Tuesday, February 28, 2012

that's just cruel.

Really co-worker? Really? Is it absolutely necessary to put that large bowl of peanut M&Ms behind me when I have decided to give up "candy snacking" for lent? Also, I have given up going into the "cookie cupboard" at work and having 2 or 4 with my morning/afternoon tea.

I'm not a religious person, but this seems like a good time to get on the bandwagon and give up something I enjoy. Which for me, is CANDY CANDY CANDY!

Did I mention that there was still a giant glass jar of candy from valentine's on each floor? Don't these people know that I am weak against gummy candy and icy squares?!

Now each time I leave my desk I walk past that bowl of M&Ms. Ugh!

But please don't feel too sad for me and my horrible sad life ruining problem. I've factored in two cookies for the day.

In other news, I ran 15km on the weekend, which is the longest I have run in ...oh a few months maybe. It felt good-bad. As in, good to be doing it and glad I  can still pound out 15km, but I would have rather been fatting about on the couch, that's for dang sure.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

BONUS POST! It's a rant.

It irks me when people say "I did my first half marathon with only a thirty minute run a week before for training, it took me 2:15, but I'm soooooo not a natural runner."

YES YOU ARE so go run away and allow me to be slow and demonstrate what an ACTUAL non-natural runner is like.

Rant over!

a running tour!

OK this is sort of the worst running tour ever, as I miss nearly every major landmark in the city. But, here we go nonetheless! These were actually taken during a walk with the dog, who also makes an appearance in the tour!

Stop #1! The path on the way to the beach, and some large cement things left over from the old Gardiner Expressway.

Stop #2: Now we are at the beach!

Kites! When it's windy, there are kite flyers and kite boarders galore. Also there are lots of stand-up paddlers, and I would like to try that but it is prohibitively expensive.

Stop #3: Looking back at the skyline. Now we are on the way back home.
You can see the CN Tower. It used to be the world's tallest free-standing structure, but I think something in Dubai has surpassed it. It's pretty fun to go up, and now you can pay a bunch of money to walk around OUTSIDE ON THE EDGE. I have heard it is very thrilling.

Stop #4: Park with fountain - also a water fountain. A nice stop, since I usually need water at this point, about 8k in.

That's not the fountain I drink from, in case you were wondering. There's a nice little boardwalk around the fountain.

Stop #5 Is back at home. This is one of my neighbour's roses. I can't grow pretty things (FACT! I started my masters degree in the agriculture department. But my prof transferred, so I did to. I felt it was misleading for me to have an MSc agriculture with my terrible plant skills).

And here is a bones picture of the pooch, who is snoring away right now.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

someone call the "wahhhmbulance"

because I've got some first-world problems.

I am in the 4% of people who cannot under any circumstance pull off skinny jeans.

I defy you to find a pair of skinny jeans that does not make me look bizarrely proportioned. Old Navy? Gap? American Eagle? Banana Republic? Garage? Aeropostale? H&M? Forever 21 (I am disappointingly far from being 21)? Yes, I have tried them all.

When you factor in my unwillingness to pay more than ohhhh.....30$, and the fact that I typically take a long/tall inseam, and there are not many options left.

I have one pair of straight leg that works, so I will have to be satisfied with that.

Anyhoo, I realized that I need more skinny jeans for winter, as this will be the year that I actually buy boots instead of just saying "THIS is the year that I will buy boots!" and skinny jeans tuck easily into boots.

I'm also still on the lookout for crops. Again, please remember that I'm mad cheap and get anxiety spending money (it took me 4 days to decide whether or not to buy some nail polish. This included 'visiting' it twice during my lunch hour).

Thursday, September 29, 2011

bad news for my little dog!

Oh dear little dog! She with the filed down teeth and the case of whipworm, she has also tested positive for heartworm!

Long story short - Dogs that come from the Southern states should be tested 6 months after you get them, as heartworm can take a while to show up on tests. If you have a negative test and then get pet insurance, and test positive after, it's like the expensive (2000$) treatment will be covered. She's not showing symptoms but I am still sad for her. Poor lady. But, vet assures me she'll be OK, so I'm trying not to stress about it.

Running news! I hit 150 km (93 miles) for September! I wonder if I can get this up to 100 miles...I have 2 days. I think it's close to do-able. I'm in the lead for my "cumulative group distance challenge" by about 50 km, which is great.

Leisure news! I'm off to OKTOBERFEST this weekend! Not the world's second-largest in Kitchener-Waterloo, because I'm not an undergrad anymore and don't want to party with the 20 years old, but the Oktoberfest put on by a small brewery between Ottawa and Montreal! Husby says he will not enter the spouse-carrying contest with me.

