Thoughts on my Birthday

Happy Birthday to me! Wait, is that weird?! ;)

I’m not someone who likes to go all out for their birthday. Getting together with family and friends is all I need to make me happy. Actually no, that’s not true. I need ice cream too.

  

(Source)

In the past, I’ve never really given much thought to the fact I’m getting older. I’ve never had a master plan for my life. The fact that I have 4 post-secondary degrees is a testament to that.  I have so many diverse interests that I’ve always found it hard to decide which direction to go in. But I love not knowing. I love that my future is not set in stone and that I have still have the flexibility to take whatever opportunity may arise.  I believe that everything happens for a reason and going with the flow has worked out very well for me so far! 

(Source)

That’s not to say that I don’t have dreams and things I want to accomplish.  If anything, with each passing year I’m reminded that some dreams will never go away, no matter how long you resist or push them aside. 

(Source)

My dream is to be an author. It’s something I’ve wanted since I was a child, when I spent most of my time in class writing stories, poems, and songs. But somewhere along the way, I got so wrapped up in university, work, and life in general that stopped writing for fun. Of course I've written more academic papers than I care to count, and my current job description is writer/editor, but I spend my days writing about legal stuff, which is interesting in its own right, but not quite as much fun as creating characters. 

(Source)

I always knew creative writing was something I would go back to eventually and that time has come! By my birthday next year, I want to have finished a novel. Whether it is published or not is a whole other story, but at least it will be written and I’ll be one step closer to making my dream come true.  

What is your dream?

Hill Training

Hey,

How has your week been? I hope everyone has been keeping warm. I swear, I would not wish winter in Ottawa on my worst enemy :(  This weather turns me into a total hermit too so I barely leave my apartment beyond work and the gym. Here's hoping I still have friends come spring ;)

So I've registered for my next race, the More/Fitness Magazine Half-Marathon in April. Obviously I'm super excited about this one since it's in New York City :) 

My only concern is that the course is really hilly.  I do remember thinking the hills in Central Park weren't too bad when I did the NYC Half last year, but we didn't do Harlem Hill, and we only ran through the park once, whereas this race is 2 loops through the park.

(Source)

In an effort to prepare I've started playing around with the incline on my treadmill but I'm still looking for a more structured plan. So I'm hoping to get some advice from you guys!

Do you have any specific hill training workouts?

Any tips if you have run this race before?

Anyone else doing it this year?



Avoiding the Gym

Hey Guys!

Most of the time, I have no problem getting motivated to go to the gym after being stuck at a desk for 8 hours.  However,  for the first few weeks in January, it's pretty much the last place I want to be.

No matter how hard I try to be positive and to welcome the January Joiners with open arms, I fail.  Fighting crowds and waiting for machines is definitely not a stress reliever, and I end up leaving the gym tense and frustrated.

Luckily I have lots of workout equipment at home, including a treadmill, weights, and a step. So, rather than give the newbies at the gym the evil eye, I generally do most of my weekday workouts at home at this time of the year.

On the bright side, it gives me an opportunity to switch up my routine and I've discovered how much I love circuits! It really should have been a no-brainer considering how much I dislike strength training but breaking it up with bursts of cardio makes it so much more fun! 

(Source)

I've also really been enjoying using my step again. It may be a throwback to the 90s, but I love that it can be a high-intensity, lower-impact workout, which is something that is especially important to me now that I'm back in half-marathon training mode :)

It's no secret that I love Cathe Freidrich and the fact that you can download her workouts so you can try something new right away! I recently purchased Basic Step and Body Fusion and Intensity Series: Cardio & Weights and I love them both.

If you're new to step workouts, or haven't done one in a while, I'd suggest starting with the Basic Step and Body Fusion. The choreography in this one is pretty simple yet you still get your heart rate up.  I was able to do this one the first time I watched it without having too many moments of utter confusion or tripping over myself to get to the same side of the step as Cathe and her group ;)



(Source)

If you're looking for a more challenging workout, you might want to try the Intensity Series: Cardio and Weights.

There are a lot more over-the-step moves in this one, which is not ideal for me given that I have a limited space to workout in, but I managed to modify the steps to make it work. It took me a couple of tries to get the hang of this one but, lets face it, I'm not the most coordinated person on the planet to begin with :P

Any other step lovers out there?

Are you better at coping with the January Joiners than I am?!

Weekend in NYC

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays :)

I had a great Christmas and I decided to take the week off work and go to New York City between Christmas and New Years. I'm sure I've mentioned it here before, but I love love love that city so much, and it's even more amazing at this time of the year.  I met up with a friend there and, as always, we had a great time!

I can wander around NYC for hours doing absolutely nothing and be totally happy so we did a lot of walking and admiring the decorations.  I love Bryant Park and I was happy to see that the shops were still up there since it reminds me of the European Christmas markets I miss so much! We also ducked into the library to warm up a bit and the architecture in that building is unbelievable.  Obviously I had to go see the tree at Rockefeller, both during the day and at night :P

We did some window shopping along 5th Avenue and at Columbus Circle.  I love looking at all the higher end stores even though buying anything would mean not being able to afford to go to NYC a few times a year - so not worth it ;)!

On Sunday afternoon, I went to see the Nutcracker, which was really good, although I will admit I preferred the Rockettes show I went to last year. After that I walked around Central Park for a while before I had to head to the airport. It was so nice to finally see the park with a little snow :)

I get sad every time I leave the city, but the plan is to return in April to run the More/Fitness Magazine half-marathon. I seriously can't wait!