2nd Week Better Than The 1st & Happy Thanksgiving

Sunday, October 5^th – Zumba – Check for Both and the walk at Long Lake as per the previous post.

Monday, October 6^th – Video 1 – Check for Both - we both did this right after work before we sat down and didn't get back up and while our husbands cooked us supper.

Tuesday, October 7^th – Video 2 – Check for Both - Twin 1 had a hair appointment after work and she set her alarm for 5 a.m to get up and do it but the bed was more comfortable.  Twin 2 stayed downtown for a drive home and both got the video done in the evening.  3 for 3.  Twin 2 has a hair appointment tomorrow night and Twin 1 has puppy class...tomorrow will be the test.

Wednesday, October 8^th – 5k Run – Barmbarm on Run - Check on video instead.   Again it was puppy class and Twin 2 had a hair cut so we planned to meet up at 8 p.m and run.  That didn't happen.  On the way home from Puppy Class Twin 1 was contemplating on running herself but means it wouldn't be until 830 p.m by the time she got out she was scared some spookies might be out even though our neighbourhood is pretty safe, one just never knows.  Twin 1 has decided she either needs to switch around her training schedule on Wednesday's for now until Puppy Class is over, figure out a way to take both dogs out for a run when she gets home, or get un-scared to run alone in the dark.  It would be so much easier if our BLT Trail was off leash.  She is in the process of training Onyx to run by her side but until then she wouldn't take her on a 5k run just yet.  Twin 1 texted Twin 2 and advised her that we were doing our Thursday night video tonight and running on Thursday instead.

Thursday, October 9^th – Video 1 – this was rescheduled to our 5k run we missed on Wednesday and we both get a CHECK!  We ran at Twin 2's house and did 90% of the 5k BLT run we will be doing on Oct 25.  We did run the full 5k but we just didn't start and stop at the start and stop of the BLT run so that's why I saw we only did 90%.   We left the house around 630 p.m and in the trail we noticed it was starting to get dark and this is when the animals come out.  Luckily we didn't see any and we saw a few people still out in the trail like us but we wouldn't want to run in there any longer.  A few years ago when we first started running one night we ran in the trail and it was nice and light going in but coming out the dark came upon us so quick and it was pitch black dark and we were still in the trail.  That was dangerous because we had no lights and we couldn't see our path in front of us and we could have tripped, or someone or animal could have got us.  At that time we didn't have a phone or road id either.  It definitely made us run faster that's for sure.

At this time of year you always have to wear reflective gear and head lamps if possible  if there are no street lights so you can see and others can see you. 

It was a perfect night for running.  Twin 2 thought she would hit a 5k PB (since she has used her Garmin as we have never really kept track of our times before) but she was 1 min to slow.  We blame having to stop for traffic in the dark at the 4 way intersection.  Someday it will come.  Your time however certainly speeds up now that it's not humid and a little cooler.  Took 2 min off the 5k time compared to July/Aug but still not a PB which she got back in early April.

Friday, October 10^th – Video 2 – Check for both.  Twin 1 was travelling down home this evening right after work so she set her alarm for 4:50 a.m to let the dogs out then go work out....4:50 a.m rolled around, 5:00 a.m rolled around, 5:15 a.m rolled around, 5:30 a.m rolled around and she finally got up.  She let the dogs out and as she booked Onyx into Daycare for the day she skipped her walk and her hubby was gracious enough to watch and feed them so she could work out.  So YAY she got it done this morning.  

We are all off to New Harbour for Thanksgiving and will post when we return.  We plan on doing our 5k run down home so we will see how that works out.  The last time Twin 1 was down there she ran around the river.  We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with their family and friends.

1 Week in, 11 to Go

The 1^st week didn’t go according to schedule but we are hoping the 2nd week will.  However, with Thanksgiving ahead we can’t make any promises.  (For your reference BarmBarm means a No Go.) 

Sunday, Sept 28^th - Zumba – check for both Twins

Monday, Sept 29^th – Video 1 – check for both Twins

Tuesday, Sept 30^th – Video 2 – check for both Twins

Wednesday, Oct 1^st – 5k run – Check for Twin 2.  As soon as she walked in the door after work she immediately put on her running clothes and walked out the front door before she even realized what she was doing, which is just what needed to be done.  If she had of stopped for a second the running would not have gotten done.  First run after the 1/2.  It felt short and sweet.  Combination of trail and road.  After running a few months with a water belt it was nice going without one although it was a little humid and a little driplet of water would have been nice.

BarmBarm for Twin 1 - Here is her excuse –  cooked supper as soon as she got home to have ready when puppy class was over as Wednesday’s are puppy class.  Got home and looked for her supper but her hubby ate it all.  She got tired and cranky and still had to make lunches for the next day, etc. so had Zoodles for supper and didn’t feel like working out after that.

Thursday, Oct 2^nd – Video 1 – Check for Twin 1 at 5 a.m as she was having company that night so got it over with early,  BarmBarm for Twin 2 as she had a retirement party after work and didn’t get home until 11:30 p.m and didn’t feel like working out.

Friday, Oct 3^rd – Video 2 – BarmBarm for both. No excuse other then its Friday.  This is our toughest day to get anything going exercise wise.

Saturday, Oct 4^th – 5k run – BarmBarm for both, Twin 1 took the dogs to Point Pleasant for an hour and then we both had our eyebrow appointment and went to our friends that night for a BBQ and we just didn’t get a run in.  The weather was crappy and we had enough of running in crappy weather.  We're still not over it.

So again, 3 for 7.  Not as well as we had hoped but we will try harder this week.  Wish us luck.

Sunday morning we took Pearl and Onyx to Long Lake and walked a trail we’ve never done before.  It is so pretty in the woods this time of year with all the leaves changing to orange, yellow and red. Most are on the ground now but pretty none the less.  

