.Vulnerable

If you read my last post, I'm sure you noticed that it came from the heart. On occasion, we are all guilty of portraying life as fan-freaking-tastic when it's really not. So I felt I needed to get some things off my chest and truly I did feel a lot better afterward.

Thankfully, one of the stressors has lifted itself! We got the good news that our house had sold yesterday and we are over the moon! It's still a little stressful that we have to find a new place in the next two months, but we've seen a lot of places we like so it's just a matter of making a decision. We are looking for our "almost forever" home - which means we are looking for a place to settle for the next 20ish years or so until Kendrick and one day future baby move out. Then the plan is to build our dream home. There are definitely some exciting times ahead!

Father's Day actually went a lot better this year. I'm not sure what it was, but it didn't seem like there was a black cloud hanging over the day like there was last year. I'm so lucky to have such an amazing man as my husband and the Father to Kendrick!

Photo by Breanne Marie, Edmonton

Photo by Mandi D Photography, Edmonton 

I crushed my first 15K of the season this past weekend! I'll be honest, I don't know why I signed up for a 15K when I was probably only ready for a 10. When I signed up for the race package I tried to up my mileage in the monthly races leading up to the Edmonton half. I should have done another 10K, and then completed my first 15K in July. When I realized my error it was too late to do any changes so I went for it anyways. Considering the course was pretty hilly and through some thin trains at some points, I felt not too bad for the first 12K. The last 3K however were tough and I was struggling. I was also a dummy and didn't eat beforehand, which is a no no especially for a long run like that. Usually under 10K I can get away using an empty stomach and sport beans, but 15K was too long. My longest run previous to this was 9K and although I didn't feel prepared, I actually wasn't too disappointed with my time of 1:46:09. I have another 15K on July 1 (which is actually my favourite race of the year, the Canada Day Road Race) and another on July 10 before the big half on August 21. My goal for this week is to run 9K tomorrow and 12K this weekend to hopefully get my stamina up. I also didn't feel as sore after the 15K as I thought I would, which means my cross training at Blitz Conditioning boot camp is paying off.

Speaking of boot camp, we are outside and I don't know what it is but mosquitos LOVE me. It's awful. Even after wearing bug spray my legs have at least 25 bites on them. I don't understand why they like me so much!

I'm still working on losing about 7 pounds so that my abs show up a little more. It would be really nice to do this before I get pregnant again, as I've heard it's much harder to lose the weight the second time around. I've been keeping up with bootcamp every Tuesday and stairs every Wednesday, and running 1-2 times on Monday, Thursday or Friday. I think the biggest thing for me is eating. I need to be planning better and eating better as I know I haven't been at my best lately. The food prep has been tough, I just haven't had the energy at night. I need to get better at this! My goal is to get back on the meal planning wagon this weekend. I am motivated!

I'm also craving a vacation. Particularly to Disneyworld. One can dream...

xo

-Dianne

PS: I tried out a new Epicure recipe for pancakes for Father's Day breakfast, and it went really well! I literally went on the Epicure website and searched for "pancakes" and decided to try the Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes recipe. The only difference is I added a tablespoon of cocoa to get some healthy chocolate flavour without the calories and the sugar of the chocolate chips. They tasted amazing! I think next time I may try adding some Sweet Coconut Vegan Protein Blend protein powder to the mixture too! I also used only whole wheat flower as well. 

PPS: I think I'm going to invest in a new pair of Nikes next month! I'm brand loyal and I've been using Nike Flex for the last few years and am looking to change it up. Anyone have a favourite brand of Nike runners they recommend? I'm looking at trying out the Nike Free Run Distance shoe as that was rated #1 by a poll I saw, but I am not sure if I'll need more support than that yet.

.Struggle

Truth be told, I haven't felt very inspired lately.

Trying to juggle a 15 month old, a marriage, a full time job, part time classes, half marathon training, eating healthy more often than not and the stress of trying to sell a house and looking for a new house has taken a toll on me. Not to mention around Father's Day I always get sad because I'm missing my Dad. I am tired & I am drained. I gained a couple pounds back that I lost. I haven't been able to sleep more than seven hours for the last three weeks except for maybe once, and this past week Kendrick has been waking up at night or waking up really early in the morning (probably because I noticed a new tooth the other day). Even though I know you can't technically "catch up" on sleep, I haven't been able to fall asleep easily or feel really refreshed in the morning for a really long time.

