AWESOME Journey :-)

It's about that time...

The BIG adventure race day is just around the corner, only two days away to be exact :-)

Soooooo excited about this adventure for so many reasons:
1) Set a goal this year of completing an adventure race... YIKES!!!
2) Have stuck through the challenging yet motivating racedayrush and phat chicks training.
Didn't miss any group meetings and did homework on a daily bases.
Had fun completing my weekly blogs.
3) Even though my Sundays were dedicated to training, I had the amazing support of hubby and kiddies!!!
They surprised me last night with support cards and a picture of my two little ones holding up a sign that read "Hooray Mommy" and a smilie... LOVING IT :-) XO
4) I am lucky to be on an AWESOME team that includes: Keri and Beverly-Ann!!!
Our team name is "Scenic Route" :-)
If you've read some of the past blogs... you'll know why that name is fitting, however, we will NOT be taking any scenic routes during our drive to and from the race... as well as during the race!!!
5) Set a goal and I'm doing... now, what will be the next stepping stone?!?!?!!!

P.S.> THANKS to the AWESOME nine ladies who I have met during this amazing journey, we will continue to stay connected.
Also, a huge thank you to the coaches Neil, Susie and Shane, as well as Brian.
You guys are AWESOME too!!!

Looking forward to this Saturday, July 24, 2010...
It's going to be, how shall I say?
Just one word will help sum it up, since it's been the word to describe everything and anything during our journey, and that is the word "AWESOME"!!!

XO to ALL
KEEP SMILING
:-)

Always Look On the Bright Side of Life :-)

My last blog was different...
I guess you can say I was upset, sad, and scared.
Still am because not sure what the outcome will be for my father-in-law.
He has prostate cancer.
He was diagnosed seven years ago, had surgery, was put on meds.
Everything looked great but, it's back :-(
They're going to do some tests to see if it is localized so that they can do radiation.
Crossing our fingers that it didn't spread.
Trying to stay positive... can't be negative, it doesn't feel good and it's not worth thinking negative when you can always look on the bright side of life :-)

Sooooooooooo... as I stated in my previous blog, I had written a blog and when I went to "publish post" it didn't work.
So, I'm going to repeat some of what I wrote... ready???
I'm going to try to stay on course here, thanks to the navigation we've learned throughout our journey.

On Sunday, June 27th the team got together at Mountsberg Conservation Area.
We were put through a MAJOR workout.
Trail biking, navigation, running, strength training, etc., etc.
I think we can all agree, it was insane but, we all celebrated with beers and C-H-O-C-L-A-T-E thanks to Shane and Susie!!!
We were also told that day that this was our final workout together :-(
We were all kind of taken back because we had just found out that there would be no more challenges together until The Rockstar Race on July 24th.

We will meet to find out who the two winners are this Thursday, July 15th.
If you ask all the women, who put their hard work, sweat, tears every time we faced a challenge... even those who got injured along the way, who they think won, you'll get a resounding "WE ALL WON"!!!
We've all learned a lot about ourselves and each other.
We have come to appreciate just how far we can push ourselves when we have the right people pushing us :-)

Keep working hard ladies, remember, this is another stepping stone to your next challenge :-)
XO to ALL of you!!!

I actually had a blog written a couple of days ago, when I went to "publish post" it said it was unsuccessful :-(
That SUCKS!!!

Anyhow, I'm back to write my blog, yet again.
I don't mind writing my blogs... it's just finding the time :-)

Just recently we found out that my father-in-law would need to go through radiation starting mid-August... I'm trying to be strong here, really I am...
I'm just going to leave it at that because it's just too soon and it hurts too much to think and talk about it.
FUCK, FUCK, FuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Is not enough to express our emotions right now.

I was going to write more but I don't think I can...
XO to all
I'm not big on religion but, I'm praying. I'm praying real hard that every little thing is going to be alright.

Getting Close To The End :-(

It's a bitter sweet time, as we get closer to the end of the Phat Chicks/Race Day Rush training.
Our BIG adventure Rockstar Adventure Race happens on July 24th!!!

It's been quite the adventure. All the hard work and dedication our team captains: Susie, Shane, and Neil have put into our training, have gone above and beyond our expectations.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU to all of you for everything you have done for the team.

