I am SO sore. I feel worse than after the Grouse Grind! It seems like the last two times I did a bunch of exercise I’ve had a headache for the rest of the day.. could the two be related, or purely coincidental? 

“I survived”

the Grouse Grind. It was really tough, I mean, WAY tougher than I had expected it to be but I made it and I feel so accomplished and satisfied with myself. I got a shirt to commemorate the trip with my girlie Liz. 

I have been absolutely horrible at posting.

And I am SO sorry. My followers probably forgot about me but that’s understandable. I’ve been working a lot and therefore walking and it has held up pretty well. I’m doing the Grouse Grind tomorrow, which is a hike up a mountain here in Vancouver. I’ll be wearing my brace and making the trek up. Usually it takes a very fit person about 40 minutes to make it up the mountain..I’m hoping for my first time to climb it in an hour or just over. I’ll remember to post on how my knee felt and the hike. 

I went for a run today!

It was a short one, just a quick 20 minute run. Apparently it was my fastest 1K to date (out of the past three runs) which surprised me considering I walked a good chunk of it. My shin really hurt on my left side and my knee was still sore from all the walking in Toronto. I think right now I’m just a bit achy since I’m fighting off a cold. I’d love to get an early morning run in tomorrow before doing house work (and possibly making another batch of cinnamon buns) for when the family comes home. My body is probably just tired from all the excursions, work and travel in the past month and a half. Hopefully this weekend off will help it refuel so I can be ready to take on Edmonton next week! 

My knee is sore again.

I think it’s just from the excessive amount of walking I did last week. I’m planning on going on runs starting tomorrow to get myself back in shape. Suddenly the weather here in Vancouver is beautiful! It’s bittersweet since I’d rather run when it’s clouded over to avoid a very bad brace tan… we can’t have any evidence that I’m actually Bionic Woman. 

Okay. I’m up.

Gotta get in another hour long run before I leave for Toronto tomorrow! Let’s see if we can beat 4.19 miles in 50 minutes. 

BEST RUN EVER.

It felt great to be back to my old self with a little sprinting and a solid hour run. Wanna see where I ran? Click here!

Guess what I did this past week!

I went for my first run!! It was five days before I was “supposed” to, but I wore my knee brace and called it even. I ran 6K in an hour. I went to the track on Monday and began to jog; it felt amazing. This was the first time in over a year that I’ve been able to run. Soon my pace quickened and my lap times (400m) were on average 3 minutes (if I tried they were 2.5 minutes). Once I got home I iced my knee and tried to even out the unsightly tan line from the brace. The next day, I could barely walk. My legs were sore and felt like jello! On Wednesday I went on a half hour run at a faster pace. I love it. I love being back to my old self. I have to call the brace people to go back for a check up because the brace is cutting the back of my leg and causing me to have allergic reactions to it. Does anyone else have a story they’d like to share?

Dear Followers,

I’m sorry I’ve been totally AWOL lately, I just started work again with IndyCar so I’ve been on the road a lot. It’s pretty exciting actually! I was at the INDY500 last week and I’m in Detroit for the Belle Isle Grand Prix. My knee is holding up well, I went for a dip in the ocean last week (it was absolutely freezing) and walking over the uneven sand and rocks went over flawlessly. It has locked a couple times but I think it’s just something that will happen. June 16th is the magical day for when I can go for a “jog” aka a run (I don’t do this jogging thing, it’s go big or go home) so I’m excited about that! I’m going to try and update more often, life has been pretty crazy. In a nutshell I met the most amazing guy and I’m lucky enough to be his girlfriend. I never used to believe in “love at first sight” or “soul mates” but I’m taking baby steps into learning what it’s like to be loved and love someone else. It’s a little scary honestly but I know that whatever this is, is special. 

I’ve been using the gyms at the various hotels! The last two were Hiltons so the equipment is pretty upscale. I’ve decided that I want to work on my core muscles, I’d love to have a toned, flat tummy. I find it tough for a female to get that because the muscles tend to want to bulk up into real abs! I’m thinking that if I work them hard (get those abs) and then ease off, it’ll burn any fat and leave a toned tummy. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

I got my brace today!!

Holy it is quite the piece. It goes from the top of my thigh to halfway down my calf. Sexy? No, not really. I look like freaking bionic woman; I could take a bullet off this thing! I know in the long run it’ll be the only way for me to play sports again and try new activities but at the moment it’s deflating knowing that I have to strap this big brace on. I was reassured today that it’s probably a sexy addition but that’s coming from someone who hasn’t seen it… and wants me to be happy. I guess after some time I’ll just get used to it. I feel like I stand out because I’ll have this big silver thing on me but with some confidence I’ll be running around with my head up and proud. I’ll post a photo later. It’s even called “Extreme”. 

Whenever I feel like quitting

at the gym, I remind myself how far I’ve come and how far I want to go. 

I usually start off on the bike for 35 minutes and by the 10 minute mark my legs are burning and I want to get off. But I push through, I always push through and go hard until the clock shows me that I’ve got 10 minutes left. Then I crank up the resistance and tell myself to finish strong. 

On the elliptical, I felt like my legs were going to give way after 5 minutes. But I though to myself, “If I felt like quitting while I was on the bike and didn’t, why quit now?”. So I kept up the pace and told myself that if I want to be in the best shape of my life, get back into sports and have a bikini bod for the summer, it takes work; hard work. 

After a solid workout I feel amazing. I feel accomplished and ready to take on the rest of the day. I am proud of how much willpower I’ve built up and determination. 

This is my body and it’s up to me to make it the best it can be. 

4:25

I think that date is right… Regardless, the important date is June 16th (oh look at that, my high school graduation date last year!) because it’ll be the 6 month mark, my brace will be here and I will be allowed to start jogging! I’m guessing when they say “in a straight line” that it simply means no cutting or sharp corners. I wonder if it matters if I jog or run. The only time I jog is for the first 10 seconds of a run and if I’m just coasting for a long while. I know I should take it easy for my first time back, but I want to see how much stamina I have and test my willpower to push through the burning lungs, tired legs and cramping tummy. I’m so excited for next week and to wear my brace- just because. I’m really crossing my fingers that my endurance is up to par (with my expectations) at the end of June and beginning of July when I go to Toronto!! I want to go running while I’m there. I plan on working out at every fitness room this summer since I’ll be in different hotels. If I fly in on a Thursday, I want to hit the gym on Friday after the track and depending on the race time, Sunday night as well. I’m more motivated than before to have my body in its fittest condition since I have a big list of things to tackle. I want to be able to learn how to ballroom dance in the new year, surf this fall and apparently go camping. I can’t wait to really get back on my feet again.