Our Beloved Vitamix

I had heard so many wonderful things about juicing and about smoothies. We are a family always on the go and always looking for new and creative ways to eat healthy. Since I started my running adventures, I've also tried to make sure that I have proper nutrition to fuel me through whatever training plan I may be on.

I asked many of my juicing friends for their opinions and read many reviews and we decided on the Vitamix. Since getting it in the spring, we have not stopped using it. My hubby will make us a breakfast smoothie every morning and I've used it to make many post run smoothies as well as soups and baby food for the little one. It is definitely one of the best purchases I have ever made and I highly recommend it. It blends everything so quickly and everything is blended. No more chunks. Ice is crushed in seconds. 

I find that I am always looking for new recipes as I am in marathon training to help me perform my best. 

Here's my current favourite post run smoothie recipe

Do you blend/juice/mix?

Do you have any favourite recipes? Care to share?

Have a great week :)

Marathon Training Week 2

I must say that this year has been pretty good to me so far. I celebrated my birthday last week with friends and family. My belly was full for days from all the feasting and I was also able to get in a quick run that day. Unfortunately, no races on a Thursday.

My good friend who also runs made me my own medal rack for my birthday.  Isn't it pretty? She told me that it holds 31 medals, which means I will have to run a lot more races to fill up all the hooks.  

I had been in recovery mode after running 2 half marathons and a 10K race back to back. My legs were tired and they needed the break, but at the same time, I was going to start training for my first full marathon. The plan I decided on was a 22 week plan which meant I was to start right away.

I have one friend who is going to train with me and hopefully run the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with me October 20. We just have to register :) Yes, I have some commitment issues. I am going to register after I do a few other events.... mainly Tough Mudder as I am afraid I will get severely injured and will not be able to train properly.

I am now into week 2 of my training plan which will have me run a total of 35 kms this week. I'm feeling pretty good after a few runs. I am looking forward to the next few weeks and checking off each run as I go.

I am going to be participating in the O Course this weekend. It is a military obstacle training course with 15+ unique obstacles. I signed up with a few friends that are doing Tough Mudder with me as this is probably an easier version of it. When I first signed up, June 1 seemed so far away but now it's 3 days away. I have done no training for this event, so it will be interesting to see how I do.

Are you training for any races at this time?

Any advice for me as I partake on this marathon training journey?

Sporting Life 10K Race Recap

The Sporting Life 10K was the first race that hubby and I would be running together. I had always talked about this race to my running friends as it is billed as the one of the fastest 10K races around and is also Canada's Second Largest run. This race runs down Toronto's Yonge Street which was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at 1,896 km (1,178mi). The section we run is almost all downhill. This year it sold out at 27,000.

We had a group of  9 running this year. I had run this race 3 years ago right after I had sprained my ankle and then had a severe cramp at kilometre 7. I was hoping that I would do better this time, however it was going to be my third weekend in a row of racing. I had just run two half marathons the weekends leading up to this race. I spent most of the week resting, but wanting to go out and run. I listened to my body and took it easy with some yoga and weights.

Group shot before and after

We all got up bright and early on a cold Mother's day morning. It had been nice and warm all week leading up to the weekend, but a COLD front decided to move in the night before. It was around 4 degrees Celsius which is 39 F for my American friends. We were FROZEN. We were dropped off at the start line and hubby and friend drove down to the finish line to take the shuttle back up to the START to meet us. Luckily we were able to stay warm at a Tim Hortons and get some pre race food.

Once our drivers made it back up to the Start line we headed out to try to check out bags. With 27,000 people running the corals went up the road for almost a kilometre. When we finally found the bag check trucks the line up was beyond crazy. I don't think they were prepared for so many people. At one point people started throwing their bags into the trucks and almost taking out the volunteers. It was utter chaos. I hope they rectify this issue next year. By the time we checked out bags and started walking back to the corals, the race had already started. We are so far up the road that we couldn't even hear the emcee announce the start, that's how far the bag check was :(

We quickly moved up to find our corals and away we went. Our group had runners of all different levels. We had 2 runners that were running their first ever 10K and others that were seasoned runners and 2 of us were husband and wife teams.  It was my first race with hubby, but I had told him that I was going to try for a personal best this race and he was o.k with it. We ran the first 4 kilometres together and then I took off. I warmed up after the first few kilometres but every so often the wind would pick up and just knock you down. I kept up with my pace and as I approached kilometre 7, I had flashbacks of my cramp which left me walking the last time. I stopped for water and kept on going, thank goodness no cramp. There were drummers and some music along the way which made it quite entertaining. I picked it up as I saw the finish line nearing and gave it all I could. Unfortunately, the finish line was a bottle neck and I had to push my way over the timing pad as people had decided to stop when they finished to wait for friends.... ARGH!!!  Another issue I hope they fix next year as there were not many volunteers helping clear the finish line and it was the runners yelling for people to keep on moving.