Here are a few pictures from our walk.

At the beginning all raring to go.

At the end.  Pearl was tired.  She needed a break every 5 minutes.

Tip Tuesday

Still drink water. Because it’s not as hot outside, you might not feel as though you need to drink as much water as you did during the summer. Wrong. Don’t let the lack of heat and humidity fool you. Staying hydrated before, during, and after a run is still important and shouldn’t fall to the wayside.

What Now?

Well it's been a week since we got back from Ottawa and 10 days since we ran our Half.  I bet you are all wondering where this blog will go from here and if we will keep it up.  We have discussed this and initially we started the blog to keep ourselves accountable for running but we have decided to keep it going to keep you (our 2 faithful readers) abreast of what work out programs we are following (among other things).  We still have some running on the schedule as we are signed up for the 1^st annual BLT trail run on Oct 25, 2014.  This run is a 5k run so it's something we can manage AND we each have a co-worker signed up to run their first 5k!!  :)

After a complete week of rest we have started back on another type of workout schedule.  We will be following the 3 month Jillian Michaels Body Revolution work outs program. 

It's easier for you to turn your computer around than it is for us to rotate this picture.

These workouts are 30 minute videos and there are 3 phases (3 months).  During each phase the workouts progressively get harder.  There are 12 videos in total and the first two weeks you do video 1 & 2, the next two weeks 3 & 4 etc.  There are also two cardio days in there and for now we will be running on those cardio days instead of doing the cardio videos.  Here is a look at our schedule for October.  Sunday may become a rest day once Zumba is over.  (Take notice that tonight is our first run night).  We have done this program before and it works.  But we suppose everything works when you stick with a plan.

Also, with this program we are each trying a different meal plan.  Twin 1 is trying out the Jillian Micheals meal plan (as mentioned in previous posts) and Twin 2 is trying out Weight Watchers.  Weigh day is every Friday.  We will also be keeping track of our measurements  because with strength training it's more about lost inches than lost weight as muscle weighs more than fat (that's the rumour anyway).  Every week we will weigh in and every 4 weeks we will measure inches. 

As the videos are a 3 month program this will take us right up to Christmas.  CHRISTMAS??!!!! 

Fun/Free Day

This morning, like every other morning, we rose bright and early as we had a tour of the Supreme Court of Canada booked for 0930 and we had to be there for 0915 (yes we are talking army time).  We wanted to “sleep in” for an extra minute so we decided to try the hotel room coffee.  It wasn’t too bad but we sure couldn’t wait for Starbucks after the tour.  

This building amazes us along with Parliament because from the outside this building is H.U.G.E!  We couldn’t wait to see inside.   We could tour these two buildings every time we go to Ottawa but there are many other places we would like to visit in Ottawa as well so we can now mark this one off the list.  

We arrived and went through the security and then wandered around the lobby while we waited.  This place is all marble and it’s impressive to say the least.  The tour guide arrived (we believe they are law students or something along those lines).  We went into the Federal Court of Canada and he talked about what happens there and gave us the rundown of how the levels of the court system work and how cases get to that level.  Twin 2 put on a robe and sat in the Judge’s chair.  

Then we went into the Supreme Court of Canada courtroom where all 9 Justices sit and where cases are televised from.  This one is also impressive.  We could not take any pictures in here but it’s basically the same as the first court room only bigger.  

If you are interested in what we learnt you can always book a tour with them from Monday – Friday.  This is the first time we’ve been in Ottawa on a weekday and had a chance to take the tour.  It is only half an hour but to see the inside of the building is impressive.  We would love to see the whole building but they will only show you so much.  To go back and watch a case sometime would be amazing.  

http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/home-accueil/index-eng.aspx

After the tour we went to Starbucks as Twin 1 had coupons for coffee and breakfast sandwiches which were both very good.  We then went back to the hotel to figure out what to do for the rest of the day.  We originally planned to hit up the Rideau mall but we noticed on Saturday all the good stores were gone and what’s left is too expensive for us.   We looked in a tour book and decided to take a bus trip to another mall.  The front desk told us that it would be easier and cheaper to take a bus as opposed to a cab so we did.  There was a bus station right outside our hotel and we googled what bus to take and off we went.  We asked another lady at the stop just to make sure we would be getting on the right bus. We got on and it announces what stop they will be stopping at next which is great and they seem to stop at “stations” rather than just along the street like the Metro does….or the one we went on anyway which was mostly downtown and highway.  

We made it to the mall and we headed to Winners because we thought the Ottawa Winners would be way better than the Halifax ones…we were incorrect.  It sucked. So we walked around the mall and there wasn’t much there either.  Needless to say neither of us bought anything but it was a day out when we had nothing else planned. 

We headed back to the bus station and thought we were waiting on the right side to head back down town but we asked again and the lady told us we had to go over two more bus stations so we finally made it to the right one and had a pleasant ride back to downtown.  We were a little confused when we got off the bus and started walking one way but quickly figured out we were going the wrong way so turned around and found the hotel.

When we arrived back we packed up our suitcases as we had an early morning to the airport.  Twin 1 then texted her long lost friend whom she hasn’t seen in 13 years and tried to figure out if we wanted to go out to eat, or for coffee or just hang out.  In the end we decided to just hang out.  Before she came over we cooked up some pasta for supper and mixed it with our left over salad dressing as we were too cheap to buy pasta sauce.  It was good but could have used a bit more dressing :)

The friend came over and we had a great long chat about what’s been happening in each others lives, had some good laughs and talked about plans for the future.  A good time was had by all and hopefully we won’t wait another 13 years to see each other again.

To bed for an early travelling day on Tuesday.