Mountain Equipment Co-Op Half Marathon: REVIEW!

Last night I pinned my race number onto my shirt (BMO Vancouver Half Marathon tech shirt made by Saucony), put my watch on the charger, and picked out the gels I wanted for race day. I have a single gel left, so I will need to stock up again before another race pops up! Or rather, before I sign myself up for another one.

I practiced the art of "carb loading" all weekend long. Not necessarily with junky stuff, but the froyo and ice cream was a bad idea. The pasta above was a delicious idea, however.

And my usual pre-race breakfast! Whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter and banana. I ended up leaving a good chunk of it on my plate (still ate the bananas. What do you think I am, CRAZY!?) because I was feeling full. Either that or my nerves were getting to me. Regardless, this combination does the trick every time!

Side note: There were no porta-potties at the race, so I went in this outhouse style toilet thing in the parking lot before the shuttle bus came and drove us to the start. I have never been in a shuttle at a race before, so that was pretty cool!

Below: Top picture is me in the shuttle, crappin' my pants because it's almost time to run. I am only kidding. Please don't take me (too) seriously.

One thing I need to get a handle on is going out too fast. I hovered around 8:45-9:00 miles, and at one point around mile 4 I chatted with a guy from the Penninsula Runner's (a local running group) about half marathons, pacing, etc. He drifted ahead of me, and at one point I looked down at my watch to see a 6:48 mile. In theory this was effing amazing. I don't remember the last time I ran that fast, but in all honesty it wasn't a good thing to see when you have NINE MILES TO GO. Smart, Holly, so smart. Anyway, that's when the wheels kinda fell off for me, but I stuck to 8:45-8:55 miles up until mile 11. Then my legs were getting tired from my dumb pacing earlier on, so I fell behind.

BUT. Here is the big BUT.

The best thing about racing is that you can push your body. I pushed my body enough to go sub 7 miles, and I never do that during practice runs. During group runs, maybe, but how often do I do those? Yeah, never. The last group practice run was last year when I lived in Vancouver. Anyway, you can push yourself and see what you are capable of and where you could be. When I looked down at my watch despite having an OH SHIT moment in my head, in reality it's almost like. OH YEAH! because I know that I can get there. This race was also fantastic in the sense that I felt good the whole time. Soreness here and there, but that's only expected when you are running thirteen point one flippin' miles!

I took gels at mile 6 and again at around mile 9, and I stopped at three water stations out of what felt like one thousand. It's definitely nice when there are lots of aid stations! I will continue to practice this fueling strategy and maybe even throw in a third gel earlier on in the race. This way I will have a constant source of fuel and my glucose levels won't drop too much. Additionally, I'd also like to make use of my fuel belt so I don't have to stop at any water stations along the course. I saw several people with their fuel belts, so perhaps I will give mine another go! So convenient.

Pros:
- Smaller, local race
- Inexpensive entry fee ($15 for the 5k, 10k & half)
- GORGEOUS course along the Galloping Goose Trail, starting at Sooke Pot Holes Provincial Park
- Super friendly volunteers & employees of MEC along the way
- Free post-race massages from the students at West Coast College of Massage Therapy. Although I did not get one (there was over an hour wait time), I love this idea! Mainly because I'm cheap. I mean, frugal.
- Shuttle bus from parking lots to the start line

Cons:

- No medals. Hey, I'm a hardware chick. I like having something to show off. I understand that with smaller, lower cost races medals aren't a huge priority, and that's totally okay. Everyone loves some bling though, yo!
- No chip timing. HOWEVER they announced at the race that this will be changed in the upcoming events due to the larger turnout for half marathon participants. YAY!

I am 99% always a happy camper during a race, though. I don't like to pick out things I dislike - nothing major ever stands out to me! - and I am always happy to just be out there running!

