oh ... hello

happy halloween!

i know i haven't posted in a while. i'm not going to lie to you or give you lame excuses as to why. the truth shall be revealed to you below:

1. i couldn't really be bothered to post.

2. i'm setting up a new blog (more publique) in wordpress and damn, gina! that place is confusing. i made a custom header and OF COURSE it only works with one theme. i just don't find the themes very customizable the way they are in blogger. so far it's wasted a lot of my time and mental sanity. my custom header is very cute thought ... worth the wait (yep!).

3. i've been sick. pretty darn sick. i went swimming on friday and was feeling a bit under the weather. i went to a tea party on saturday and came home full blown sick. i took monday off of work. i feel much better now but my coughs would still scare children and old people. i can't even describe the sounds i'm making.

4. i didn't exercise from last friday until last night, so i didn't really have much to talk about.

/end list

last night i went to pick up part of my halloween costume from my mom at her office in my hometown. she asked me to walk over and get her something from starbucks and on the way i passed a running store that was liquidating everything at 50% off ... WHOA!

i got some craft brand running pants regular $100
and a zoom cold weather running jacket regular $200
and a fleece headband regular $24.99

want to know what i paid?

$111 all together!

i love getting a bargain - it really is one of the greatest thrills in life. and running clothes are SO expensive - unfortunately they are necessary for high-quality sweat wicking bla bla bla etc. unfortunately they didn't have my shoes but i still left extremely satisfied.

so satisfied i went for a 3-mile run last night in my new pants that have some reflective strips on them. whee!

high intensity interval training

last night i tried some HIIT (high intensity interval training) and it kicked my butt.

it was a "short" workout but a tough one. i have a hard time doing shorter workouts. i need to get over that "what's the point?" mentality.


here's what i did:

5 minutes warm-up walking
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
1 minute running speed 8 mph
2 minutes jogging speed 5.5 mph
5 minutes walking cool down
TOTAL: 30 minutes

by the end sweat was dripping off my face and at one point i thought i might be sick. i realized this morning i really am sick! dammit! my throat feels scratchy and no amount of water can quench my thirst. i thought that maybe feeling under the weather would decrease my appetite but so far that is not the case. double dammit!

I am pretty pooped this week. on tuesday i had a publicity event for work and then my bf and i went to see metric and the stills at massey hall. our seats were TERRIBLE. why am i always in the third balcony way at the side? we couldn't even see the stage! i'm going to think long and hard before i ever buy tickets to a show that venue ever again.

i am looking forward to the weekend. one of my girlfriends is having her birthday an afternoon ladies high tea party at the kind edward downtown. words cannot express how much i love high tea!

not much to say and night sweats

i don't really have too much to say lately.

on wednesday my bf and i went to this charity event hosted by george snuffalufagus - it was just down the road from me (which was our incentive for going). some other "celebs" were there as well. one of the servers was a contestant from canada's top model. sad that i recognize faces from season 2 (or whatever season that was!) there was lots of yummy food being served and my downfall - the open bar.

needless to say i didn't feel too great yesterday. i was supposed to run but decided to have a walk on the treadmill and read some magazines instead. on wednesday morning i did level one of jillian michael's 30-day shred and my thighs are still killing me. every time i get up from my chair i feel like an old man!

here is something i wanted to talk about: sweating during the night. lately, and for months now, i wake up in the night drenched in sweat. so much that i have to change my shirt. i've tried wearing different things, nothing at all, just a sheet as a blanket, light fleece blankets, a down duvet blanket, opening the door, closing the door (balcony door with fresh air), turning on the fan, turning it off. it doesn't matter what i do! what could this be? does anyone have any experience with night sweating? it's gross but a problem. i better not be going through premature menopause or something like that ... knock on wood!

