One Sweet Love

This morning I was looking through all the recipes that I have saved and I came across the Oh Canada Sweet Potato Stack from Zesty Cook. Since I am a proud Canadian I thought I would have some sweet potato yumminess with my lunch today! 

An Oh Canada Sweet Potato Stack - by Zesty Cook

- 2 large sweet potatoes (I could only find 1 so that was good enough for little ol' me!)

- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (I used 1.5 tsp because that is what I normally use for sweet potato fries)

- Salt and Pepper 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sweet with parchment paper 

2. Toss sweet potatoes in olive oil

3. Add salt and pepper (how much is really up to you)

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, then turn the potatoes over and cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Move the sweet potatoes to the top rack and turn down heat to 250 and let the sweet potatoes dry a little bit   and become even crispier.

6. Enjoy! 

Yummy!!

Here is how my Sweet Potato Stack making experience went...

Here is the yummy sweet potato after I cut it up.

After I added the olive oil and salt and pepper.

Ready for baking now.

In the middle when I took them out to flip them.

Out of the oven and ready to eat! I was sooo excited to eat these that I couldn't find the patience to stack them.Now I am enjoying a delicious lunch of the yummy sweet potato (un)stacks and butternut squash soup, yummy!! 

I am getting so close to being done my first semester of this college program, and I am very excited. Of course I go right back to school for second semester on May 3. I must say I am enjoying this down time I have between having all my in class work done and doing the final tests. YAY! My writing teacher actually told us not to come to class anymore, SO that means I get to stay home Monday morning and watch the Boston Marathon!

Other than school I have been enjoying the weather this week and have started running outside more than running on the treadmill, of course those mornings when it is 5:30am and it is pitch black and raining I am thankful I do have the treadmill.

I am off to read and relax and do some Whittle My Middle II and push-ups. I hope you all have an amazing weekend and maybe you will have some yummy sweet potatoes!

Happy Running!

Run to the Water

Well Easter weekend is over for me, I think I thought that since I was in school I would get Monday off, turns out that doesn't apply to College or University students. Oh well, at least I'm not just realizing this this morning, that would be even worse.

This weekend was full of soaking up the sun, running (alone and with the boyfriend), finally finishing our travel book from our trip to London and Paris (which was in July and August 2009), and visiting family. This weekend did not involve any school work at all, even though it kind of should have seeing as I have a presentation tomorrow.

The Running  

I went running alone on Friday afternoon and boy was it ever warm out. Of course anything above 0C (freezing) is warm to me right now so when it got to above 20C I was in heaven. Normally I am the one to melt in warm weather, but Friday was just perfect. I set out along the waterfront and ran past a ton of university students soaking up the sun. I stayed along the water the whole time because my run was an out and back, it was wonderful! 

On Saturday the boyfriend and I set out around the same time (3:30pm, I love running in the morning, but at the same time I will run when I can!) but this time we set out in the opposite direction that I went the day before. It took us down to the harbour and along the waterfront, then we had to cut across a park to get back to the street to run home. It was a little cooler on Saturday and I finally wore shorts....I am a little self conscious when it comes to my legs (I don't know why, I just am) so wearing shorts for the first time this year at first had me thinking, "maybe I should go and put my crops back on"...but then I started thinking differently after some kind words from someone wise (the boyfriend), "it is warm out, I want to wear shorts, and no one else cares"! Take that negative thoughts, BAM!

Of course what naturally happens after a run? That's right I went skulking around my parents' backyard to look for pretty flowers and such. 

Turns out there is only one kind of flower out around the whole neighbourhood, I thought that was kind of funny. My parents also have some nice decorations around the backyard....turns out they like suns. I must agree they are very pretty!

This sun was found on the little shed in the backyard, I think I need to find a better place for it because it is really pretty and is kind of hiding where it currently is.

This sun is from my grandparents' backyard but had to be moved to my parents' when they decided to move into an apartment building. I think it is a nice addition to the collection of decorations in the backyard. 

