Weekly Round-Up

I wasn't so active last week. I was exhausted on Thursday and wasn't sure what was going on then Friday I was under the weather with whatever mystery malady I have. I'm still not up to par. I had a couple of job interviews this week as well. One I am interested in, the other not so much. I also went on a boat cruise Monday night through the Pheasant Plucker and its sister restaurants. It was really fun! The band was great and did fantastic covers of songs from my late highschool early university days. We were on the Hamilton Harbour Queen and it tooled around the bay. The weather was perfect. I also got my bike tuned up and two new wheels I went to the New Hope Bike Co-op. I Highly recommend them. the work thatI had done only cost $55. They were done quickly but I wasn't able to pick it up for a week because of other commitments. I'm hoping to get to a clinic when they offer one.

I've just been pretty busy and wasn't making time for the gym. Today though I was meeting friends downtown for brunch at The Augusta House. I went yesterday and had the eggs benny and it was fantastic and it's my only weekend off all summer so I decided I may as well head back down there again. This time I had the banana french toast. Equally as wonderful and a large serving. I rode my bike down. It was perfect weather. I quibbled about whether or not I wanted to attempt riding home. I would take the rail trail so it would have been a gradual elevation as opposed to riding up the jolly cut which is pretty steep. I wussed out though and ended up busing home. Like I said, I'm still not up to par so I wasn't sure how I'd feel and just pictured myself getting worse and being stuck half way home and forcing myself to either get up the hill or head back down and needing a ride home. One day I will though! One day.

A friend of mine told me about the Glowing Green Smoothie. I'm not a medical professional by any means and frankly, it sounded disgusting. I made up a batch one day out of boredom and because I happened to have all of the ingredients. It was gross, not disgusting. I did learn that you could change up the recipe though and began exploring other fruits and vegetables to trow in. Carrot papaya didn't go so well. There was also just a batch I threw random fruit into. I did find this recipe for a peach ginger number that was delish. I used the 'green' base from the glowing green and the fruit base from this and it was great. To keep the carbohydrates down, for my diabetes I left out the honey. It's the perfect time of year to pick up our Ontario Peaches.

I talked to my dietitian about smoothies and she's not a huge fan as they don't often provide enough protein and psychologically your body gets full from chewing. So, a piece of bread and pb is just as beneficial as a smoothie. Additionally, she recommended not messing around with costly protein powders and said that powdered milk adds the same protein and is more affordable. Overall, she is not supportive of smoothies. She said they're better than juices though because they at least have fibre in them. What IS great about smoothies is that I can make up a batch for the week and just pour them the night before and bring them along in the morning as I am NOT AT ALL a morning person I find them very convenient because some mornings I don't even have the will to chew. If you're someone who needs to get your bowels moving with a morning coffee and are trying to cut back, the green smoothies seem to do the job too. I don't drink coffee, nor do I have issue with morning movement, but definitely noticed the difference.

Anyways, that's about all. Lots of links for you to peruse. Have a great week!

"Believe that you can run farther or faster.

 Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself." - John Bingham

10 K @ 8'25

With that pace I knocked off 5 minutes from my time last week. I'm not assigning much meaning to it though, as I like to work out a nice average. Last week I really reserved a lot of energy for the end of the run being unsure of whether or not I could even make 10K. I knew I could so this week I had a much more even pace.

I enjoyed my run I went along the escarpment. At one set of lights  I waited for the light to change there was another runner across from me. The traffic light changed but the pedestrian crossing hadn't and I thought perhaps that there was an advanced green or something so I waited. I hadn't noticed the button at the pedestrian crossing and finally the other lady and I both shrugged at each other and crossed regardless. Later on, during my return I passed the same women and gave a smile and raised my arms in victory she laughed and did the same. It's those moments when I truly enjoy running when in a moment you form a kinship with a complete stranger.

This week was much warmer for my run as I went at midday due to scheduling. IE a coffee date with my RM this evening (it's our 10 year anniversary). I normally don't have a hydration problem as as avid water drinker. When I lived in BC and people came over I could offer them water and milk to drink if I hadn't been expecting them. Today however, I could feel my lips drying out as I ran. As someone with diabetes, I clearly have to count my carbs and feel it's a waste to drink juice. When I got home today though as soon as I walked in that door I walked immediately to the fridge and reached for some Oceanspray cran-raspberry cocktail. It's made with Splenda and ony 40 calories per serving. It was actually a treat for me! I savoured every sip. Then downed a bottle of water. As I sipped at my juice it got me thinking of all the beverage options out there. Thus, I begin the beverage series in my blog.

I used to HATE sugar alternatives and refused to use them. Then I was diagnosed with diabetes and didn't really have much choice. I love me my water but sometimes I need a little something with flavour. Thus, I have embarked on a flavour tour of sugarless beverages. I do not drink pop. So those were easily ruled out. I used to despise Crystal Light, but when you don't have any other choice you learn to like them. The problem with them is the powdery flavour. Certain kinds are better than others. My favourite is the lemon lime. Nestea Zero is TERRIBLE I had it right after I was diagnosed and heartily disliked it. More recently I've tried it again becoming more accustomed to the sugar free scene. It is still TERRIBLE. I've also tried the MIO. It's bad. I may as well just dump a Splenda into my water. Plus, I find it ridiculously expensive. Crystal Light is overpriced in my mind too but I haven't found anything else as good. I find that the G20 series by Gatorade is good. It is not 0 calorie though.

 

On an unrelated note I share this video with you as I find it amazing what the human body is capable of (like my legs hauling 225 pound of me for 10 Kilometres), it's called the beauty of movement and the Olympics reminded me how gorgeous athleticism is and I friggin' LOVE Parkour.