Tag Archives: exercise

Jul 01 2015
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Activity, Races

First tri of the summer

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My friends and I after our try-a-tri in Guelph.

 

A tad belated in posting but I finished my first Subaru try-a-tri a week and a half ago.

This year we chose to attend the Guelph tri, as opposed to completing the Niagara route again. Note to self: when signing up for new routes or races pay attention to the layout of the race. When it states, “this course has rolling hills” – it really does have quite a few hills. Both the cycling and running courses had quite a few “rolling hills” which were not enjoyable when you have dry lips and heaving lungs.

The swim itself went smoothly, though the transition took a while longer as we had wet suits this year. I really should have practiced getting in and out of them more, as well as added a few more open swims into my training regime. The wet suits are surprisingly buoyant and certainly affects the way your stroke is completed. However, the sea legs and tunnel vision I encountered last year when moving from swim to bike also wasn’t as fierce and I managed to stumble out of the water with a decent amount of grace.

Overall, the tri was a success. Though I was eleven seconds (ELEVEN SECONDS) slower than my first tri, I placed better in my gender category at eighth overall.  From my stats, it looks like I’ll need to up my game in cycling hills as that’s where I slowed down, and maintain/improve my swimming and running for the Iron Girl in August.

Next up I’ll be attending the Walking Dead Escape Race in San Diego. Keep posted for news of and from San Diego Comic Con!

 

 

 

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Jan 26 2015
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Article

Top 10 Fitness Apps

Winter, if you are on the west coast of the U.S., has been mild so far, and if you’re in Canada, like I am, the worst is yet to come. No matter where you are it’s still cold outside. For fitness resolutes, the first two weeks are the hardest for fitness — it can take up to a month before a routine is set and you no longer need to force yourself to get some exercise. Whether you want to add a morning jog before you go to work or schedule in a quick set or three in the gym, here are 10 apps that will help you accomplish your 2015 fitness resolutions.

Fitness

You Are Your Own Gym

This is one of my favorite travel companions since it’s essentially a gym in your pocket. This particular app hosts a series of workouts featuring body weight movements that don’t require any equipment, aside from a bench or chair that should be easy enough to find.

Body weight exercises are my go-to because you can do them anywhere and at any time. A quick set of 20 jumping jacks, 15 push-ups and 10 sit-ups/crunches done three times will pick up your heart rate and warm you up. If you’re looking for something more challenging, burpees and jump squats are an excellent way to sky rocket yourself, or you can really push yourself with interval training, such as Tabata…

For more, visit BreakingModern here.

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Sep 24 2014
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Activity

…and then there was sun

tourdemiss

 

Riding through the streets of Mississauga during torrential downpour was an experience it itself. You have to quickly relearn how to operate your bicycle through wet streets, groups of cyclists and large ponds (literally, pot holes are horrible for this). My friends and I decided to complete the 60km Tour de Mississauga bike ride (some chose the 30km) and it’s certainly an event I am going to sign up for again.

As the largest free event in Canada, I also consider it one of the best organized events I have attended to date. From the optimistic and cheerful volunteers to the free barbeque after the race, to the pit stop with hydration station and cookies mid-race, I was more than willing to pay for the t-shirt (or jersey, your choice) that accompanied the race. Usually a race comes with a complimentary tech tee, but again, free race means you have to pay extra for the tee. The pick-up station at City Hall prior to the event, and on the day of, were well organized and easy to access, and the food trucks and vendors were great to talk to after the event.

The routes (5k, 10k, 15k, 30k, 60k, 100k and 120k) were well-planned and for the most part, easy to navigate. Generally speaking, there was a volunteer at every main turning point indicating which direction you had to go pending distance, though there were a few places where only arrows spray painted into the ground indicated which direction to turn. Maybe it was due to the sheer noise of the downpour in the morning, but I know some people missed the announcement that there were arrows on the ground to direct you towards your distance; different colours indicating different race distance. There was one part of the route where everyone missed the turn and we had to make a u-turn at a stop light to the chagrin of several drivers. Sorry!

Horrible weather aside, riding alongside serious athletes and bikers in a pack is certainly quite the experience. It was rather empowering and fun and the communal kinship felt amongst everyone was brilliant. I loved it. The second half of the race cleared up nicely and it turned out to be quite hot in the afternoon, which (mostly) dried up our clothes.

The afternoon was spent at Word on the Street, in which as usual I spent too much money, and eating up yummy foods.

Next up….er, not quite sure just yet, but there has been discussion about Santa suits and winter and maybe a race?

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