Whew!!!

That was a busy few weeks but the Run for the Cure in Abbotsford went off for the most part without a hitch and I am now returning to the land of actually having time to breathe! YEAH! I have a few more run related events coming up, I also have to tidy up my basement! It currently looks as though the Run for the Cure threw up all over my house! My basement has become the temporary storage area for everything until we can get it all sorted, packed and labelled so that the people who need it next year will have it.

Working with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, CIBC Run for the Cure has been an enlightening experience. As with any major event's, you don't go without your hiccups or false starts but we did it! We had a phenomenal turn out at this year's race with over 1800 participants, over $291,000(and still counting) and we had over 100 volunteers help out. It was indeed a sight to be seen and it's something that I am very proud to have been a part of! See some of my amazing committee below!




So now what? Now that the Run is done, life is coming back to normal what's next for Katie? Getting moving again. I haven't done a lot of swimming the past two weeks, simply no time! However, I figure I did enough excercise on Saturday and Sunday make up for that and the next two weeks as well. I will be hitting the pool at 8am tomorrow morning for my aqua spinning class. I'm off of work as I work on the weekend and I'm quite happy to be able to take in an aqua spin class. I've missed going for the past two weeks so this is a good thing to my way of thinking!

So I hope you all have a fabulous Friday, and I WILL be talking to to you tomorrow! Have a great evening everyone!

Doing all right.

Hi Everyone~~~~~~~~~

I'm still here and I'm doing all right. Work has been insanely busy with product launches, training, new promotions and the usual insanity that comes along with it. I've also been incredibly busy getting ready for the Run for the Cure. I'm the Co-Run Director in Charge of Logistics for the Abbotsford/Fraser Valley, Canadian Breast Cancer Foundaton, CIBC Run for the Cure. As the run is literally 3 weeks away, I have a tonne of stuff to get accomplished and very little time to get it done in. Add to that all of the fund raising events that are happening and I'm beginning to wonder if I'm going to lose my mind by the time everything is said and done, but it is all good.

I am keeping on track with points and activity. I actually hit a new high of 17 laps today at the pool in 45 minutes AND I've moved in to the medium speed lane. I think this is a good thing.

This coming week is the calm before the storm. I only have one run related meeting and no conference call this week, however next week is when the flurry of activity hits into high gear.

In case you didn't know the Run for the Cure is the Largest Volunteer driven event in Canada. Each run site is put together with a committee of volunteers who volunteer their time, and energy to pull the run together and make sure it goes off without a hitch. You can do one of two runs, a 1km fun run/walk or a 5km walk/run. All of the money raised goes to support breast cancer awareness, support and research.

If you haven't already registered for the run in your area,or would like more information go to www.runforthecure.com find the run site nearest you and see what it's all about. If you don't want to particpate, you can always volunteer or go down to the urn site on run day and cheer on the participants. I guarantee, you won't regret it!

Bad Blogger!

Yes I've been a bad blogger! I haven't been blogging. I keep meaning to and then before I know it, I'm laying in bed and I'm thinking to myself. I didn't blog again!

I'm sorry....it's been an eventful two weeks and I've had quite a few Non Scale Victories. The swimming is going well. I'm still enjoying it and I managed to find two new tankini tops that will hopefully get me through the winter. I've been busy attending all sorts of product training. It's that time of year in the travel industry when all of the suppliers host their breakfast or dinner training shows. I've been pretty busy with work, and volunteer stuff for the CBCF CIBC Run for the Cure, but my hubby and I even managed to get down to Seattle last saturday to take in a ball game. The Minnesota Twins were in Seattle! It was a fun day filled with lots to do and see.

So that's been the past two weeks in a very small nut shell. Now onto the exciting stuff!

Non Scale Victory #1? I got my Tankini's in SEARS! Yes indeed, I was able to buy not one, but two tankini's in SEARS! YEAH! They were even on sale, so it was like two for the price of one! YEAH ME!

Non Scale Victory #2? I managed to get swimming in every day, even if it meant getting up at 6am to head to the pool to swim laps before work as I had after work training sessions.

Non Scale Victory #3? I managed to eat healthily despite dinner presentations and in the five shows I attended I only had one desert and that was a fruit desert that only cost me 4 points(including the whipped cream!)

Non Scale Victory #4? Even at the ball game, fast food mecca that it is, between the foot long hot dogs, the hamburgers the size of your head, the Ivars Fish and Chips, the Garlic Fries, the Nachos...I could go on and on, I ate healthily. How do you ask? Safeco field has Sushi! That's right, I had california rolls at the ball game and they only cost me 6 points! WAHOO!! Dinner on the way home was a salad with grilled chicken with low fat vinagrette on the side..... Oh HAPPY DANCE!!!
I took in a ball game, ate out Breakfast, lunch and dinner and still had points left to munch on Smart Pop microwave popcorn later that night!