I must say I had a wonderful Easter weekend full of yummy food, and of course candy, yum! This morning I got up at 6:30am to go for a run and was greeted with the sun almost up, it is nice to not be waking up in the dark again. Of course come Wednesday when I wake up at 5:30am it will be pitch black again, but then that just gives me something to look forward to later! 

My run was a speedy 5 miles along my favourite route, I just went a little further along the water than I did on Friday's run. It was so beautiful out and I cannot wait to get back out there for my walk to school! 

I hope you all had happy and healthy Easter weekends!

Happy Running!

What Have I Been Reading?

Here are some links to blog posts and a video that I have been loving this week! From this I think you can figure out that I want to do some more core exercises and stretching after running.

- A different hamstring stretch from FitSugar, I know I need to do this more than I do often so I am not unintentionally shortening my stride due to tight hamstrings

-Jill wrote a great post last week, Get Stronger Run Better, about the importance of strength training in addition to running, she uses body weight exercises: push-ups, squats, lunges, alternating Ts, and planks (repeat 2-3 times). I love push-ups and planks, but reading this post reminded me that I need to do a little more

-Caitlin addressed the idea of how trying to be perfect is an addiction and the guilt we feel when we cannot achieve said perfection in this post. I know I took a lot away from this post, I think it really sank in when a teacher asked me if I am a perfectionist and I immediately answered "Yes!"...I think I need to re-read the post

-Crunchless Ab Exercises count me in! I love the FitSugar and have been reading their stuff for many years now

- I love these post run stretches! Thanks Flexible Warrior!

Happy Running!

Sharing the Love!

I found this card in my Dad's study:

He got it from my Mum for Valentine's Day this year. I think it is just the cutest card I have ever seen, and it totally sounds like my family. My parents are one of the reasons I am so healthy. My Dad started doing Triathlons and Half Marathons in his mid 40s and my Mum jumped on the healthy bandwagon at that point too. 

When I got a little too lazy after my first year of university my Mum asked me, in a nice way that made it sound cool, if I wanted to go see her personal trainer with her. At that point a love for cardio and weights was born. I remember coming home after my second year of university and asking my Dad to go for a run with me, he was so happy that I was taking up something he loved. 

After I completed my first half marathon I remember my Dad being convinced his half time was faster than mine....turns out I was faster. The thing is he couldn't have been more proud of me.

My parents have always been so positive and have dared me to try new things like lifting lifting weights, running further than I thought I could, trying new foods and being positive when I thought I couldn't. 


Question: What are you doing to challenge yourself? 


I am trying to get all my school work done ahead of time, set up a placement for May-July (only on Fridays), run and be happy while doing so 5 days a week, eat balanced meals on a daily basis, try new things (new foods, new mantras while running), and add in some kind of strength training 2-3 times a week.


Happy Running!

Flashback: Running Around Vancouver

Back in the fall of 2007 my Dad and I took my brother, Chris, to school in Nanaimo BC. While we were out there I took every opportunity I had to run, I found it much more pleasant running in BC than in Ontario in September. I took a lot of pictures and I wanted to share a few with you!

This is what I saw when I was just getting onto the Loins Gate Bridge. It was a very busy place to run but at the same time it was so beautiful that I barely noticed the cars. Just in case you were wondering...yes I did stay on my side, but at the same time I don't remember any bikers so I was good!

On the bridge they have little look out points and that is where I took this picture from. It was unbelievably breathtaking and I know I want to go back out west some day soon!

Of course I tried to take some pictures of myself, but of course any picture I take when I'm out running is never all that flattering, but at least there are beautiful backgrounds.

The one thing I loved about my runs out west was that wherever I ran it was always green and rarely felt like I was running in a big city.

I just wanted to share some pictures of other places I have run! Once it starts looking remotely nice here (which it is starting to do) I will go for a run with my camera and show you guys what it is like where I live.

