Better Late Than Never!

Hello blog land! 

I’m officially a few hours late with this post but it has been a crazy day…..and a crazy week! Trying to get EVERYTHING done before Spring Break begins on Monday has pretty much tipped me over the edge.

March happens to be one the busiest months in dance studio world. First week is Spring Break but instead of closing and taking the week off we hold a day camp so we actually end up with more work than we would on a normal week! Annnnnd…..It’s officially the start of competition season which means I have been drowning in planning, scheduling and rehearsing.

Other than work, I’ve also been planning for next week’s trip to New York with the hubby. We will be leaving the kiddos with their godparents for 5 days (Cue crazy laughter….bahahahahaaaaa)  It will also be our 11 year wedding anniversary and we will be celebrating in style, sans enfants 😉  Okay so our reason for choosing NY may sound romantic but really it’s because we will be going to a fabulous Tony Robbins conference -see My Ultimate MOTIVATOR for all the details!!

All exciting stuff but just a lot of planning and preparation for our trip, the kids trip and tying up the loose ends at work.

So the question is how much running did I get in this week? Ummmm…..not much honestly. Life took over and I only ran twice and not for very long either. All I could think of was how fast could I finish the workout so I could get some real work done. Same goes for writing and healthy eating, basically the whole week was a bust.

It’s okay though, I’m not going to get too upset with myself-just aim to do better next week. Although maybe some early planning would have helped…I will admit to being a HUGE procrastinator. I can put off doing something for 3 weeks then get it done in 30 minutes once I really have to. On the other hand, maybe finding an extra 5 -10 hours a day would help me during times like these…if anyone knows how to do this PLEASE pass along your info!!

The highlight of my week was coming home last night from teaching and opening the mail. Naturally I threw the bills and other boring letters over to my husband and went straight for the package 😉 Turns out my favorite aunt, who happens to be one of the most amazing, loving, caring and generous people I know, sent me a book. For no reason. It’s not my birthday. It’s not Christmas. She just saw it, bought it and sent it along to me….from Singapore. Yes, she lives in Singapore. No one should ever send anything via the mail from Singapore, they charge you the equivalent of a small mortgage.

Thank you my fabulous Aunt!!

Your little gift will help me to refocus and JUST RUN this coming week!

#GoRunnerGo   🙂

Cross Training for Parents 101

This past weekend we finally had some “mild” weather….

Dressed for “mild” weather

With this lovely weekend forecast, hubby and I decided to take the kids sledding on the mountain. It has been such a cold winter that we really haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy many outdoor activities. So when given this opportunity, we went for it! We anticipated a lovely day of sledding on the mountain with a few hot chocolate breaks in between.

We definitely got what we wanted….and as always with kids, we got more….much more!!  😉

Mistake #1

Walking from the car to the mountain was equivalent to marathon distance for a 3 and 6 year old waddling in snow gear.

Kids: Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Us: Yes!! This is it guys, we are here!!

Kids: Then why are we still walking??

Mistake #2

It did not occur to us to put a rope through the sleigh in order to pull them back up the mountain.

As we passed other families pulling their smiling little ones on sleighs, our kids just stared at them and then gave us the evil eye as they exclaimed…Mommy! Daddy! Look at THOSE kids!!! Look what THEIR parents did!

Mistake #3

Picking Chloe up the first time meant picking her up EVERY TIME. If we did not comply she promptly fell face down into the snow…possibly on purpose?? And once she was down, Zach followed…before we knew it we were all down….

Chloe: Mommy?! Mama?! Daddy?! UP!!!!

Zach: Me too?? Pleeeeeeeeease!!!!

Us: No. Let’s all lie down and nap.

No one wants to get up so maybe we should just make snow angels?

Mistake #4

Leaving the snacks in the car.

Within 5 minutes of getting to the top, both kids announce they are hungry and want a snack.Whaaat??? Seriously guys? No joke, they had eaten nonstop during the entire 20 minute car ride it took to get to the mountain.

