Thursday, June 17, 2010
Another great testimonial!
Cruz Control Lifestyle Management offered the support and motivation I needed to accomplish my healthy lifestyle goals. After my first year in University I was sick and tired of feeling, sick! And tired! I decided I needed to acquire the knowledge to sustain new healthy eating and active habits. Here, Cruz Control helped me reach my initial goal of losing 40 pounds in 4 months and then exceed it by losing a total of 60 pounds just a few months after beginning my 2nd year at University. Cruz Control taught me weight training techniques, which helped transform my 225 pounds of 29% body fat, and 45/46 waist –hip ratio into a lean 165 pound body with 8% body fat and a 32/33 waist –hip ratio. Through this healthy lifestyle management shift, I came to appreciate my development into an ambitious academic, writer, actor, dancer, as well as supportive friend, brother and son. After 18 years of coasting by, I finally felt and continue to feel as though I have arrived at the best time in my life with both the mental and physical stamina to conquer anything I set my mind too. Thank you Greg, I am forever thankful for your continued support in my healthy lifestyle management.
Monday, May 31, 2010
It's Race Week!
The following passage is something that I've written before every race, hope you enjoy it.
If I forget to smile during the week,......... please forgive me it's race week!
If I feel like crying when I see someone run, knowing that I can't......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I feel like I've gained 20 pounds after carbo loading for three days....please forgive me, it's race week!
If I seem like I have the "deer in the headlights" look all week...........please forgive me, it's race week!
If I have a hard time sleeping this week..........please forgive me, it's race week!
If I start wondering if I've trained enough for my race........please forgive me, it's race week!
If you hear me mumbling to myself about what the hell I was thinking about when I decided to run around in circles for 6 hours.......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I run to the bathroom every 5 minutes from all the water I need to drink this week.......please forgive me, it's race week!
If you see me eating 6 blueberry bagels in a few hours......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I start going through withdrawl from the fact that I can't run for most of the week..........please forgive me, it's race week!
And finally.....If I forget to thank all of you who read my blog and have wished me well with my race this week.............please forgive me, it's race week!
If I forget to smile during the week,......... please forgive me it's race week!
If I feel like crying when I see someone run, knowing that I can't......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I feel like I've gained 20 pounds after carbo loading for three days....please forgive me, it's race week!
If I seem like I have the "deer in the headlights" look all week...........please forgive me, it's race week!
If I have a hard time sleeping this week..........please forgive me, it's race week!
If I start wondering if I've trained enough for my race........please forgive me, it's race week!
If you hear me mumbling to myself about what the hell I was thinking about when I decided to run around in circles for 6 hours.......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I run to the bathroom every 5 minutes from all the water I need to drink this week.......please forgive me, it's race week!
If you see me eating 6 blueberry bagels in a few hours......please forgive me, it's race week!
If I start going through withdrawl from the fact that I can't run for most of the week..........please forgive me, it's race week!
And finally.....If I forget to thank all of you who read my blog and have wished me well with my race this week.............please forgive me, it's race week!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
How $5.00 saved my run today!
The day started out innocent enough. I got up at 5:30 as I had to train a client at 6:30 in Scarborough. I run with her three times per week and the distance varies from 3 to 4 miles depending on how she is feeling. The pace was good but about 2 to 3 minutes slower than my own pace but I still count it as time on my feet. In fact, since I am training for my 6 hour race it's more important for me to train my body to be on my feet for long stretches of time instead of worrying about how fast I'm going.
Today's run covered 3.2 miles in 42 minutes. I drove home and started mentally preparing myself for my own training. My goal was to run 26.2 miles (42.1 KM's) but more important than that, I wanted to run for a minimum of 4 hours. This was my last chance to get my body ready for my race on June 5th and running anything less than what I wanted would have left a sour taste in my mouth.
Before I left my house I downloaded a few new songs on my mp3 player, filled up 2 water bottles (one with water and one with a carbohydrate/electrolyte drink) and then left my house just before 8:30. The weather was great with a little bit of wind but nothing too much to worry about. I had mapped out a good route a few days ago but when I was driving home from work yesterday I noticed that there was some road closures on Valley Farm road so I had to make a few changes to the route.
My goal was to run for 32 minutes and then take a 1 minute break to fuel up with water/electrolytes. I felt well rested having taken Friday off from running so I had to keep reminding myself that the goal was to run SLOW today. I wanted to make sure that I kept my pace at just over 9 minutes per mile.
I purposely used the Running Room in Pickering as a rest/fuel up spot at the 11 mile mark and then again at the 19 mile mark. I didn't want to carry too many water bottles with me and this was a perfect spot to stretch my legs and refill my water at the same time.
At the 10 mile mark is where this story gets interesting. Before I had left my house I checked my batteries and it showed 2 out of 3 bars so I figured I had enough "juice" to take me through my run. Unfortunately the juice ran out at the 10 mile mark and I didn't take a spare one with me.