I have (re)discovered that I am not a fan of Day Light Savings time, I would have to say the springing ahead is the one I do not like (I'm all for falling back!). I had a hard time falling asleep, I think that it was stress mixed with trying to get to bed so I could get up early today. Regardless of the restless sleep I feel rested and had an awesome, short, run this morning. I've got the 5k running group at Lululemon this evening so I wasn't going to do anything crazy, I just ended up splitting today's normal distance up.

I have found a way to not stress about school, just schedule homework in every open moment you have: 

I love how you can't see any/all of my scheduled running and yoga because it has to be so early in the morning (5:30-6:30am) so I can have time to do homework after school.

Question:

Do you love iCal or Google calender as much as I do? Clearly I love iCal the most, I have been using it the longest so I just stick with it. I feel like if I plan my homework then I have to do it in that time. Of course I foresee a lot of that homework spilling into the night I just thought that if I only scheduled it until 6:30pm then I could have a break for dinner, haha!! 

Happy Running! 

Yoga Meltdown

Jillian Michaels is wicked! I have said it before and I will probably spend my whole life saying that her workout videos kick my butt every time! I love her 30 Day Shred but sometimes that is just not what I need at the end of a busy day. Enter Yoga Meltdown....

Here are some shots that I found on Amazon.

Locust pose, eventually Jillian wants you to fold in half...."not really", she says, but when she says something I think she kind of means it. [Source]

Side T-Planks, you start in Plank and move from side to side doing a T-Plank, and then you hold it. I remember doing a variation of these when I did Angela's Whittle My Middle II challenge. [Source]

So what did I think? I loved this yoga workout! I did the workout at 8pm on Sunday night, I had half an hour to kill before the Oscars started and this seemed more exciting than doing homework or eating when I wasn't hungry. I didn't really know what to expect because 30 Day Shred is intense, and so is Jillian Michaels. 

I was so happy with what was in the workout. There is a warm up of mountain pose and moving your arms, and some light chair poses while moving your arms. (I'm sorry if I don't remember everything, because I know I won't). Then you have about 25-30 minutes of kick butt yoga. It's like 30 Day Shred in that she has about 3 sets with different moves within that so you do one chuck of poses and then you move on. There are a few things she always comes back to: a speedy sun salutation (it increases in speed over the course of the workout) and mountain pose.

This video was great because sometimes I want to have my butt kicked and at the same time I wouldn't mind getting in some Downward Dog to stretch out my hamstrings. Of course I could just do another video and then do some Downward Dog after, but I liked how everything was mixed together!

Moving on to today...I'm looking forward to this evening!! Why?? Because I'm going to Lululemon at 5pm for their Run Lulu Run group! I love running alone, but sometimes I just want to run with others and have some fun while doing so! 

Other than that it is all school work and studying. The teachers said that after reading week they start to pile on the work. Well we will see how this week goes, I know I have to write up my informational interview for my writing class, there is always computer class (Work and Excel) chapter work, I have an office procedures test next week (oh and I still have one little internet search assignment to do, yes you read that right, heehee!), and I should probably get reading accounting, doing the exercises would probably help too. Ok so that looks like a lot but I have it covered!

Happy Running!

And So We Run

Want to know about my running history? Well here it is in all its glory!

During the summer after my first year of university, 2004, I started to look at what I was eating and started paying attention to what I was putting in my mouth and exercising. I went with my Mum to see her personal trainer and she had me doing running, elliptical and bike intervals along with lifting weights.

Throughout my second year of university, 2004-2005, I would go to the gym 4-5 days a week and do a  combination of cardio and weights...I loved this new lifestyle. During exams of that year I got into running, just a little bit here and there...I would switch between elliptical and running for 5 minutes, it was a nice start to what would turn into a great relationship. During the summer after my second year of university I started to love running. I can remember the day I ran for 20 minutes without stopping, I was so giddy and proud!