So...how was your week?

Aqua Fit.

I'm thinking that my Rec centre should be giving me a discount, last week I brought my mom and introduced her to Aquafit. Last night, it was my sister, my brother in law, and my next door neighbour! YEAH US!!! I went to the pool right after work, did 15 laps today! WAHOO!!! Then I got out of the pool to rest for a few minutes before starting Aqua Fit. We had a sub instructor today and I have to tell you, I really enjoyed her better than our usual instructor. She was fabulous! All in all, I earned 17 activity points! How do you like them apples! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Still no excuses!!!

I'm sorry...I really am, I'm still here, I've just been so blinking busy! I really and truly have. I have been meaning to get caught up but I haven't had a chance so let's do a real quick recap of the past five days.

1. Wednesday night, I went to aquafit class and my mom, who is terrified of water and hates it with a passion, (and rightfully so, I may add). Went to her doctor and he was happy with the progress of her blood pressure and her diabetes, but told her he wanted her to get moving, even if it was just moving back and forth in the water. So...long story short, and what should be a blog in and of itself, my mom came to aqua fit, she stayed by the wall so that she could hold onto it but she did it and I'm soooo proud of her!

2. Thursday was a typical work day and I hit the pool on my way home from work, managed to do my 13 laps again. Happy day happy day! Stayed on track with points and all!

3. Friday, was supposed to be a day off, but I ended up having to go into Burnaby for a training session so I was up and on the road by 6am, had a meeting with my co run director for the Run for the Cure, came home, made dinner...then took the dog for a nice walk instead of swimming, truth be told, I forgot to hang my suit up on Thursday night, it was still wet on Friday when I realized that my gym bag was still in the trunk so no swimming on Friday.

4. Saturday. I needed to get another tankini top as yesterday's experience was sticking in my craw a little bit, so off my mom and I went to find one. Went to AdditionElle, went to Pennington's and they both had nothing left. Ended up buying a one piece swim suit that I've had to take apart and remake as it was too big for me, but oh well. Saturday night, we test drove that newly remade tankini top and hit the pool. I did 15 laps on saturday. Wahoo!!

Sunday!!!!! Dohm, da dah de dohm....WEIGH IN DAY!!!!
EEEEKKKK!!! The weigh in has not done so good for me the past couple of week so I was a little nervous about it but for no real reason, down almost 3 pounds!!! WAHOOO!!!!

There's something to be said for this swimming after all! My husband and I decided that we were going to do a road trip so we packed up Angus and headed out to Keremeos to buy our canning fruit and tomato's. 40 pounds of tomato's to pack this week and I just don't know when the heck I'm going to get it done! That's another post though...back to sunday, so after driving round trip 546km's, what did Katie do? Did she sit on the couch and veg? Crawl into bed and nap? Start canning? None of the above! Katie went swimming! YEAH ME!!!! No excuses means no excuses and right now, I'm rocking the no excuse thing!

Have a fabulous monday everyone....

Faster...or...better????

I'm entering into week three of my new excercise regime swimming. My goal has been to swim 10 laps or 20 lengths of the pool. I have stayed on track and tried my hardest to keep swimming the whole way. There are a few times when I have had to stop as I'm sure I've just swallowed half of the water in the pool, but I keep going once I get my breath back.

Last night I worked until 530, and length swim is from 530 to 630. The first week of swimming, it was taking me almost the full hour to get my ten laps in. I was a little nervous last night as I wasn't sure if I would be able to get all 10 laps in. I arrived at the pool, quickly changed, showered and hit the pool at extactly 545pm. I got started on my laps and just went. There weren't that many people in the slow lane so I don't know really know if I was swimming faster than I have been. Or, if I've just gotten better. I was done my 10 laps in the pool and looked up at the big time clock as I finished my last lap and it was 618pm. I was in the water for not even 40 minutes yet I hit my goal of number of laps!

So the big question today....am I swimming faster, or just better? Am I improving my form or was it the time pressure in my mind that I had limited time to get my laps in? I guess I may have to judge it tonight when I hit the water. What do you think?

Pizza anyone?

So I had my pizza for dinner last night at my meeting. I had been looking forward to it all day. It has been at least three or four months since I last had pizza. I have learned that it's not all it's cracked up to be. I had my pizza becuase I was hungry and there weren't any other options. It was all right, it wasn't fabulous, it didn't make my body sing with joy. In fact just the opposite! I have to come to the conclusion today that my body, no longer likes pizza. It didn't have a pleasant effect on me in the middle of the night. My body let me know in no uncertain terms that pizza is no longer for me, my body was not happy with me!