Running another 16 miles without music wasn't something I was looking forward to so I was hoping that when I got to the Running Room someone would sell me a battery and I would come back later to pay them. Unfortunately they did not have any but the store manager, Maureen, generously offered to lend me $5.00. As it turned out, this $5.00 was pivotal for me today.
I ran to the gas station on the corner of Liverpool and Pickering Parkway. They had the batteries I wanted but it was over $7.00 so onward I went. I decided to forget about the batteries and just run. That old saying about not knowing what you have until it's gone never rang more true than it did today. As I went West on Bayly to Whites Road I noticed that I was slowing down a little bit. I decided to run to Whites Road and then fuel up even though it was a little longer than I expected.
After taking one of my gels I started to feel a little better. My next check point was on Finch Avenue. I ran North on Whites until I hit Finch and then stopped again to walk and fuel up. By now I was 17 miles into my run but was starting to feel light headed. I only had 1 gel left and with another 9 miles to go I knew I had made another mistake by not taking another gel with me. I remembered that there was a grocery store on the corner of Dixie Road and Finch so I used that as motivation and kept going.
As I entered the store it started to rain ever so slightly. I had hoped it would rain as I was starting to heat up a little and the rain would have done wonders to cool me down. I looked for triple A batteries and hoped that they were under $5.00. To my surprise they were just over $4.00. Now my next decision, should I get a banana and save the gel for towards the end of my run? I took the banana and the batteries to the counter and kept saying to myself please be under $5.00. To my delight the total was $4.85. Now, most people would have forgotten about the batteries and just gotten the fruit but I really rely on my music to motivate me and I knew that running without music would have been extremely difficult today.
I got out of the store, fixed my music player, ate my banana and off I went towards the running room for the last time. I was so excited when I entered the store that I'm sure I was incoherent but hey by this time I was 19 miles into my run and my faculties were not at their strongest. I quickly filled up my 2 water bottles and off I went.
Even though I was feeling great with my music and had more energy after eating my banana, my mind kept trying to talk me out of finishing my 26.2 mile run. I kept trying to justify not finishing it by saying that I had already run 3 miles this morning so if I finished at 23 miles that would a total of 26 miles and good enough.
As I ran North on Church Street I caught a little bit of a wind behind me and this helped to get me to Rossland. I was now within sites of my home with 3 miles left to go. I really started to feel my legs get heavy now and I still kept trying to talk myself out of finishing. The problem was that I had to go up one of the longest hills to get home. This hill starts about 1/2 way up on Rossland just past Westney and goes all the way to Harwood Avenue.
Inexplicably I decided not to run up that hill and ducked into a trail just before the hill started. As I neared my house I was at 25 miles and as I stopped briefly at my house I got very angry at myself for this decision. I threw my fuel belt and decided to keep going. I wasn't going to stop with only another mile to go. I purposely decided to go up another hill and then half way up another and then made my way back home.
I had to do a few extra laps but I managed to get my 26.2 miles in in just over 4:00 (4:06 to be exact). When I add up the mileage I had done earlier this pushed my mileage over 29 miles (47 KM's).
My legs are feeling pretty good all things considered and I'm happy mentally that I didn't quit today when I could have easily packed it in. I'm very dehydrated as I type this but I have one trip to make before I can relax for the afternoon. It's off to the Running Room to repay that magic $5.00! :)
Today's run covered 3.2 miles in 42 minutes. I drove home and started mentally preparing myself for my own training. My goal was to run 26.2 miles (42.1 KM's) but more important than that, I wanted to run for a minimum of 4 hours. This was my last chance to get my body ready for my race on June 5th and running anything less than what I wanted would have left a sour taste in my mouth.
Before I left my house I downloaded a few new songs on my mp3 player, filled up 2 water bottles (one with water and one with a carbohydrate/electrolyte drink) and then left my house just before 8:30. The weather was great with a little bit of wind but nothing too much to worry about. I had mapped out a good route a few days ago but when I was driving home from work yesterday I noticed that there was some road closures on Valley Farm road so I had to make a few changes to the route.
My goal was to run for 32 minutes and then take a 1 minute break to fuel up with water/electrolytes. I felt well rested having taken Friday off from running so I had to keep reminding myself that the goal was to run SLOW today. I wanted to make sure that I kept my pace at just over 9 minutes per mile.
I purposely used the Running Room in Pickering as a rest/fuel up spot at the 11 mile mark and then again at the 19 mile mark. I didn't want to carry too many water bottles with me and this was a perfect spot to stretch my legs and refill my water at the same time.
At the 10 mile mark is where this story gets interesting. Before I had left my house I checked my batteries and it showed 2 out of 3 bars so I figured I had enough "juice" to take me through my run. Unfortunately the juice ran out at the 10 mile mark and I didn't take a spare one with me.