Unexpected Bonus: Cross Training!!

Fabulous full body workout trekking up the mountain carrying 35lbs of little girl 😉

(Minor) Drawback

I carried Chloe a few times, then like a good wife passed the duty on my husband. He was NOT impressed!

Cross Training for Parents 101

Despite the craziness and a few difficulties, we really did have a great time. We got in some unexpected workouts (!) and we were all 1000% EXHAUSTED by the end.

And there’s nothing better than enhancing exhaustion with a massive hot chocolate sugar overload….

Awesome Parenting Tip #25: Exhausted kids? Give them a cup of sugar and let the fun begin 😉

Only one thought remains….we have done our duty as parents and encouraged our children to enjoy the great Canadian outdoors. Skating was checked off the list and now sledding too. Yay!

So can SPRING hurry up already????? I am sick of this winter wonderland!!

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

#HempLove and Give-A-Way!

As I journey through the months leading up to my first ever marathon, I have taken on a more serious approach to eating clean. So when I was offered the opportunity to sample and review #HempHearts for Manitoba Harvest Foods I was really excited! I had seen their products in local stores and even previously tried the HempPro 70 Chocolate Protein Powder  after receiving a sample of it through the #SweatPink community. I love the protein powder and have been using it ever since however #HempHearts were new to me.

So first question if you don’t know anything about this product, is what is hemp exactly? Well all the details you need to know can be found here and here! 

However very simply put, hemp hearts are raw shelled hemp seeds. They have a taste similar to pine nuts or sunflower seeds, they come in this fun little package and they pretty much go with EVERYTHING! From smoothies, shakes and yogurts to salads, soups and pasta, you can use hemp hearts to season pretty much any meal or snack. And as per the company’s info –Hemp Hearts have more protein and omegas and less carbs than the same serving of chia or flax. Now how awesome is that? Not to mention my kids LOVED them!! They had so much fun sprinkling the hemp hearts on their food and it was an easy sell taste wise too! Can’t beat that 😉

To top it off, if you are in need of a little inspiration Manitoba Harvest Foods has a fabulous Recipe Page that lists simple to prepare and delicious meal and snack ideas. I encourage you to try some out, they are amazing!!

      

I really enjoyed sampling the #HempHearts and will now be adding them to my grocery list along with the HempPro 70 Chocolate powder–which has a smooth and delicious chocolaty taste!!

GIVE-A-WAY ALERT!!! Manitoba Harvest is giving away a bag of Hemp Hearts to one lucky reader!! All you have to do is comment on this blog post and like my FB page: Montreal Runner Mom. Then follow @ManitobaHarvest on IG or Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. Use the hashtag #HempHearts for a better chance of getting noticed!!

Winner will be chosen at random and announced on my FB page on Wednesday February 25th 2015 then Manitoba Harvest will send out your prize 🙂

I am so proud to support this fabulous Canadian company and their delicious, healthy and easy to use products! Thank you Manitoba Harvest Foods and Sweat Pink!! 

Don’t forget to enter the GIVE-A -WAY today!!!

                                  

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

Surprise 15km Success!

I did not expect to have a great run today…I woke up with a headache and a very annoying recurring hip pain, the temperature outside was minus 25 (!), I knew I had a very packed schedule of things to do today and everything got off to a really late start because my car wouldn’t start and hubby had to come back to boost it after dropping the kids at school. So by the time I got to the gym, I was super cranky. In fact I almost didn’t go. It was one of those times when you are in major conflict with that inner voice- I don’t want to go to the gym. You have to go to the gym. Don’t want to, have to…..

However, I am so glad I did because…..I broke 15km of continuous running this morning! Wow! I did not expect things to turn around like that! This makes me feel confident that the half marathon is well within reach. I managed to get into The Zone despite my cranky morning and stay there until I reached success 🙂 Of course now, I am dead tired, super stiff, sore and seriously in need of a nap but it feels AWESOME!!!