Overall:

I would definitely run this race again. I loved the scenery, the friendliness of everyone, and the overall vibe of the day. It wasn't a huge competitive event, there weren't tens of thousands of people, and it was very no fuss, no strict rules, etc. Participating in this race taught me more about what kind of runner I am (and can be!), and I was so happy to be out there on a beautiful course. Perfectly mind-clearing and FUN at the same time. Plus it sure beats some of those triple digit races out there (I'm talking the over $100 races if you aren't quick enough to catch the early bird pricing).

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Brace Yourself: Overload of Photos

You can see my stellar sunburn (now a tan) quite well in this picture. I think it goes perfectly with my dirty Tinkerbell shirt and slippers. This was a post evening walk outfit where I plunked myself down on the couch and continued on with my Sex & the City marathon. That's the only full marathon I have completed, so far.

Scenes from my walk. I downloaded an app called PicStitch for all of my photos. As you can tell I am making great use of it.

From yesterday morning's run: don't you HATE hate HATE hate HaAaAaATE when it takes your Garmin five thousand years to locate satellites? In reality this was only like three minutes, but it seems like an eternity when you just want to GO. I completed a two mile loop at an 8:30/mile pace. It was my last run before the half marathon on Sunday, so here's hoping some time off will make my legs want to go SUPER FAST on Sunday.

After my run and eating breakfast, I got myself together and headed out for coffee and lunch with my friend Lauren. I purchased this dress on Monday, and I am diggin' the whole no pants thing. Dresses FTW. Plus it's pink, sooo... 

Last night I headed over to my parents' house for dinner while B was at work, and I was able to snuggle with my man Marley. As high energy as he is, sometimes he lays down and gives kisses. And then he's wanting to play tug of war. It must be a man thing? Ha.

This morning I added some fresh blueberries to my usual oats. I have sort of switched up the ingredients in here, but this is what my oatmeal looks like now that I have all my favourite ingredients stocked up:

1/2 cup dry oats
Approx. 1 (sometimes 2?) tbsp ground flax seed and ground chia seed
1 scoop hemp seeds (I just use the scoop in the bag)
1/4 cup egg whites (I add the egg whites in when the oats are soft, and let it cook for a couple minutes longer. You can't taste it at all - unless you add TOO much - and it adds more protein. Hooray!)
1 medium banana - half sliced in the oats, half sliced on top
Then I sometimes add another type of fruit on top, or add raisins.
To finish off, 1 tbsp (or more, muahaha) of natural peanut butter.

So. Good. Full for hours!

After breakfast, I hung out and did some dishes and all that fun stuff before going on a walk. I took some pictures along the way, especially of flowers. Yay pretty things.

I brought my Garmin along with me (it picked satellites up right away. Glory, glory, hallelujah) and I completed 2 miles in 33 minutes with picture stops along the way. My legs are feeling restless. I REALLY want to go for a run, but I know it is best to take today and tomorrow off so I am fully prepared and rested for Sunday. No sense in bangin' out a hill run and then running 13.1 on tired legs. I'm not that crazy.

After lunch I headed to the Farmer's Market. I picked up some fruit and veggies, then perused the garden center. See that in the middle? GERBER DAISIES! My ultimate favourite. So bright, cheerful, and fun (like me). 

Aaand snack attack! I am trying to keep my bored eating at bay, so having regular, healthy snacks helps me stay satisfied throughout the day. Who woulda thunk. I had some veggies with hummus, and also some "ants on a log" as I call it. Aka, celery with natural PB and raisins on top, and a cup of vanilla earl grey tea with honey and almond milk. Sooo gooooooood.

Hope you are having a fantastic FRIDAY!

Running is Always There + Food (so far) for the Day

Happy Wednesday, party people!

I got in 6.1 miles before the rain started this morning, and it sure came down hard! They don't call it the Wet Coast here for nothin'. Note the cool looking faux black eye in the above picture. It's hard taking flattering pictures of yourself after you finish running a sub 8 minute mile, and the shadows make pictures look super attractive, too! I must say though, I definitely feel a lot better after I run. Stressful day? Run. Feeling sad? Run (hello, endorphins!) Angry? Run. Happy? Run.