Running another 16 miles without music wasn't something I was looking forward to so I was hoping that when I got to the Running Room someone would sell me a battery and I would come back later to pay them. Unfortunately they did not have any but the store manager, Maureen, generously offered to lend me $5.00. As it turned out, this $5.00 was pivotal for me today.
I ran to the gas station on the corner of Liverpool and Pickering Parkway. They had the batteries I wanted but it was over $7.00 so onward I went. I decided to forget about the batteries and just run. That old saying about not knowing what you have until it's gone never rang more true than it did today. As I went West on Bayly to Whites Road I noticed that I was slowing down a little bit. I decided to run to Whites Road and then fuel up even though it was a little longer than I expected.
After taking one of my gels I started to feel a little better. My next check point was on Finch Avenue. I ran North on Whites until I hit Finch and then stopped again to walk and fuel up. By now I was 17 miles into my run but was starting to feel light headed. I only had 1 gel left and with another 9 miles to go I knew I had made another mistake by not taking another gel with me. I remembered that there was a grocery store on the corner of Dixie Road and Finch so I used that as motivation and kept going.
As I entered the store it started to rain ever so slightly. I had hoped it would rain as I was starting to heat up a little and the rain would have done wonders to cool me down. I looked for triple A batteries and hoped that they were under $5.00. To my surprise they were just over $4.00. Now my next decision, should I get a banana and save the gel for towards the end of my run? I took the banana and the batteries to the counter and kept saying to myself please be under $5.00. To my delight the total was $4.85. Now, most people would have forgotten about the batteries and just gotten the fruit but I really rely on my music to motivate me and I knew that running without music would have been extremely difficult today.
I got out of the store, fixed my music player, ate my banana and off I went towards the running room for the last time. I was so excited when I entered the store that I'm sure I was incoherent but hey by this time I was 19 miles into my run and my faculties were not at their strongest. I quickly filled up my 2 water bottles and off I went.
Even though I was feeling great with my music and had more energy after eating my banana, my mind kept trying to talk me out of finishing my 26.2 mile run. I kept trying to justify not finishing it by saying that I had already run 3 miles this morning so if I finished at 23 miles that would a total of 26 miles and good enough.
As I ran North on Church Street I caught a little bit of a wind behind me and this helped to get me to Rossland. I was now within sites of my home with 3 miles left to go. I really started to feel my legs get heavy now and I still kept trying to talk myself out of finishing. The problem was that I had to go up one of the longest hills to get home. This hill starts about 1/2 way up on Rossland just past Westney and goes all the way to Harwood Avenue.
Inexplicably I decided not to run up that hill and ducked into a trail just before the hill started. As I neared my house I was at 25 miles and as I stopped briefly at my house I got very angry at myself for this decision. I threw my fuel belt and decided to keep going. I wasn't going to stop with only another mile to go. I purposely decided to go up another hill and then half way up another and then made my way back home.
I had to do a few extra laps but I managed to get my 26.2 miles in in just over 4:00 (4:06 to be exact). When I add up the mileage I had done earlier this pushed my mileage over 29 miles (47 KM's).
My legs are feeling pretty good all things considered and I'm happy mentally that I didn't quit today when I could have easily packed it in. I'm very dehydrated as I type this but I have one trip to make before I can relax for the afternoon. It's off to the Running Room to repay that magic $5.00! :)
Friday, April 9, 2010
Running for fun instead of competition
It really is amazing that I haven't written sooner than this but my life truly has changed dramatically in the last few months. I not only manage a Fitness Studio for Franklin Templeton Investments but my own company is also starting to take off. The job at FTI is one that I love and it allows me to connect with more people and in a different way that I did with those at Extreme. In addition, I'm actually teaching 3 step aerobic classes and 2 core conditioning classes each week. That really has left me with little time to train for any races.
My last race seems like such a long time ago (Niagara Falls Marathon in October) which preceded the Scotiabank Marathon in September. I have decided to take the year off from competitive racing and that has allowed me to create more balance in my life. There were weeks when I was training for Ultra Marathons when I would run 60-80 Miles each week as part of the training program I was on. Now I am content with running 40-50 Miles (sometimes fewer even) each week. I have also backed off of running at 5 AM each morning and started running more from work when it's a little warmer and the sun is actually out (LOL).
I may run a few races this year just for fun and to stay connected with the friends I have from the Ontario Ultra Series but for now I'm just enjoying the fact that I can run for fun.
My last race seems like such a long time ago (Niagara Falls Marathon in October) which preceded the Scotiabank Marathon in September. I have decided to take the year off from competitive racing and that has allowed me to create more balance in my life. There were weeks when I was training for Ultra Marathons when I would run 60-80 Miles each week as part of the training program I was on. Now I am content with running 40-50 Miles (sometimes fewer even) each week. I have also backed off of running at 5 AM each morning and started running more from work when it's a little warmer and the sun is actually out (LOL).
I may run a few races this year just for fun and to stay connected with the friends I have from the Ontario Ultra Series but for now I'm just enjoying the fact that I can run for fun.
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