This Sunday we are getting together at Mountsberg Conservation Area. We'll be doing some trail running and biking, which in my mind equals LOVING IT!!!
I love trail running. Nothing nicer than being out there amongst trees and major tripping hazards, to make the adventure that much better, seriously... no sarcasim :-)

I've been keeping up with the workouts in the morning.
Going to continue with the morning routine once I'm off for the summer just because it gets my day going. I look forward to it, wakes me up :-)

I'm off for the afternoon... going to go and get the weekend started!!!
XO

Everything Happens In Threes...

This past weekend was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!!
It was busy BUT, tons of fun :-)

I'm going to jump right into telling you about Sunday.
The team got together at Kern Cliff Park for trail running and a bit of strength training... hold on I'm getting ahead of myself here... let's start from the beginning, shall we???

Sunday was Father's Day...
Hope all you daddies out there had a GREAT day!!!
In our household, it's become tradition that for Mother's/Father's Day the better half helps the kiddies prepare breakfast as a way of celebrating this special day together :-)
Got up early on Sunday, before everyone and went for a nice run.
When I got back my father in-law was walking up our driveway.
He came by to look at our furnace because our air conditioner for some reason was not working last night... felt hot and sweaty while sleeping (and not in a good way)... not much sleep :-(

The kiddies had got up and were ready to make breakfast for their wonderful daddy. I needed to take a quick shower before getting breakfast started... daddy was still sleeping :-)
While getting breakfast ready, daddy and grandpa (A.K.A. Nonno, grandpa in Italian) sat and opened their gifts from the kiddies for Father's Day.
The five of us sat and enjoyed breakfast together.
It was great because this was the first year that the kids got to have breakfast with two of their favourite men in their lives (their other grandpa got his fill in the afternoon).
I quickly ate and rushed off to meet the wonderful ladies (A.K.A. The Team) at Kern Cliff Park @ 10am.

I love the drives on Sundays before and after meeting up with the team.
It's my time to enjoy... those who have kids, you know what I'm talking about, we'll even take going to the bathroom without our names being called, so yes, I enjoy the ride to Neverland.
I turn up the tunes as loud as I can to drown out my voice while I sing along :-)

As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed tons of people.
There was a Asian tour group of about fifty or more people, getting ready to do a hike together.
I met up with: Susie, Shannon, Keri, Gail, and Amy.
While standing there talking and waiting to see if any more members would show up, we noticed a used condom on the floor...YUK!!!
We all laughed about it.
We waited but no other member showed up, so off we went to our trail run before the tour group got started.
It was slippery, muddy and wet on the trails.

Approximately ten minutes into our run, Amy injured her left ankle.
We all felt really bad for her because we knew how much she enjoyed the challenges and the boot camps.

While helping Amy back to the parking lot, Keri stepped in dog poop with her brand new shoes... you had to just laugh, better than crying... just saying, JUST Saying!!!
NOT that you're a crier Keri... XOXOXOXOXOXO
Poor girl had her shoes Christened by doggie crap!!!
Don't worry, she got it all off... YOU GO KERI :-)

Hence the title: "Everthing Happens In Threes".
1) Used condom... YUK!!!
2) Amy's ankle... Sucks!!!
3) Keri stepping in doggie doo doo... Stinker!!!

Anyhow, back to the story.
If I start to ramble... just stop reading this :-)

Shannon took Amy home and hopefully had her ankle looked at by a Dr.
Gail, Keri and I kind of stood their after Shannon and Amy took off, staring at Susie wondering if we were going to call it a day... yeah, right!!!
Susie asked us if we still were up for a run, we all said: "yes"... so, off we went.
Lots of hills, great workout.
It was a nice run, we took turns talking because that's one of so many things we do best as women... we talk :-)
There was a point in one of our many conversations, where we talked about Susie's work as a firefighter.
We (okay, maybe not Susie) were all in agreeance as to how we found firefighters really HOT!!!
There's something about firefighters... could be the uniform but, it's not the same if you see a police officer, doctor, etc.
Firefighters have that je ne sais quoi :-)

We got to a look out point, overlooking the area where we first worked out about a month or so ago.
We did some push-ups, lunges with kicks, tricep dips, etc.
It was great... we continued our run back to the parking lot.
It was a hot day but, it was nice running through the trails, nice breeze.