When I started my third year of university, 2005-2006, I kept up my running and weight lifting...soon I was running more than I was biking or spending time on the elliptical. I was in love! At this time I also looked into The GI Diet by Rick Gallop and fell in love, this was no diet my friends, this was a lifestyle change, and I loved every minute of it!! During that year I got my running endurance up and was so happy with what I was doing!

When I got home after exams I did a training session with my Mum's personal trainer and she mentioned that she was doing a 5k race with some other clients and asked me if I wanted to go with them. I said no at first, but by the end of the hour I realized that I had no reason to say no. I remember that 5k so well, it was fun and easy going there was no pressure! That day someone asked if I had considered doing a half marathon, at that time I started looking into training plans and what went into training for a half marathon! 

That summer I ran another 5k, this time with my boyfriend, and I must say he really pushed me! The pictures that our parents took of us that day are some of my favourite pictures there are of us!

Later that summer (late July-August) I started training for the Prince Edward County Half Marathon (PEC), to this day it is my favourite half marathon route for sure! My boyfriend and I ran that half marathon in October 2006, we didn't run it together because we wanted to run our first races as our own. It was great day and I felt so amazing!

After that, during my fourth year of university 2006-2007, I ran and did strength training and in February 2007 I joined the Running Room for a Half Marathon Clinic to train for the Ottawa Half Marathon. In late May 2007 I ran that half marathon a little injured, plantar fasciitis, but it was still fun...it is a much bigger race than PEC so I was a little thrown off, but I still enjoyed myself.

A week later I graduated from the University of Ottawa with a degree in English Literature (I just always remember running the Ottawa Half Marathon and then going back a week later to celebrate graduating).

During that summer I started doing more yoga, I got a month of unlimited yoga to a local yoga studio from my parents for graduation and I spent that month running and doing hot yoga, it was pure bliss! Of course I could not keep up those kinds of payments so I enjoyed my month and then took what I learned with me.

I was still a little injured, but continued to run all the time, this was NOT smart! Regardless I trained for the Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon because it was a flat course and I would be running it with a friend who wanted to complete her first half marathon. The training went very well and the Thursday before the race I pulled a muscle in my groin area (sorry I had to write that, it's the truth though) and we ran the race at the end of September, it was fun and hot, but I was in pain.

After my 3rd half marathon in one year I knew I had to take a break! During the rest of the fall of 2007 and most of 2008 I spent time in spin classes, on a stationary bike, and the elliptical mixed with weights and yoga. I did some running every now and then, but mostly picked it up again consistently in the summer of 2008, sadly I was not healed and it wasn't always enjoyable. I decided that my hope of running the PEC half marathon in October 2008 was a no go, and I was ok with that. During December of 2008 I started running again, everything was good and I felt no pain. I took it slow and only did what made me happy, I didn't want to push myself.

During 2009 I ran and discovered amazing workout videos: 30 Day Shred, Core Fusion, and many yoga videos, my favourite being Shiva Rea's Creative Core and Upper Body.

Finally in the summer of 2009 I was ready to train for another half marathon! I trained for and ran PEC with my boyfriend, this time we ran it together and it was so much fun! Near the finish line he took my hand and made me sprint, and we crossed the finish line holding hands. It was amazing! I will always remember that moment!

I just put this board together and it is on a wall in my kitchen, it makes me smile whenever I see it!

WOW! That is a lot of information about running and very little about nutrition, I guess I will talk more about that later. So what am I doing now you ask? Well I am loving running and am looking forward to being able to run outside all the time again. I was going to do that today but the huge snow storm that hit last night put a damper on that. 

As for strength training, I have reworked an old plan and I love it, at the same time I just bought The New Rules of Lifting for Women and am looking into doing the plan in the book. I still love doing yoga, if I don't have time for a full video I always do some stretches for runners to ensure I don't injure myself again.