There is nothing fancy or glamorous about running. There is no prize for who has the biggest blisters, or who has the "best" type of shoes. Yes, if you enter in a race there is often potential of winning prizes, but we're talkin' real life here. You bust your ass out there to accomplish your distance goal, your time goal, your I-don't-have-a-goal-I-just-want-to-run goal. Whatever your goal may be, you get out there and do it because it makes you feel good and it changes you, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Running is my personal outlet when my mind won't shut up, and it's there every single day when I want to accomplish my goal of the day.

So, not-so long story short, running was there today when I was bored out of my mind and wanted to do my planned run of 4 miles. Then I just kept going until I hit 6. I like when that happens.

Other than that, nothing too interesting happened today. Bought my dad a Father's Day gift for this Sunday, picked up some grocery items and now I'm back home watching Sex & the City. I am determined to make it through all the seasons again before the month is over, and I'm on the right track. Half way, baby!

Food of the day:

Breakfast: the usual banana oats with natural PB
Snacks: cucumber and carrots with hummus, almonds and an apple, orange
Lunch: roasted veggies with lentils and salsa

Not sure what's on the menu for dinner quite yet. I am in the mood for a smoothie or something later on. Since I ate my lunch late today, I'm not super hungry yet, but that morning runger (run + hunger) might hit me sooner than I expect! In the meantime, I will just be here on the couch watching Trey and Charlotte get married. Ugh, let's just rewind through that whole relationship.

Beauty Tuesdays + My First Personal Training Orientation

1. Be Better make up removing wipes do exactly what they suggest - removes every trace of make up, which I have yet to find in a cleansing wipe until now. They are gentle on my sensitive skin, and this brand is kind to the earth, too. You can find this in Rexall drug stores.

2. I won #1 and this product here in a gift basket, and I have been loving them! This moisturizer is thick and creamy, and it smells soooo good. I have super dry skin, so I do reapply this a few times throughout the day if I'm home/if I remember, but it leaves my skin silky smooth with a nice scent. This will most likely be a repurchase once I finish the tube - Be Better has another that I would like to try as well, so it may be a new staple in my beauty cupboard.

3. And a fragrance! Brandon purchased this for me about a year ago now, and he picked the right scent! It is light, fresh, and has a nice floral scent that isn't too overpowering. I spritz this on almost daily depending on my activity, and it makes for nicely scented hair, too. I highly suggest the Marc Jacobs perfumes if you don't want anything sickly candy scented (Pink Sugar, anyone?) or too "mature."

After watching my sister's outdoor concert band performance this afternoon, I headed out for a six mile run. I was debating how I was going to structure my runs for this week, but since I have a half marathon on Sunday, I figured it would be better to get a good easy run in before I take some rest days to prep for the upcoming race. SO yeah, that happened and was nice, and at 4:30 I had my first official orientation at the new gym I joined recently. I met with a personal trainer named Sue, and she was super nice. Sue asked if I had any concerns or things I'd like to work on, so I told her that since I'm a runner it's important for me to add strength training to my routine. We went over lots of the machines and she created a strength training workout for me that she suggests I do twice per week. Sounds doable! She hit all the major muscle groups and also focused on core and balance work. I ran (ha, ha) through the exercises as she took me through the routine, and there are a few new machines that I will be using. Often times I skip the machines and go for dumbbells instead, so a switcharoo of the routine will be good for the system!

I am anxious for Sunday! I always go into each race with a PR in mind, but I can't get over the mental block I hit during the actual race itself. Does this happen to anyone else? I know I have so much more to give, so much more power in my legs to GET to that ideal pace, so it's a matter of dialing in and honing it for the 13.1. Either that or negative split, which I have done during practice runs but again, not in the real race scene. Who knows. All I know is that I should just go into the race to do the best I can, and that's what I told myself after the Victoria Goddess Run. Sure, no PR, but I have my whole life to get a PR. Over and over again! All about improvement.