happy thanksgiving

this past weekend was canadian thanksgiving. i only had one dinner to attend (my bf's family's dinner) because my own family is visiting relatives in winterpeg, manitoba. so i did have a big dinner one night (with two slices of cake - not pie - for dessert) but it's over and a) i have no leftovers and b) i don't feel like my pants are any tighter than they were on friday, haha. i am actually kind of sad that i don't have leftovers. normally when my mom makes thanksgiving dinner, i am sent home with a giant bag of white turkey meat, green beans, leftover mashed turnip, etc. yummmmmmmm. i usually peel the turnips so i feel like i deserve them! ;) the idea to buy a turkey myself and cook it actually crossed my mind. of course i am not going to do that. i don't even have the proper kitchen equipment to make a turkey (a big pan) and i really don't need all of that meat considering i hardly ever eat meat when i'm alone. (no reason, just cuz.)


i had a couple of good runs on the weekend - one on saturday and one yesterday (monday). both were four miles. i LOVE running on days when i don't have to work. it really is so enjoyable to wake up, eat a little something and hit the pavement. and i LOVE running in this cooler weather. i think this winter i might try running outdoors. i will have to buy a few things to stay warm, but it's probably worth it. does anyone have any tips (layering, brands to buy, how to keep your mp3 player from freezing) for me?

this is also my last week of half-marathon recovery from my online training plan. here is the plan:

monday: 40 minutes running (complete!)
tuesday: 40 minutes cross-training
wednesday: rest
thursday: 40 minutes running
friday: 30 minutes cross-training
saturday: 5 miles running
sunday: rest

do-able? i think so. i might switch tonight's cross-training (probably swimming) and my rest day tomorrow, since tonight i have book club. i also want to start doing weight training but i feel like i have to go into the gym with a plan instead of flopping from machine to machine.

AND finally - i have some very exciting news to share with everyone - but it has to remain under wraps for now. it's more professional than personal, but it's something i've wanted to start doing for a long time. stay tuned!

friday funny

it's okay if you are jealous that i have this vanilla non-fat chobani greek yogurt for lunch.


i know the picture is the wrong way - i took it on my laptop haha. andrea told me where to buy this in toronto. NOT CHEAP people, but worth it ... once and a while.

bing bang bong

i started this post yesterday and never finished ... here is what i wrote on monday:

how is it october 5 already? life is really rushing by.

i had a nice weekend. friday a friend's husband's birthday party SURPRISE! saturday a short run followed by a trip to a l'oreal canada make up sale (i can't believe someone is trying to sell that ticket on craigslist ... my mom gave me mine) with my bff, saturday night another birthday party, sunday a blogger meet-up (organized by angela at oh she glows that you can read about here (more about this later). can you see me in any pictures? i was staying at my bf's and forgot my camera at home. and THEN band practice.

oh yeah i forgot to mention I JOINED A BAND!


obviously i am veronica lodge, hahaha. we don't have a name yet but we do rehearse in a proper studio and we have a gig scheduled for sometime in november. i do some singing, some keyboard playing and lots of tambourining. fun times!

in other news i am going on a business trip this week - i leave tomorrow night and come back thursday. where am i going? peterborough!


and now back to real time, tuesday:

yes, so tonight a business trip. i am accompanying one of my authors for some publicity. we are filming some tv news segments tomorrow morning and in the evening, she is speaking at a women's business meeting. i think it will be fun. i am bringing my laptop and episodes 1 to 4 of veronica mars (never seen it ... but want to!) that i recently got from zip.ca - so i won't be lonely at night. i'm just kidding, i won't be lonely!

this week's training plan is:

monday: run 30 minutes
tuesday: cross-train 30 minutes
wednesday: rest
thursday: run 40 minutes
friday: rest
saturday: run 4 miles
sunday: rest

i ran 30 minutes last night and my right knee is bothering me. this only started after the half-marathon. it's even stiff now after i've been sitting in my office chair all morning. i was supposed to swim this morning but i felt too lazy, so i'll either do it tonight before i leave or make my rest day today and swim/workout tomorrow in my hotel. i want to follow this recovery plan but i want my knee to feel better. i keep telling myself to take some advil before my runs but i never remember.

do any of you take painkillers before your run? does it help? for some reason i feel like that's cheating - i hate popping pills if i don't have to ... but, maybe i do!