I am currently on my reading week until March 7th so I am going to spend this week running, yoga-ing, doing strength training, reading, and I should probably do some school work! I have been looking forward to this week off for so long!


Happy Running!

Live Your Life

Good Morning!

What a beautiful day! I must say that I am getting very excited about the fact that the sun is getting up slightly before 7am, I'm just waiting for the day when the sun is up at 5:30am. OK I swear I'm not weird, this has just been something I look forward to ever since I started getting up early. I look forward to going for a run at 6:30am (or earlier) and watch the sun rise, OR have it already be up.

Speaking of exercise, I am prescribing me some strength training. Since I came up with this idea this morning I haven't put tons of thought into it yet, I am looking at Caitlin and Jaime's Intro to Iron Pumping Challenge from The Fitnessista. I also have a lot of old plans that I put together with a trainer years back when I needed to work with one (oh there was a time!). So that is something that I will be working on today! Not to mention all the homework I want to get done today because I don't want to have to do it later, HA!

I am headed to school but in my absence check out the Lululemon Blog called A Few of My Favourite Run Things! It is so funny how my favourite running clothes are the same ones that she talks about!

What is coming up on here? How about a getting to know you session?! I will fill you all in on a little more of who I am.

Until then here's a Lululemon picture and quote that I have loved forever. [Source]

Happy Running!

Study While You Run?

Visions of accounting were bouncing through my head on my run this morning. That can only be because I have an accounting test on Wednesday and I have to say that I didn't spend enough time studying for it over the weekend, and I even had Family Day off. I guess I felt bad and because of that all I could think about were debits, credits, and what goes in an Income Statement.

Normally my thoughts are all over the place, but today it was mostly accounting. I listened to a podcast on my run and I am normally so engaged in what the person has to say and I take everything in. Today I realized that I can easily tune out the other person's voice and do my own thing (no offence to the podcast, I love it dearly, but I have a test coming up!). I think it is differnet when I listen to music because my thoughts will be influenced by the music I listen to, or I will be thinking about something and start singing the song and forget what I was thinking about. Oh the things your brain can do when you are running!

This morning's run was 6 miles and it was wonderful! I was having one of those moments around mile 5 where I was thinking that it would be nice to stop and start getting ready for school, but out of nowhere something came over me and I just wanted to keep running! Does that ever happen to anyone? It doesn't happen to me all the time so I decided to roll with it and keep moving forward! It is getting so nice out so I want to take advantage of the weather in case it decides to start snowing buckets.

This is not what I look like when I run, there are no coloured lines behind me and it isn't that nice out yet. [Source]

You might be asking "why is this blog called Happy (Running) Thoughts?"  Here is my reason...I love running, and I love talking about running and what I think about while I am running. At the same time I think about a lot of other things and do a lot of other things on a daily basis. I cook, read, go to school, find ways to balance school work and play, bike, laugh, spend time with people I love, walk, bake, do yoga, have happy thoughts and SO much more! I want to share all my Happy Thoughts with everyone!

Question:

What do you find yourself thinking about the most during a run?

In all honesty the majority of my thoughts are on the run and the music or podcast I am listening to. I also plan my day, make to do lists, think about groceries, drool over a recipe I saw on a blog and think about what I need to do to make it, and I think about how to catch up with my boyfriend because he is so far ahead of me!

Happy Running!

Thanks For Making Me a Fighter

Runner's World cover for March 2010 [Source] and a thanks to the article Mind Games that inspired me to dig deep and keep moving forward.

“Goucher’s candid admissions about her psychological struggles are rare for an elite athlete but they will ring true to any runner who’s ever battled doubts, setbacks, or mental demons. Which is to say, all of us.” That is how the article Mind Games by Bruce Barcott starts off. The Runner’s World article about Kara Goucher, in the March 2010 issue, focuses on how a lack in confidence can really bring you down even when you have the ability to be the best in the world. Barcott describes Goucher as “one of the most accomplished American runners of her generation.” He goes on further to describe Goucher and her accomplishments,

“[Goucher] was a monster in the middle distances: top-ranked American at 10,000 meters, second at 3,000 meters, and top five at 5,000 meters. In 2008, she decided to try her first marathon…the New York City Marathon. She came in third. Last year she ran Boston – her second 26.2 miler ever – and missed breaking the tape by a mere nine seconds.”