Food for thought, anyway.

Have a good night!

12 by 12 & My Dream Life

Good afternoon, friends!

How is your weekend going so far?

Quick recap of Friday (picture above is from last night): No run/workout. I watched a play at the high school with my mom, then went out for lunch at a local cafe and had a delicious veggie quesidilla and coconut curry carrot soup (SOOO tasty!), got a pedicure, went out for dinner with my sister, celebrated national donut day with a blueberry fritter from Tim Hortons (things like that taste sooo much better when they are a treat!), and finally went to a dance recital in the evening. Eventful!

Now for today. I woke up earlier than usual and started my day with a cup of coffee and soon after that headed out for a run. It is cloudy outside today, but it was nice weather for a long run. No rain, yay!

I completed twelve miles before noon. Originally the plan was to run ten, but I was in a good groove and kept truckin'. I ventured into town, without showering I may add (you're welcome, city of totems), then stretched it out at the gym before picking up some groceries. Naturally, this means selfie time!

On the drive home I sipped on an iced skinny caramel macchiatto from Starbucks. My sweet tooth had kicked in, and I needed some form of fuel in my system otherwise I'd end up buying EVERYTHING at the store on impulse. That being said, I purchased a few things I didn't really need, such as a pint of blueberries and some raspberries, to name a few. They made tasty snacks for the ride though!

Woohoo. And. AND! On another note, I am even icing my legs as we type this. I haven't done it in so long, but after a long run I figured it's just what my muscles need. Since we have no bathtub in our house, ice baths are out of the question. I have to improvise!

Brandon and I came up with the idea of themed dinner nights the other day, so Thursday it was tacos (or some variation of Mexican food), Friday is supposed to be pizza but we missed that since I wasn't home, and tonight we are back on track with SEAFOOD SATURDAY! I picked up some wild Sockeye salmon for dinner, and I'm debating what else I should make with it. Vegetables, of course. Quinoa? Brown rice? Salad? ALL OF THE ABOVE!? The options are endless - kind of. It sure is a lot easier when your cupboards and fridge is stocked, though!

And now it is time to watch Sex & the City. I own all of the seasons, and it's about time I start from season one and watch the episodes all over again. Yep, I don't care what anyone says, but SATC is the greatest TV series of all time. Plus it's the only one that has really captured my attention due to the expensive shoes and clothes that I will ONE DAY, one dayyyyy, be able to afford. In the meantime, I will live my life vicariously through Carrie Bradshaw (minus the whole Russian BS, ugh), and continue to dream.

Oookay, that was a whole other tangent! Have a wonderful Saturday!

Tuesday Fun + Happy National RUNNING DAY!

I kicked off Tuesday with a 5K hill repeat run. I have made the decision to add hills to my routine. Although I usually dread them, at the end of this workout I felt good and strong. I am hoping that by doing these more often, I will get stronger and therefor not freak out on the course when a giant ass hill looms before me. HOORAY for having some kind of strategy!

Moving on to the afternoon.

Over the weekend Sarah and I ventured to our local drugstore to check out their make up selection. Since they had recently renovated the store, they were celebrating their "grand opening" of a much LARGER store with things like candy samples (gasp: I said no!) and draws for baskets filled with all sorts of goodies. So, Sarah and I both entered each basket, and we BOTH won one! I won a basket (above) with products from their in-house line called Be Better. I tried some of the hand/body lotion last night, and it smells sooo gooooood!

Then, I wandered over to the health food store and picked up some staples (and a new addition to the pantry).

I was completely out of hemp seeds and chia seeds, and I decided to try the milled chia seeds. If you are familiar with chia seeds, you know that they are extremely tiny and get a jelly film around them once they are in smoothies, oatmeal, etc. WELL! If you aren't a fan of that, try them milled. They are a ground flax seed consistency, and they blend well without the jelly layer.