At the end of our run, Susie treated us to chocolate milk... everyone's favourite :-)
THANKS Susie... XO!!!

Before heading home, I stopped by Indigo's to get a smoothie and latte... LOVING IT!!!
And of course to use the washroom... you sure don't want to use what is offered at Kern Cliff... just ask Susie and Amy, who came out gagging... talk about YUK!!! That ain't delicious Gail... LOL ;-)

Got home, quickly showered while hubby and kiddies were still out enjoying their "daddy and little bundles of joy day" together, bike riding through the park and neighbourhood.
We took a drive out to visit my parents for Father's Day.
Enjoyed the rest of the afternoon together with my parents, sister and her kids, swimming in their pool, eating and all that other fun stuff :-)

The life... I'm loving it!!!
XO

Biking + Navigation= FUN!!!

I thought Biking + Navigation = Nervousness BUT, I found out on Sunday that it actually eqauls FUN!!!

One of our team members, Sharon hasn't been able to join us for the last couple of trainings due to injury.
Knowing how active she is and how much she misses being with us, I thought it would be nice to show her that we miss her too.
So, I brought my video camera with me and asked everyone to pass on a message through video... little did I know, being the computer genius that I am, that I would need to edit and get it on the web somehow. It all worked out in the end :-)

Met the team at Hilton Falls. We were told to bring our bikes and compass.
Brian, our navigation pro, gave us a refresher course on using our compass. It seems to really help the second time around.
We were put into four groups of two's. My partner was Joyce :-)
We all started at the same time. Our mission was to go to four check points and find the beach ball that was hidden, write down the colour and make it back to the starting point.

Sounds easy enough...
Lets throw some rocks, mud, and a hidden beach ball that could not be found first time AND second time around into all this adventure and we'll call it a day.

Joyce and I started with our first check point. Could not locate the ball.
For some reason I was focused on the second check point and completely forgot about the first one.
My poor partner must have thought I was nuts, as I was walking in the opposite direction of where we should have been looking.
We didn't want to waste any more time, we got on our bikes and headed towards the second check point.

We found three balls but, needed one more in order to complete the task.
Joyce and I enjoyed the ride through the woods.
At one point we passed Neil, Gail, and Beverly-Ann.
We were a little happy that we didn't see any of the other groups because in our minds we thought: "Hey, we MUST be in the lead".
Boy, were we wrong...
Talk about feeling a little to confident!

As we headed back to our first check point at 12:45pm to find the missing ball, that we couldn't find the first time.
Our goal for our time to be at the finish line was 1pm.
We searched again... NOTHING.
Soooooo, we kept re-doing our search... NOTHING.
As we went into the woods I would say: "Please no snakes, please don't let there be any snakes".
Luckily, I didn't see any throughout this adventure :-)
At one point, we both said: "I think someone moved it".
We searched a bunch of times and we finally said: "F*!K this, there's no way there's still a ball here, lets get out of here, we could still make it back before the others".
We left that check point at around 1:05pm.

As we headed towards the finish line...
My worst fear came true, and it's ONLY because I'm soooooo darn clumsy :-)
Joyce and I came to the same hill we had to ride up at the start of the race.
Joyce took one look at it and said: "I think I'm going to walk my bike down".
I thought it's easier going down than up... so, while we were already on an incline, I started getting on my bike and as soon as I got on, I wanted to get off.
As I went to get off, I fell on the gravel and slid a bit.
I heard Joyce ask: "Are you ok, do you need some help?"
I was starting to get up so, I said: "I'm ok... wait, I think I need some help, I'm stuck".
I got my left foot stuck in either my back wheel or something.
Poor Joyce got off her bike to help me get my twisted foot out... THANK YOU!!!
I got up and went to lift my bike up, at which point I noticed one of Joyce's foot pedals from her bike was stuck in my front wheel, and we had to get that out.
When I got my act together, I said: "I think I'll walk my bike down, now :-)"
We got closer to the bottom of the hill.
I hopped on my bike and yelled to Joyce "Yeah, we're almost at the finish, come on Joyce".
As we were riding to the finish, my phone started ringing...
At this point I knew we had come in last because I had a feeling they were calling to see if we were ok.
I didn't answer the phone because as I turned the corner I saw the team sitting at the bench.
They cheered for us as we came in :-)

Everyone shared stories of their adventure rides.
Oh, and the reason we couldn't find the beach ball was because they had already started taking them away... getting ready to go home!!!
I cleaned myself up with some wet naps "us mommies" always have in the car.
Amy was kind enough to give me one of her daughter's Dora band-aids... thank you!!!