I'm still happy that I ran this race. Our group had a blast, the course was fantastic and I got my PB :)

With the Hubs 

Results :      Age/Gender Place411/1546

                   1st 5K -  28:25

                   2nd 5K - 27:42

                   Finish   - 56:06 * Personal Best

                   Pace:  - 5:54

Goodlife Toronto Half Marathon - A PB for me!

I had not planned on running this half marathon especially since I had just gotten back from running the Nike Womens Half Marathon the week before. When I ran the NWM I had hoped for a better time, but got stuck behind the large crowds of runners and was never really able to break free from the crowds. It just so happened that the Toronto marathon was scheduled for this weekend and I decided to try to better my time.

My hubby and friends had already registered to run the 5K as this was their anniversary run. I double checked with hubby that we would be able to work it out logistically as we would need to meet up for me to take the kids from him and for me to nurse baby. All distances finished at the same place and their 5K started in the same area as the finish. This race was PERFECT for us.

We headed down to the expo on Saturday to pick up all the bibs. The expo had a good number of vendors. We didn't have much time to shop around as the kiddies were getting restless. But, I was happy to get my knees taped at the KT Tape booth.

Beautiful Toronto/Expo/Bibs all picked up

The half marathon is listed as a "downhill, fast and scenic" course. It runs through the heart of Toronto. This was my first time running this race and I was definitely not disappointed. The race started at a reasonable 8:30 which gave me time to nurse baby before I left the house. Hubby's 5k was starting at 12:00 pm which gave me plenty of to finish. It was a beautiful morning with picture perfect weather.

I ran this race with my run buddy Karen, who also ran Nike with me the week before. We started out with a pretty good pace. She has been nursing some injuries and was battling a cold.. she's a trooper. I had told her that I wanted to better my time from the week before and she was pretty understanding. We placed ourselves between the 2:05 and 2:10 pace bunnies. I was hoping for at least a 2:10 finish.

The first few km's were great and then we headed towards the big hill at around 4km. I had meet up with another running friend at the expo who had told me to walk to hill as I would be able to catch up on the downhill afterwards and I'm glad for his advice. We tried to run up most of it but halfway up I was starting to lose steam. We ended up slowing down to a walk and fuelled as we walked. It was around this point that the 2:10 walk/run pace bunny came up behind me and I decided to stick with him for as much as I could. I was reminded by my friend that I would have to finish ahead of him if I wanted my 2:10 finish as we had started before him. I have run my last few races continuous, so having the walk breaks were nice.

At around the 9km mark I must have turned off my Garmin as my strap had broken and I was holding onto it while running and trying to grab water from my fuel belt. I didn't realize this until 3 km's later as I was checking my time with the 12K marker and was thinking how AWESOME I was doing (watch said 50 mins). I was enjoying the scenery as the route went into a lovely tree lined road. This was probably my favourite part of the course. Luckily I ran with my phone so I could keep in touch with hubby and also I had turned on my Nike+ app. I got messages as I was coming up to the end of the race around the 16K mark to tell me that they were parking and would be waiting. All I could think about was running faster to get to my son because I could just picture him screaming for milk. I guess it's good incentive to run faster.

The last few kilometres were flat and through the downtown core of Toronto. The sun was shining and I was feeling pretty good. The crowds were fantastic and I was ready to see my family. So, I pushed it for the end and got my PB!!! WOHOO... Overall it was a great race and I look forward to running it again.

Results : Division Place 157/321

               5K -   30:11

               10K - 1:00:02

               15K - 1:29:56

               20K - 2:05:29

           FINISH - 2:08:58

             Pace 6:07

Family shot. Hubby after his 5K

Nike Women Half Marathon DC Weekend and Recap

What can I say? I am still over the moon happy from my weekend. I had been looking forward to it for SO LONG!!!

We left Friday morning and made it down to DCA in pretty good time. Baby behaved for most of the flight and only screamed in the beginning. I'm sure the other passengers were getting worried when they first saw me get on the flight with him. We got there in time to meet up with our friend who was flying in from Rochester. 

After a quick ride to our hotel and settling down quickly, we headed straight out to the Expotique to pick up our bibs and race package. The package pickup was very quick as it was Friday afternoon. When we went back on Saturday, the lineup was super long. After we picked up our bibs, we went into the expo tent where we were able to try out some samples and get mini makeovers from their sponsors. I had the baby, so I only tried some Nuun and Luna bars. The line up for Bare Minerals and Paul Mitchell were way too long for me to stand around with the stroller.