Perhaps I owe some of today’s success to the Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods products that I have been sampling the past few days? Not sure but maybe, just maybe! As a #Sweat Pink Ambassador, I have been fortunate enough to be able to sample some of these fabulous products and will be providing feedback at the end of this week after I try out a few more recipes!

Blog review and FB giveaway coming up this Friday! So stay tuned!

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

Valentine’s Day

What does Valentine’s Day mean to you? Is it chocolate and flowers? A romantic dinner for two? DIY Valentine’s cards that took 2 hours to make for your child’s school friends? Or just a random warm and fuzzy commercial reason to help us get through the most arctic month of the year?

For my family it’s definitely all of the above but also a little more…. Yes, the hubby and I will go out for a nice romantic dinner. Yes, our little ones for weeks now, have eagerly been anticipating a chocolate, heart and teddy bear filled day. And yes, it is a super commercial excuse to buy junk we don’t need. Doesn’t mean we won’t participate a little though…after all it is also just plain old fun 🙂

Despite all this, I would also like to propose a little more. Maybe this year in addition to the typical Valentine’s celebrations, we could actually take a moment to teach our children that it’s more than just chocolate and flowers.

This is a great opportunity to show our kids that love comes in many forms. Family love, friendship love, romantic love, love for the activities and ideas we are passionate about, love of nature and so much more!

So this year, I will encourage my little family to do the following:

• Tell a friend why they love and appreciate them
• Call a grandparent and let them know they are loved
• Remember and acknowledge the love they had for someone who is no longer in our daily lives.
• Identify the things they love most about themselves and about the world around them.
• Remember to love with their words and their actions all year long, not just on this cinnamon heart filled weekend 😉
• Look for unconventional sources of love in our community and around the world. It is important to teach children that all love is beautiful even when it is different from our own.

No matter how many things differentiate us from one another, the one thing that binds every single human being on this planet together is love. We all want to love and be loved. Even though we are bombarded daily with news stories and images of atrocities world wide, each and every person wants the same thing. Love.

So from my little corner of the world to yours…Happy Valentine’s Day! May you be surrounded by the ones you love and pass on some love to others too.

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

Kids and Competitive Sports

A topic that comes up a lot in my life is kids and competition. There seems to be two camps and I see both within my job as a dance studio owner and also as a mom. There are the ultra competitive families who are in it to win at all costs and there are those who just want their kids to have fun. That second group often wants to compete as well but they want to do it for fun…sometimes I even wonder if it’s just for the prestige of saying they or their children are competitive athletes….

Competition just for fun? Sure it’s fun but I believe there has to be more to it than that.

When I started running, I knew instantly that I would race. It wasn’t even a question in my mind. The major reason I enter races is because I need to feel that I am in a constant competitive state with myself in order to improve. Every race has as a goal to beat a previous race time. Nothing else. Yes it’s fun, yes it’s exciting but there is a purpose. The purpose is become a better runner with every step I take. Running is a competition against myself but without the competitive environment of a racing, I believe it would be so much harder for me to improve.

In terms of my dance students I believe it should be the same. If you are going to be in any competitive sport, dance or otherwise, it should be because you have as a goal to achieve your absolute best. And that takes WORK. Serious hard core work. Work means sacrifice and sacrifice is not always fun. However the results are 🙂

I once had a client who told me that when her children were young she felt that they weren’t naturally competitive enough. They didn’t seem to strive to be the best they could be in anything. Knowing the best way to lead is by example, she took matters into her own hands. She signed up for a triathlon. Just like that. A triathlon. She had been athletic in high school but now she was a regular mom with a job and 3 kids. She began the training and had her kids watch as much as possible as she ran around her neighborhood, swam laps in her pool and biked everywhere. She even found the previous year’s winner online and showed her kids the winning time to beat.The kids timed her, encouraged her and were there at the finish line cheering her on. She was so determined that she even made the podium at the race. She wanted to show her kids that as much as anything is possible, it also takes a serious amount of hard work to achieve something big.