Even though Joyce and I came in LAST PLACE...
We felt like we still won the race :-)
We worked well together. What ever one member missed during our adventure the other got and we helped one another along the way.
We didn't get lost and we really enjoyed the ride as we made our way to each check point.

I'm thinking I need to leave my Converse at home...
These damn shoes have brought me nothing but bad luck, during our trainings.
I already lost one shoe and I still have the other sitting in the basement... JUST IN CASE its missing partner showed up from our canoe adventure :-)
Then Sunday; with being in last place AND the fall...
I don't see any other reason besides blaming the shoe... could you?!?!?!!!
P.S.> Please don't answer that ;-)

Next Sunday is another Boot Camp with Susie :-)
P-L-E-A-S-E nooooooooooo SUICIDES AND BURPEES!!!
XO... 'til next time.

If ONLY There Were MORE HOURS In A Day!!!

Yes, if only there were more hours in the day BUT, I'll take what I can get.
Who am I to complain? It's all good :-)

SUNDAY - Met up with team and Susie at LaSalle Park. We were warned ahead of time to bring our heart rate monitors.
We had an awesome cardio workout today, with some strength training thrown in... JUST FOR FUN :-)
Before doing our cool-down, we did everyone's favourite... SUICIDES :-)
Thank GOD, Susie did not mention ahead of time that we would be doing FIVE sets of suicides!!!
After each set we would check our heart rate, I couldn't get mine past 170. As we paced around, Susie says: "Get ready, we're doing another set in 10, 9, 8,..."
Susie at one point during our heart rate check asked: "What does your heart rate say?" I responded: "Mine says: What the F*!K are you thinking???"
You think you're pushing yourself but you never know your limits until you work out in a group setting. It's a great way to motivate one another and help push us to our limits.

I have a running id bracelet... just in case I get lost and I need to be returned to my rightful owner ;-)
I crack me up...
Anyhow, on the bracelet I have written: "I think I can... I know I can..."
When ever I am running on my own and need that extra push, I look at my wrist and read my inspiration :-)

MONDAY - I didn't want to get out of bed... come on I'm sure we've all had one of those days... well mine was Monday, early morning.
Mind you, I look forward to my workouts because it starts my day and it gives me the energy I need to keep me going throughout the day until I get myself ready for zzzzzzzzzz land at night :-)

TUESDAY - I did our newest homework routine. Which consisted of, my favourite: BURPEES with push-ups and power ups, mountain climbers, squat jumps, then you had to do ten travelling push ups. Plyo jumps and tricep dips, one leg squats, planks, glutes. I also included sprinting 15m, 3x after each circuit... working on my speed... trying :-)
This routine was similar to what we also did on Sunday.
It was hard but, a lot of fun :-)

WEDNESDAY - Woke up this morning very anxious to get started on my run.
I thought instead of freaking the neighbours out with my running back and forth on the side walk, I would take my 30 sec. sprints around the neighbourhood and incorporate it in my jogging... what FUN :-)
The sky looked a little iffy when I got started.
I did my warm-up by jumping rope and running to the end of the block and back, did some stretches, and got started with my first of ten, thirty second sprints.
At the end of each sprint I would continue jogging around the neighbourhood.
I felt a few drops every now and then.
I kept thinking: "Please wait 'til I'm done".
Mother Nature was once again looking out and she held off until I got home.
It started coming down, pretty good as I was getting breakfast ready for the little sleepy bundles of joy :-)

Tomorrow is another fun strength training day...

Sunday the team is getting together for biking AND navigation... can we say: "YIKES?!?!?!!!"
I'm soooooo clumsy as it is, and I've proven that already a couple of times during our trainings.
I have not been on my bike since the last time we've been out together. I don't think I'll get a chance to get on until Sunday... just saying!!!
Keep fingers crossed that all goes well for all of us on Sunday, I'm nervous just thinking about it.