On the flight and at the expo and Nike store

We headed up to the Nike Store in Georgetown as they were not selling anything at the expo. The store was packed with runners buying up all the NWM gear and the special edition Tiffany blue shoes Nike had designed just for the race. With the price tag of $125, I did not pick up a pair as I do not run in Nike shoes. Nike had posted all the names of the runners on their side wall and we all found our names. It was a nice touch.

As we headed out of the Nike store and started walking down the street, I saw Michael J. Fox. I told my girlfriends who turned around and chased him down. Luckily, one of my friends was able to snap a photo on him and his wife as she was crossing the street. They were in town for the White House Correspondents' Dinner that Saturday evening. We continued walking in search of other stars, but didn't see anymore.

My friend flew in Saturday morning to hang out with us and to watch baby for me while I raced on Sunday. She was a total life saver. I would not have been able to run this race without her. After a delicious early dinner we hit the sack early since I had to wake up baby to nurse him before the race.

Race Day

We were very fortunate to have our hotel a few blocks from the start line, so we did not have to get up super early. The race start time was 7am. We left out hotel at 615 and still had time to spare. I was able to nurse baby and he came down to watch the start although there were SO MANY people that they missed us when we actually took off. The corals were jam packed and the entrances into them were so full that people started hoping the barricades to get in. The emcee was wonderful at keeping our energy up and the music was very uplifting.  

When the gun finally went off,  we went.... slowly. There were so many people that I felt that we were not moving. We had placed ourselves in the 10 minute mile group, which is where we wanted to be. It was probably good because we were forced to start slow and not burn out too quickly. I did find it a bit frustrating at certain points because there were just walls and walls of women and it was very difficult to pass. I couldn't really break free from the crowd until mile 9.

The weather was perfect about 10 degrees and the course was stunning. It was a pretty flat course and we ran by a lot of the major monuments. This was the first race that I actually carried my iPhone to take pictures. It was a new experience to have to carry something while running. You can see a few of my photos that I took while running and trying to not trip. The atmosphere was incredible. 15,000 women all running together. The crowds were great, there were a few bands along the race route and some really cool drummers in the tunnel that we had to run through. I wish that had a few more volunteers at the water stations as I had to pour my own water at one of the stations. The water stations were plenty and having Nuun electrolyte stations was bonus. The Cliff shot block station was a bonus. They had already been cut open so I didn't have to struggle with opening the packages. They also had a Luna bar station that I skipped over as there were SO MANY people, I almost didn't see it.

I tried to pick up my pace after mile 9 as I knew that I had to get back to nurse my son. When the crowd opened up, I broke free and tried to pick up the pace. I didn't manage to PB, but crossed the finish line with a smile and got my Tiffany "medal" necklace. After four years of trying, I'm so HAPPY I got my necklace. It was a wonderful weekend away with my girlfriends and the race will go down as one of the best races I've ever ran. 

Results -  Division place 671/1789

               5K -    0:35:21

               10K -  1:07:43

               15K -  1:39:28

               20K -  2:10:03

           FINISH - 2:16:11

Pace 10:10

What's your dream race? 

What is your favourite race you've run?

Taper Time

It's been a pretty crazy week as I have been back in the sleep training trenches with baby #2 since we got back from Mexico. I has taken a number of sleepless nights and lots of crying, but I think we've worked it out. It is also time to taper.

I just finished reading my old posts that I have logged on my quest to run after having baby. I can't believe how fast the months have flown by. My son will be 7 months this week and I will be leaving to run one of my dream races, the Nike Women Half Marathon in Washington. I have been training diligently since my doctor gave me the all clear and I am now into the last week of my training plan.


                        Sunday          Mon          Tues           Wednesday         Thurs       Friday        Saturday

I will spend this week relaxing and packing as I will be taking my son with me on this trip as I am still nursing him and he has not quite taken the bottle yet. I am nervous yet excited. I have spent the last 16 weeks following my training plan and have been pretty good with minimal injuries. I am happy with my progress and only hope to get better. I'm not sure how I will do with this race as I will be running with two friends who are injured. I am hoping that they will rest up this week and be able to run a good race with me on Sunday.

Here's a photo from one of my runs last week. It was the first time running with a jogging stroller. I had bought this stroller the day I got home from the hospital with my son and finally after 6. 5 months I was able to take him out for a run. It's definitely different running with the stroller. It will take some getting used to. I'm hoping to get out for more runs as the weather gets nicer.