I'm starting to look for some cool-weather running crops - does anyone have any reco's that aren't Lululemon and are cute, have at least a key pocket, and something reflective so I am moderately visible?

Friday, September 16, 2011

Lululemon/Ivivva fit comparison - Rhythmic crop II *gym

Hey you know how I'm really cheap? It's true! I wanted new inspire crops from Lulu, but 86$? Do not like. So, I checked out the Ivivva sizing and in theory, I am a bang on size 14. So, I got some crops to try.

I got the Rhythmic crop II *gym (48$, + less tax on kid's clothes). They're made of power luxtreme and have a waistband pocket in the back. They're plain black.

I find in Lulu I'm usually *right* between a 4 and a 6, and get indecisive, and end up disliking both sizes, so hope this would be my solution.

When I opened the package, my first thought was "Good god these look small." My second was "In theory they should fit really well calm down." Also to note is that they're not hemmed. They have bar tacks up the leg, so oyu could cut them to your desired size. Lululemon will hem Ivivva stuff, so they might hem these.

So, here are the pictures. Yes I am currently awaiting my fine arts awards. They are terrible and I am aware of that. I'm wearing size 6 inspire crops from Lulu, the Ivivva rhythmic crops in 14, and speed shorts in a size 4.


- The Inspires give me a little bit of muffinage, and feel pretty tight in the calves. They're great for running and this size never slips down or anything when I'm running.
- The Ivivvas feel about the same. Holding them up together, there's maybe a half-inch difference in the waistband. They also feel snug and supportive, in a good way.
- Speeds also poke in right at my back bacon area, but feel really comfy.

- The Ivivva crops seem to be a little bit longer. It's negligible. This might be an issue if I decide to hem them. For reference, I take a 34" inseam. If you normally get stuff hemmed at Lulu, you're good to go for sure.

- Yeah that's my *ss. Looks not too bad, so this definitely is a point in the "keep them" column.

SUMMARY
- If you're a solid 4, you can definitely swing Ivivva size 14. If you're a 2, you could probably size down. If you're a 6 in speed shorts, it might be tight.
- I find power luxtreme fits a little small, so other things might be OK if you're a 6.
- I am curious if these give me too much muffin top. Please let me know if they do.
- They feel really supportive. I think they'd be good for running. No drawstring but they're tight enough without it for me.
- I think the shirts would fit me OK, except I have freakishly long arms. If you've got a short torso, you could definitely swing their tanks.
- I'll probably keep them if Lulu can hem them without taking too much length off.

Monday, September 12, 2011

I ran 25km and I'm never doing it again. And a gear review.

Yes, that was my Saturday afternoon. Running 25km, then lying on the couch feeling nauseous and heatstrokey/dehydrated, despite drinking over a litre of water on my run. It passed after a few hours and I am actually not sore at all, so I guess it wasn't a total disaster. But, I realized that I am not a long long distance runner, and I think I enjoy 12-15km best at this point in my life.

I've never carried water on a run before. This was my first time testing out mine - I would provide a link but it's not even on the MEC website anymore. Anyway, it's a bottle with a neoprene hand-hold, with a zippy pocket built in. Basically the same as this one.

REVIEW!
- I hate carrying things while running and the neoprene made my hand really sweaty
- The pocket was great because I didn't have to try and get my key off my keychain, but in hindsight I should have stuffed that dang pocket with electrolytes and not keys. This does not affect my review because this is my own fault and not the pocket's fault.
- I did not like the valve. Trying to suck water out was horrible. I am a thirsty sweaty girl I need water quickly. I ended up stopping and screwing the lid off and guzzling the water.
- On second thought, the neoprene might be good because my sweaty paws would possibly drop a plain plastic water bottle.

Overall: 3/5.

**Disclaimer: Please be aware that no one gave me this bottle for free to try. This is not that kind of blog. No one gives me anything free because I only have 4 followers. I don't have another one to give away, but you can all have my love and affection!**

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was great because it involved brunch, which involved waffles and mimosas.

ALSO, I suffered through the run with a terrible audiobook. The horrible writing and bad plot are made worse by the narrator, who sounds like a ditzy 11 year old. Please send me any audiobook recommendations you have. I don't know if I can even finish this one.

This post sounds really cranky. But, please be aware that I am not always an angry person and am actually moderately pleased with myself for running 25km. It's just a Monday, that's all, so I am out of sorts.