Updates

Last week I was in Orlando for a work conference. It was a great conference, but tiring due to events from 7:30am to 10:00pm. Food was a big issue. Even though they asked about food preferences (vegan was a choice). But alas, it was like pulling teeth to get a vegan meal, and even then it was not well planned, usually rice and veggies. For 5 days. And yet it would have been so easy... leave the cheese off the salad at the buffet and instead put it on the side. Also have some chick peas on the side. See? Easy. But instead the waiters often looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for something without any meat, fish, cheese, milk and eggs. Ah well, I'm trying to put it behind me and just be happy that I'm home and once again have control over my meals!

I also ran a half Marathon on Sunday. It was a pretty good race, hilly and challenging, but I just couldn't pull it all together. I finished 6 minutes off my PB that I ran the same time last year. Just makes me realize that I need to put in some good training in order to run really well, I can't just wing it, especially after a tough week (and a bad diet). So I was all ready to sign up for the new Women's Half Marathon in Toronto on May 31... however it is SOLD OUT! Already. And it's just the beginning of November. Wow. I guess it's good that so many women are out there running, but I'm still a bit disappointed. Luckily, there are many half-marathons in and around the Toronto area, so there will be something else I can do for sure.

Finally, I have booked a trip to go to Mexico the week of November 22. I'm sooo excited. I'm going with one of my girlfriends, and I haven't been down south with a friend in forever. I'm looking forward to sitting by the pool, relaxing, reading, eating, and dancing! Of course this means that I need to get in tip-top bikini shape. So I have dubbed the next 3 weeks 'Last 5 pounds boot camp'. Yes, it's after the Last 10 pounds bootcamp on tv which I love. The thing is I eat well for the most part and I exercise so there isn't a clear and easy way to do this. But, I have a plan. ..
1. Absolutely no bad food (ie leftover Halloween candy)
2. Continue exercising with an added emphasis on muscle building (abs, pushups, squats lunges etc)
3. Try to cut back on portion sizes (as I tend to eat a lot - probably because I need it when I'm training heavily, but don't cut back as much as I should when it's off season)
4. Drink lots of water (within reason - no hypoaptremia (sp?) for me)

I'm going to try to keep myself accountable by posting on this blog as to whether I'm keeping to my plan. Hopefully 3 weeks from now I will be feeling 100% confident about hanging out by the pool in my bikinis!

T.