Hope you all have a great week !

4:09 #RunforBoston

My heart is in Boston today. It aches every time I think about running. All my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this senseless act. 

I spent yesterday glued to my computer and iPhone  checking for updates on the Boston Marathon. a runner's 'Holy Grail'. The moment I heard/read about the explosions in Boston, I was in shock. I was in disbelief at first thinking that maybe it was a prank. When it finally sunk in, I was angry and was deeply saddened, I felt violated.

My good friend called me as we are both runners and consoled each other as we were both quite devastated by the news. I continued to get a number of friends messaging me to let me know what had happened.

Social media and the news agencies were a buzz and all I could do was relive the video clips that were circulating and think about was my family. I have run many races with family waiting for me at the finish line. I'm don't know "why" anyone would want to harm innocent people. All I know is that I will not let this event deter me from what I love. I will continue to lace up my runners and get outside. I will not let my anger or fear get the best of me. I will run for all those who cannot. I will hold my kids and husband closer. 

I am not surprised by all the outpouring of tweets on Twitter, updates on Facebook and stories of the people who have stepped up and helped. The heartwarming stories of everyday people who were first responders, heroes that helped the runners that were unable to finish, spectators and anyone who needed help.  I will continue to train hard in hopes that I will qualify one day for Boston. It is amazing how the running community has bonded together. I am proud that say that I am a runner and am apart of this family.

In honour of Boston, the running community suggested wearing a race shirt and run 4.09 miles to represent the time into the marathon at which the first explosion went off or run for 26.2 minutes. I will continue to run for a long as I can.

Table for 30

Sorry, for the delay in blogging.. been away and came home with a pretty bad cold.

We just got back from a wonderful week in Playa Del Carmen with 7 other families. Yes, that's right, we were a total of 8 families, 16 adults and 13 kids. It has been a work in progress. Every year we go away with one other family and have always had a good time. We always share our awesome experiences with our friends, so we decided to invite them all to join us on our yearly vacation and almost all our friends agreed to come.

Finally a group pose

The planning started in December with trying to nail down a date that we can all go. Once we figured out a date, we started looking for a location that we would all enjoy and a resort that can accommodate all our needs. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 7 years old. It was also going to be the first time for a few families to go on an all inclusive resort vacation.

So here are some tips if you're looking for a family holiday

- all-inclusive... need I say more
- look for a resort targeted to families if not you'll have grumpy seniors giving you dirty looks
- look for resorts that have a good kids club that can accommodate the ages of the children
- mini disco is a bonus for the kids
- good shows in the evening
- beachfront is always good
- elevator if you have kids in strollers if not you'll be carrying it up the stairs
- a variety of food at the restaurants are good (read reviews if possible)
- activities to keep everyone busy/happy
- flights at good times for the little ones

With all these items in mind, I worked with a super travel agent and was able to make it work.  Our friends had a fantastic time. The beach was AMAZING, white sand for miles.  The kids had plenty of activities to keep them busy and the drinks and food were plenty to keep everyone happy. We were all able to get into one restaurant for a nice a la carte dinner. You should have seen the guys face when I asked for a reservation for 29 people :)

Our resort was super and even had a well equipped gym for the guests. This was important to me as I am training for my half and was not sure if I would be able to run outside. I lucked out as our resort was in a beautiful gated community, I was able to get out for a few runs. My only issue was that it was SO HOT!!!  It was almost 40 degrees Celsius with the humidity. But seriously, I couldn't complain.  The community was gorgeous and the runs were fun, even though they were short. It was great to be able to jump into the ocean or the pool after these hot sweat runs. I was able to get in 3 runs, 2 outside and 1 on the treadmill. Not a lot of mileage was covered, but just happy I was able to run.

One of our runs and me trying out the trapeze

Mid week wrap up

I am happy to announce the winner of the Endorphin Warrior Training Bracelet was Melissa. I hope she will enjoy her bracelet as much as I do.

I am now into week 12 of my 16 week training plan. I just finished my longest run to date this past Sunday. I ran 18.13 km in 1:55:39. I'm quite happy with my time. I'm hoping to keep it up for the race. My knee is doing well. It was a bit sore after the run. I'm working on strengthening my quads and hamstrings to help my knee out.

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The roads were not that wet, so I decided to take my Newton Motion runners for a test. I had only run with them on the treadmill as I was transitioning over the those shoes. The shoes were very comfortable and light. Maybe Newton will send me a pair one day to review :)  My run buddy also picked up some Gu chomps for me to try out and this was the perfect run to give them a try. I'm still trying to decide what I will use for fuel on the actual race day.

