. We will need all the encouragement that we can get.