Sometimes I find it hard to take a big step back and take a deep breath. I need to work on that. My usually spunky positive personality has been a bit more negative as of late, which is not like me.  One thing that has always de-stressed me is running. When I'm out there, I forget everything else and my mind has a chance to wander. I finish my run with a clear head and a smile on my face. I think this is one of the reasons I got hooked on running in the first place!

New, longer blog post coming soon. Tonight, I head to bed to prep for my first 15K of the season tomorrow. I leave you with some food for thought. I think we all need this reminder once and awhile.

xo

-Dianne

PS: I am addicted to Epicure's Pico Salsa mix. I seriously have made it 3 times in the last two weeks. I'm going through tomatoes like I'm going out of style! Quick and easy, the recipe includes tomatoes, cilantro, lemon juice, garlic and Epicure Pico spice. It's incredibly healthy too! If you like salsa, I definitely suggest you order some.

PPS: I can't help but be brand loyal to Nike. Really pumped about my new shirt that I treated myself to today. "There is no finish line" foreshadows the marathon training I will be doing once I heal up from whenever next baby comes around. Hopefully it gives me some good luck tomorrow!

.Confident

I'm not sure what it is, but this past little while my body confidence has gone up quite a bit. I think it's a mixture of people being so kind and telling me that I look great and it doesn't look like I had a baby, and that when I look in the mirror I can see sorta my abs again.

It also seems so mind blowing that almost 15 months ago they cut me open to get my baby out...

I think back over the last 15 months and feel good about the fact that I have worked really hard to get where I'm at. Even though my eating habits aren't really where I want them to be, the amount that I'm working out and doing physical activity is definitely paying off. I know I blogged quite a few months back about feeling a little bit jealous of the ladies who were able to lose the weight really fast after birth, however I'm pleased to say that I'm not feeling that way anymore for the most part!

That being said, the question that seems to be on everyone's minds is...when is #2 coming? I have to admit I'm not there yet. Kendrick is such an awesome baby, but now that he's walking he's a lot of work! I can't imagine chasing him around and having a newborn at the same time. Just the thought of it stresses me out a bit. Some of the moms that I have talked to with two have told me that you just do it, and it's not so bad but it still makes me so nervous! The thought of moving Kendrick to a toddler bed also is nerve wracking because right now he's all over the place in his crib. I can't imagine him actually sleeping in a bed and not getting out the second we put him down. On top of all this, the fact that I'm feeling good is also a reason why I'm not quite ready. It took so long to get back to a place where I'm happy and comfortable with my body, so I'm not quite ready to gain 50+ pounds again! Is that selfish? I don't mean to be. But I know the older you get the harder it is to bounce back from pregnancy so it's constantly weighing on my mind.

I've also made the decision that I'm going to start marathon training sometime after baby #2 comes. I don't think there's a point in starting now when my half marathon time is not where I'd like it to be (I'd like to get close to a time of two hours before I start marathon training, and currently my personal best is 2:33). I've still got quite a few races left this year leading up to the big Edmonton Half Marathon in August, and I'm still debating on whether I'm going to attempt to follow the 2:15 pace bunny or not. I've got a 10K in June and 2 15K's in July to start prepping, so I'm excited! My running this week was unfortunately put on a bit of a hold because of the horrible smoke in and around the Edmonton area that blew in, so I look forward to getting back at it next week. The air quality was only a 4/10 last weekend when I ran my first 10K of the season, and I during the race I didn't think it was that bad. However afterward I could feel it in my throat as it was sore, I lost my voice and my asthma started acting up. I'm still feeling the effects a week later!

I am guilty and fell off the meal planning wagon again! I need to make an effort to take the time to plan each week otherwise dinner seems to contain more calories (fast food) or eaten too late. I did however make a killer meatloaf tonight! This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found off pinterest by Inspired Taste, however here is my adapted recipe including hidden veggies for the toddler.

2 packages of lean ground turkey

2 eggs
2 tablespoons of Epicure Paris Spice
1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 cup of breton crackers, crushed

1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

7 tablespoons of tomato sauce + extra for the top

1 cup of applesauce

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 a cup of flaxseed

1-1 1/2 cups of finely chopped veggies (I used California mix frozen veggies which included carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, steamed them, and put them in the food processor)

1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Put mixture into a loaf pan, preferably one that drains the fat at the bottom (as there will be excess moisture from the cheese)  and add tomato sauce on top. Bake for about 50 minutes. The internal temperature should be around 160-170 when done. It was delicious!