My baby turned 6 months this week which means my maternity leave is half way over. Yes, in Canada we have the option of taking a year off for our maternity leave. The past 6 months have flown by, I'm not quite sure where the time went. I'm still trying to figure out his routine or shall I say help him get into a routine. With our first child I was quite strict with her daily routine but with baby 2, he just has to go with the flow. This has made my training a bit tough. I will continue to log the miles when I can and keep my eyes on the prize. Baby will be a big boy in no time, so I'll savour each moment I have left

Hope you're all having a great week

A

Endorphin Warrior Review & Giveaway

I was so excited when  Endorphin Warrior offered me the opportunity to review their Warrior Training Bracelet. There are 20 different motivational words for you to choose from  and since I am training this year for my first full marathon, I chose BELIEVE. Here's why

- I Believe that I can complete a full marathon
- I Believe that I can get through all the training (even hills)
- I Believe in myself
- I Believe that I can do anything as long as I put my mind to it

It reminds me one of my favourite Bible verses : "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13

When I started running a few years ago, I never thought that I would get bitten by the running bug so badly. Once I crossed the finish line of my first race, I knew that I would like to keep on running more races. I had decided that I would one day run a full marathon and this year is going to the year. I BELIEVE that I can do it. There are many days when I really do not feel like training. Especially with a new baby and a 4 year old, my days are pretty jam packed.  I often want to just crawl into bed and sleep and give up on training, but I believe in myself and I know that I will cross that finish line.

I was looking forward to receiving my Believe Warrior Training Bracelet because I love inspirational jewellery... heck, I love any kind of jewellery especially running related.

I was happy to find out that the bracelet comes in different sizes and I got one of the smallest sizes for my small wrists. The nickel plated metal tag is attached the the soft leather wristband. It has a snap enclosure that is easy to put on. I have been wearing mine every day since I received it.  I love seeing it every time I look down at my wrist. It reminds me of the goals I have set for myself and to believe.

So, here's the great part I have one Warrior Training Bracelet with your choice of motivational word to give away !! Giveaway ends Sunday March 24 at midnight and the winner will be announced on Monday March 25.

To Enter (Mandatory) Please leave a separate comment for each entry (six possible entries)

1. Go to Endorphin Warrior and tell me which keyword you would choose

Additional Entries

2. FollowEndorphin Warrior on Twitter

3. Like Endorphin Warrior on Facebook

4. Follow my blog

5. Follow me on Twitter

6. Tweet about this giveaway: I want to win @EndorphnWarrior Training Bracelet from @ainrunningland #warrioron http://aliceinrunningland.blogspot.ca/2013/03/endorphin-warrior-review-giveaway.html. And leave a comment with the link to your tweet


Also, throughout the month of March, Endorphin Warrior is giving away a FREE Dog Tag/Key Ring as well as donate $1 from each online order to support a local elementary school running club for lower-income children. You can get the information here.

*Disclaimer I was given this bracelet and all opinions on this blog post are my own and I was not paid or required to give a particular opinion

Twitter Party and KT Tape

Since joining the world of Twitter, I've discovered a lot of new products out there. I am always keen on learning about products that can help me with my running and general health. Running is one of my passions and with all the training, there are aches and pains and even injuries that can occur.

One of the things that I have helped me was having kinesiolgy tape applied to my areas of need. I had first seen it at an expo in Tampa a few years ago and then had a free application done at another expo.  I was quickly amazed at how it helped me with the race as I was having some quad issues that year.  

I took part in my first Twitter chat last night hosted by a fellow blogger that I had been following Heather from Through Heather's Looking Glass and KT Tape.  It was a great way to ask questions, chat with other runners and learn about KT Tape. At then end of our chat party Heather announced that there were going to be winners and prizes to those who took part and guess what?  

I was randomly chosen!!! I can't wait to try KT Tape out.. want to know why ?

Here are a few reasons to why I like KT Tape so far.

- they have 8 AWESOME colours with cool names like Blaze Orange and Epic Purple

  which you can use to match your race day outfit

- you can buy them in Canada 

and most of all YOU CAN APPLY IT YOURSELF!!!

I had always thought that you needed to go to a certified kinesio taper, as in a person who is qualified to do this, like a chiropractor or a physic therapist. But KT Tape has instruction videos to guide you through the application yourself.

If you've never tried kinesiotaping or not sure what it is, check out the video. I can tell you that it has helped me and I'm a believer. 

 

Thanks again to Heather and KT Tape. It was a blast to be apart of the Twitter party last night #kttape.

Looking forward to KT taping my knee when I get my Laser Blue and sporting it for my next race.