Goucher has done amazing things with her talent, but from reading this article I soon learned that she had/has those little voices in her head that deter her from being able to do her best all the time.

In all honesty I do not have the ability to be the best runner in the world, nor do I wish to be the best. Putting that aside I still identified with Goucher’s story because sometimes, no matter how far you are running, your mind can get to you and start saying things you do not want to hear. Here is how Barcott describes Goucher’s mind games, “her head has always messed with her. For as long as she can recall, it's thrown hammers at her feet. Some runners have trick knees or fragile hamstrings. She has an undermining psyche.” I think any runner can identify with these feelings, imagine you are almost finished a half marathon and you see the hills that are separating you from the last few miles that would take you to the finish line, and to add to that you weren’t having a great run in the first place. You start doubting yourself and your ability to run races; all of a sudden you start hearing this voice in your head that keeps telling you that you can’t do this. This is when you need to harness everything you have and start repeating your mantra, mine is “just keep swimming” from Finding Nemo. I came up with this when I started running more often and was running longer distances. 


Barcott writes of Goucher, “[she is] remarkably candid about her battle with the mental game. “Everyone has their weakness,” she says. “Mine is confidence.”” Goucher’s trainer Alberto Salazar brought in sports psychologist Darren Treasure to help combat these doubts that she was having. In the article I learned that Goucher eventually started using words such as “fighter” and “courage” to get her through the hard times in a race. I thought that that was something different, I have read articles on mantras and never thought of using one that was a single word. Since reading the article I have been channeling my inner Kara Goucher and using “fighter” to get me through the hard parts of a run. I do not run as fast or as long a distance as Goucher, nor do I even run races to compete against the other runners, but I think that using key words and mantras are key to making you feel powerful and strong. 

So what does Runner’s World think you should do so you can run with mind over matter? Here are their suggestions: [Source]

1.     Worry early, not late – Gloria Balague, a sports psychologist at the University of Illinois says, “identify your worries and train to overcome them. As you get closer to race day, focus on your strengths and the body of your training work.”
2.      Employ a key word – Darren Treasure, Nike Oregon Project sports psychologist has athletes focus on a key word during intense training moments, “then when they get to a critical moment in a race, they can invoke that word and get the response they’re looking for.” Treasure does note that just chanting “win, win, win” during the course of your race won’t cut it.
3.      Enjoy the motion – Balague says you should “get in touch with your body…notice how nice the motion feels when it’s in sync – arms, legs, back, posture. The idea is to relax, not tense up, and if you’re in touch with the positive feeling, you must less likely to be tight”
4.      Define success by your progress – mental trainer Jeff Troesch says, “measure [your] success in terms of [your] personal progress. If I can do a couple more reps than I did yesterday, that’s a success. I look for ways to get the athletes into the now, to strive for day-to-day victories.”

I like the idea of focusing on daily victories, I always feel good when I run a little bit further or a little bit faster than the day before. The same is true even if I ran a shorter distance but ran it feeling happy and comfortable the whole time. I can also say the same for just enjoying the weather and the music I am listening to. If I hit a rough patch in a run I repeat my mantra and change the music to something that I know is going to help pick me up.

Question:

Do you have a mantra? What is it? Do you have any songs that pick you up when you are not feeling great?

I still use “just keep swimming” and have now started using Goucher’s “fighter” to push me through that point where I’m not feeling great, or not wanting to push that extra mile. My pick me up song is an oldie but a goodie (according to me)…Machine Head by Bush off of the album Sixteen Stone.

Happy Running!