Enjoy!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I ordered a ton of stuff from Epicure this week! I am so excited to get everything! I will be doing another large order in June, however in the mean time if you want to order something you can do so by clicking here. I recommend the Paris spice and the Pico salsa mix! SO GOOD!

PPS: Although I'm overall feeling good, I still want to get back to the flat stomach I used to have and seem to have hit a bit of a plateau. I'm having trouble losing that last pound or two around my stomach! I'm not sure if that's just exercises or just eating better that will drop the last couple pounds. Does anyone have any suggestions?

.Commitment

Hey blog? Did ya miss me?

It's been awhile since I've blogged and really my only excuse is that life happened. My little dude turned 14 months old today. Every day I take a moment to sit and just stare at him and thank God for all of my blessings. I am truly blessed and so lucky!

After a bit of a lull in workouts due to some after hours work commitments (and me just having a hard time waking up in the morning), I've gotten back on track. I've continued to lead a group every week to do stairs for an hour at lunch time once a week, and I'm starting to notice results! My goal is to make it all the way up the 202 stairs without walking and after the last time I made it up 3/4 of the way almost every time! Even doing this once a week has made a difference and it's definitely inspired me to continue to lead this project every week!

I also joined our company running club last week, and wow was I in for a run for my money! I already knew that some of the people running were faster than me (as they mentioned the last time they ran they ran about 10.5K in an hour), but it ended being a great learning experience. I ended up running 7.26K at a 6:12/K pace - which is quite a bit faster than my average running speed. I actually ran 5K in 30:29 - which makes that my fastest 5K...EVER! It made me get to thinking that maybe I'm not pushing myself quite hard enough when I go for runs on my own. If that pace is do-able for 7.26K, maybe it could be do-able for 10! My goal eventually is to get my 10K time under an hour and as luck would have it, I actually have a 10K run booked for this weekend! I plan to do a couple more runs before the big race so we'll see if I can push myself a little harder during training and really kill it this weekend.

On top of running and stairs, I also joined the Blitz Conditioning's outdoor bootcamp! I absolutely love bootcamp, and working out outdoors (despite the fact that all the fluff in the air is making my allergies crazy) is one of my favourite things to do! Unfortunately our first class happened to fall on I'm pretty sure the hottest day of the year which made it a little bit tough, but we powered through and I drank a lot of water! Props to my cousin Adriana for signing up with me so I always have a work out buddy!

Now that our house is on the market, we've been doing some extra budgeting and I started meal planning again! Confession: I hadn't meal planned since my blog post back in March!! Here is myplan for the week:

Monday: Dill Pickle Soup - this actually turned out delicious and was even a big hit for my son!

Tuesday: Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken - substituting pineapple sauce because I could not find any teriyaki sauce that didn't have soy in it.

Wednesday: Cheeseburger Gnocchi - we had this last week and it was so delicious I'm making it again!

Thursday: Cabbage Roll Soup - this sounds amazing!

Friday: Leftovers or take out

I find that when I meal plan I spend less on groceries as I only buy what I need for the week! I also find it's a lot easier to follow my plan if I prep the night before. Last night I cut up the potatoes, carrots and pickles and through them in a giant freezer bag with the chicken stock and spices. Then when I got home from work today I took it out of the fridge and threw it straight in the pot - which was very helpful and made things easy while I was dealing with a baby toddling around and wanting attention. What are your favourite recipes? If you are looking for some new ones, check out my Pinterest page - I have a section specifically for recipes I've tried and loved!

That's all for now! I've been going to bed late for almost two weeks now so I don't know what's wrong with my body clock. I need more sleep!

xo

-Dianne

PS: I've been thinking more and more about following a pace bunny for the Edmonton 1/2 Marathon and the more I think about it, the more I'm going to do it. I think my problem is I usually start out faster in races because I'm feeling really good, but as I keep going I start to taper off. Maybe this will teach me some planning and have me run a more consistent pace throughout. I officially registered for the race (along with the Canada Day Road Race which is one of my favourites to run every year), so I'm getting really pumped for this summer!

PPS: I started selling Epicure! Don't worry, Stella & Dot is still my main squeeze, but I decided to take the plunge as I absolutely LOVE their products! Feel free to check out the product here - I have an online party open right now until May 21! Happy shopping!