So, out next meeting is in two weeks and again we'll be having pizza. I think I'll squeeze in dinner before I head to the meeting. At least that way my body with be happy with me!

No Excuses!

I have decided after last week's gain, I'm having a week of no excuses. There is no excuse not to exercise, there is no excuse not to eat properly, there is no excuse not to count my points! NO EXCUSES ALLOWED!!!

I have a busy day today, at work all day, and then a run meeting to organize and go to tonight. We're having pizza brought in for the meeting (I'm allowing myself one piece of veggie pizza) but with the timing of getting off of work and getting to the pool, and getting to my meeting, I realized last night that going to the pool would have to fall to the way side today.

I didn't get to the pool yesterday as I was working and we had company over, so I knew in my heart of hearts that I could not miss another day of swimming. No excuses!!

I didn't plan it but this morning when I got up with the dog at 545am, (yes he's an early riser and my husband and I take turns taking him out). I decided that instead of lounging around in the morning as I usually do, I would go to the pool. I did it! I went to the pool, arrived at 630AM, did my ten laps, and left the pool at 715am.

I'm thinking this is the best way to conquer this NO EXCUSES thing I've got going on this week! LOL!

Weigh in day

So today was my weigh in day. It didn't go well, it sucked. I was up almost a pound. I'm really surprised as I got in a lot of activity and I was careful with my points, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. So although I would like to put a big -Xpounds on here, I have to do the opposite and put +1 pound.

I did do pretty good today with my points, I was working by myself at the office and I always struggle with that, but I did drink my water and I brought my lunch with me which helps a lot. It meant that I didn't have to go to the food court or the vending machines. Which means that I stayed on plan even though I was feeling down about my weight gain.

However, today is a new day, the start of a new week so onwards and upwards!(or should that be downwards...you know what I mean though!)

This week may be a little bit harder than I would like. I didn't get my swim in today as the pool doesn't have a morning length swim and I couldn't go afterwork as we had company over for dinner. I won't be able to go tomorrow night after work as I have a meeting for the CBCF CIBC Run for the Cure. I'll have to make it up somehow. Not to worry though, I'll figure it out!

I'm on track....

...I realize it's been a while....all right it's been more than a month! But! I'm still here, and I'm on track. I've hit quite a few forks in the road in the last month but I'm doing really good again. I'm back on program, back to exercising and doing my best.

If you remember, I did the Weekend to end Women's Cancer's last year for the 2nd year in a row. Around Km53, I got a very sharp pain through my right knee and that pretty much ended the walk for me. It was to painful to walk and I hobbled my way to the medical tent and then took a sweeper van to the finish area where I hobbled down the last 500 meters of the walk to cross the finish line.

Well, I finally got my appointment with the specialist. I'm still on the waiting list for an MRI but with my leg giving out on me constantly and me actually falling off of exercise equipment and hurting my self, may family doctor sent me to see the specialist.

Dr. Rose was very nice, he sent me for a new batch of x-rays and two weeks after our initial consultation my husband came with me to see what the good Dr. had to say. Turns out, he can't quite diagnose me without the MRI. He thought I may have a stress fracture in my knee but the x-rays just couldn't see it clearly. He didn't want to send me for a bone scan as he didn't feel that would help us with the issue.

So what the doctor suggested is that my knee could quite simply be giving out. I'm very active and as he put it, I've got "extra load factors" on my knee. He told me to stop walking, stop stairclimbing, stop ellipticalling and get in the water!

Yes! Me! In water!!!!

To be perfectly honest I was upset! I haven't been in a bathing suit in too many years to count. I stopped swimming when I was about 16 years old and other people at the pool (kids mostly) would call me names as I was swimming. You can only handle being called a whale so many times before you stop going.

So here I am for the first time in over twenty years, donning a bathing suit and going into the water. I did have a bathing suit, it's hardly been worn but I wasn't comfortable with how it looks. It's a tankini, and the top is very nice but my concern is the that the bottom doesn't cover everything that it probably should so I found a pair of shorts I could wear and I've gotten into the pool.

It does amaze me that even though I haven't swam in over 20 years, it all comes back to you pretty quickly. Swimming is like riding a bike. You just remember how to do it. It's amazing isn't ithow our little kid just wants to come out and play? I have to re-learn the breathing techniques, I would love to be able to swim under water again but I'm enjoying my swimming. I try to go the pool at least four days a week for length swim. I'll be heading there tonight when I'm done work.

Question for the day....do you Swim? How do you measure your exertion level when swimming?