My client told me this story backstage at a dance competition moments before her daughter was to go onstage. Her daughter was by far one of the most naturally competitive kids I have ever taught. This lovely little girl also had a brother who was a competitive hockey player and a sister who was a competitive swimmer. All three kids were academically competitive and successful as well. It was amazing to see how the experience of watching their mom train and compete in a triathlon years before had really shaped their outlook on life.

This is what it comes down to….hoping and wishing for good luck do not bring success. Incredibly hard work and pushing yourself to your limits do. Competition is a good thing for everyone because it pushes you to be the best you can be. I really believe that if children learn to be competitive in sports at an early age, they will carry that through into their adult lives and careers. However they also need to be taught that being competitive is not always going to be fun and games and actually that is the most important part of the lesson.

I found my client’s story to be incredibly inspirational. It is the reason I want my kids to see me run and be there at every finish line that I cross. I want them to know that it takes hard work but that the rewards of being competitive in sports or anything else are what give you the results and ultimately the life you want. When my children are a little older and they find something they love to do, I will wholeheartedly encourage them to pursue it competitively in order for them to learn what I believe to be are some very valuable life lessons.

What’s your take on kids and competition? 

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

Get Into The Zone

The Zone….I feel like it’s eluded me for most of my life but now….now…I’ve finally seen it, experienced it and it feels like the fog has lifted! It’s happened enough times that I now feel confident trying to harness at will rather than stumble across it by accident. It’s a curious thing The Zone, I’ve certainly heard of it hundreds of times before but I don’t think I ever really understood it until now.

A little while ago I came to the realization that there’s a point in my run where I literally zone out of all conscious thoughts and enter essentially the Twilight Zone. It’s a bit unnerving and amazing all at the same time!

When this happens, I no longer notice things or people around me, I tend to focus in and stare at something in particular like the road in front of me or the numbers flashing on the treadmill. It tends to come on slowly and builds quietly until I am full on in it. Then, I no longer even notice that I’m running, it becomes more like gliding or flying!  It is effortless and beautiful and it is in this space that I can feel my body growing stronger and faster.

The Zone tends to come on after a particularly difficult section of the run, usually after I get passed the voices telling me to quit. Then the most irritating thing occurs. Often, as soon I realize I’m there, I lose it and fall back into the incessant noise and conversations in my head.

After experiencing The Zone during a run, I can see that there is a method and secret to this madness. I just need to harness it.

Similarly, I have been aiming to lengthen the focus periods that I have in other areas of my life. Whether it’s when I’m writing, learning a new skill, working on tedious administrative work or even creating routines for my dance students, I have been timing my focus periods with a stopwatch. Sounds a little crazy I know….

I defined a focus period as the amount of time I spent on the chosen activity without any interruption. Interruptions included the obvious like breaking for snacks, social media, answering the phone etc…to the obscure and much more difficult to measure, deviation in thought process on the assigned task.

When I first began timing my focus periods, I was at an embarrassing 5-10 minutes limit. No wonder it was sometimes taking me forever to complete a task from start to finish! I was constantly thinking of other things and doing other things at the same time. Slowly by slowly and literally minute by minute on the stopwatch, I have been able to extend these focus periods. The results have been amazing. I have been able to cut in half the time it takes me to do almost everything. Tasks I naturally enjoy literally take no time at all and tasks that are more tedious to me take half the time they used to and don’t seem so bad any more. Now I actually enjoy trying to complete a task and beat previous time records. This doesn’t mean I am rushing thought my work but rather I consciously block out all distractions and force my mind to only think about what I am doing. Much easier said than done for sure! Each time it require great mental effort. However I must credit yoga for being a great help in this area too. Yoga has taught me how to quiet the constant chatter in my head and really focus in on the thoughts that are central to what’s necessary.