Additionally, I have been reading about apple cider vinegar online for a while now. There are various health benefits it holds, providing it is the raw and unfiltered type rather than the processed varieties on the market. Anyway, I put about a teaspoon of it in the bottom of the glass, then filled it the rest of the way with water.

Um, it tastes pretty nasty.

BUT. But. Buuuut. I am hoping that if I mix it with warm water and honey or something it will taste better. I also read about putting it in green tea with honey to mask the flavor. We shall see!

So after my health food store adventure, I hung out at my parents' house for a while before going to watch Sarah's concert band performance. 

Woooh, girl. She is the second one there looking like she's daydreaming about her next 5K run. Right, Sarah? RIIIIGHT?

In the evening, I hung out with my favourite goof ball. We went for an evening walk along the Sea Walk, then came home and drank tea. Yes, we are an elderly couple disguised as twenty-somethings. Then of course it was bed time because it was pushin' 11 o'clock, at least.

NOW FOR TODAY!

HAPPY NATIONAL RUNNING DAY!

I started the morning with some YouTube videos (note, you'll notice I was watching a video about how to make more money. It was not helpful), coffee and the usual bowl of oats. Then, I got a text from a friend to meet up for coffee at Starbucks, so obviously that was a HELL YES I would love to! and I met her around 11. We hung out for a couple hours just chit chattin' and catching up, and then I headed to the gym for a little work out. I did some upper body and lower body exercises (squats, shoulder presses, oblique crunches & the like) and ran four miles on the treadmill. Then the hunger bug hit me and I went home. Hey, at least I even went to the gym and didn't skip out to stuff my face!

And since it is National Running Day (not sure if this applies to every single nation, otherwise it would be called 'international' you'd think, but anyway), I celebrated by an evening run since I was getting restless just sitting on my butt in my pajamas. I can only occupy myself with things for so long - household chores do not count. So I headed outside in the beautiful sunshine and completed a two mile loop which included running along the Sea Walk. Mmm, sea air! I also have a pretty nice sunburn from sitting outside this afternoon wearing a 3/4 length sleeve shirt and a bracelet. Yeah, it's like a red square. Cool!

This run included some stairs too, so I think my hill training is off to a good start. For the most part I kept my pace nice and easy, aside from some pick ups during the four mile treadmill jaunt, because the last thing I want to do is go balls to the wall and end up injured. Then this blog would become a whiny diary of an injured girl who would become a negative Nancy and we don't want that to happen :) Only positive Pollies (or Happy Hollies!?) around here!

Hope you had a woooooooonderful Wednesday!

Did you celebrate National RUNNING DAY!? 

Beauty Tuesday: Second Edition

1. Nivea Smooth Replenishing Hand Cream: Lightly scented and fast absorbing, this hand cream leaves your skin soft without the greasy mess other lotions leave behind. I like this Macadamia Nut Oil formula because I notice the difference right after one application. As an added bonus, it is a thick cream that deeply nourishes and doubles as an excellent cuticle moisturizer, too!

Found at Wal-Mart for approx. $4.00

2. Wide-toothed Comb from Goody: I am guilty of brushing my hair with a standard bristle hair brush when my hair is still wet. This can damage your hair right from the roots and cause breakage, which is a no-go for me considering my hair is fine enough as it is. So, as an alternative I picked up this wide-toothed comb. It is perfect for detangling your hair without too much tugging and pulling.

Found at SuperStore for approx. $4.00

3. LUSH Lip Scrub in Bubblegum: I probably could just scrub some sugar on my lips and get the same effect, but it must be the bubblegum flavor that has me hooked on this! A little goes a long way, and the scrub preps your lips for a smooth lipstick application or simply for a coat of lip balm. It is blended with jojoba oil for moisturization, and the best thing is that you can just lick it off!

I received my lip scrub in a gift box purchased around Christmas. However, you can find it at any LUSH store and it retails for approx. $9.95.

Have you tried any of these products?