All to say that The Zone during a run is very similar. It’s all mental. Training myself to get to The Zone and stay there longer all while knowing I’m in it, is the magical key to running further, faster and longer. Not to mention it feels amazing!!!

Even though I already ran this morning, just writing this makes me want to go out again and find The ZONE!!

How do you get to The Zone? Have any secrets to share?

#GoRunnerGo  🙂

5 tips to beat the Winter Fitness Blues

It’s officially the dead of winter. If you’re not careful, February in Montreal can freeze you from the inside out. With temperatures ranging from minus 20 to minus 30 degrees Celsius, it can be hard to stay focused on your fitness goals. When most forms of life are hibernating, the idea of waking up early and heading out in the dark to workout can be overwhelming. February is also notorious for seasonal depression and the abandoning of well meaning New Years resolutions.

So how does one beat the winter blues and stay on track during this difficult time of year?

1. Get more SLEEP!

As parents we are keen to put our kids to bed early but we rarely follow our own advice. Children are living proof that getting enough sleep is the key to waking up happy and perky. Yet adults will stay up late watching hours of mind numbing television or surfing the net for no good reason. We tend to say that we are relaxing but this type of “relaxing” actually make us feel worse the next day. We have all heard of the recommended 8 hours a night but it is slightly different for each person. Find out what your body needs and follow it’s lead. Waking up refreshed makes it easier to stick with your workout plans.

2. Plan to FUEL correctly!

During the long, cold months we have a natural tendency to gravitate towards comfort foods. Hot, melt in your mouth, heavy, greasy, savory comfort foods. Let’s be honest here -whatever your comfort food is, chances are it’s not a salad! So planning and preparing in advance is the key to consuming healthy, warm comfort foods that work with your fitness goals instead of against them. There are millions of recipes floating around cyberspace that can fuel your nutritional and fitness needs without resorting to carb loading like an ultra runner each day. Make the effort in advance so that you won’t reach for an old unhealthy standby when you are cold and hungry.

3. Find the SUNSHINE!

Here’s a tricky one. Montreal often has clear skies and beautiful sunshine even when it’s minus 25. This is a great bonus but it doesn’t happen every day nor does this hold true for all cold weather cities. So what to do when you need a little vitamin D to get you going? Well if it is a nice day, spend some time soaking in the sunshine from indoors, like a cat on a windowsill. Find the rays of sunlight that are filtering through the window and take a moment to stop, close your eyes and feel the warmth. When the days are long and dark, feel the warmth of the tropics at your nearest hot yoga studio. Yoga is a fabulous compliment to running as well as many other sports and fitness activities. Hot yoga and a little imagination will make your savasana feel like a beautiful day on the beach in Cancun.

4. DRESS for success!

Again this is a case against us parents of “Do as I say not as I do”. The reality is that most kids love winter and love playing in the snow. They never seem to be cold and they’re always happy to be outside. Meanwhile their parents are huddled nearby complaining about the weather. What’s their secret you ask? WINTER CLOTHES. When was the last time us grownups wore snow pants, hats, neck warmers and proper gloves? Too many of us are preoccupied with our children and making sure they don’t get frostbite but we run out of the house in jeans, no hat and a jacket that we would only let our kids wear in the fall. No wonder it’s hard to follow through with our fitness goals, many of us are too frozen to even think of working out!

5. Connect to NATURE!

If you can follow the above advice then this one is easy. Nothing says childhood nostalgia more than indulging in ice skating, fort building, skiing, snowshoeing, sledding and general outdoor winter fun. In the winter our first instinct is stay indoors but if we are well rested, well fueled and properly dressed, we CAN be active throughout the winter. If you can be active in nature no matter the weather, then you will be more inclined to stick to your goals instead of hibernating the winter away.

And when all else fails remember…. 

Are you still on track with your fitness goals from January or has winter got you down? If so how do you fight back?

#GoRunnerGo   🙂