Tely Teaser

The tely teaser really should be done before registration lol

I will admit as a hater of winter running, yesterday was near perfect conditions for the teaser.  Of course i over dressed as usual, with 2 pairs of pants, a tank, 2 long sleeve shirts, a sweater and a vest.  As i debated a cold gear hat and mittens on over my gloves i knew by the look on renees face that was probably a no, so she gave in and loaned me her buff, which lasted all of 5 minutes.  Myself along with lori and the newest member of the clan molly met renee at her house where we would complete 10k of the tely route.....at least thats what renee told us, it ended up being, 11.5k.

And although shelley was enjoying her vacation having nothing to do with fish and chips or the tely teaser she didnt forget us and kept messaging us in the group chat along the route .... O molly you need to be added to that, its motivation at its finest !!

After the run was finished me and Lori quickly drove into Donavons Irving for a big ol breakfast.....just what the doctor ordered !!

And get this, i actually got up this morning and joined the groups coffee run, and was the first one on the parking lot i might add, this is a first and probably a last for me as I'm late for everything.  Ive really run out of excuses so i just tell the girls I'm probably gonna be late because of the person i am, they don't buy the whole unicorn story anymore ... that's another blog.  So as much as i hated to get up yesterday for the teaser, i actually think it was just what i needed to get my mojo going again.  I know spring is here, it may not want to fully show itself but its there.  As i was leaving the house this morning and slipping all over the driveway from the freezing drizzle i swear i heard birds chirping.  

The bonus to getting my mojo going and joining these runs is our newest member to the clan, molly. She fit right into our little group, as soon as she said her whole reason for running was the coffee at the end i knew she would fit right in.  Welcome molly !! I think we need a group name, mmmm Renee and Shelley are good at that lol

Well congrats to everyone who finished the teaser yesterday, you rock !! 

And thanks to my running buddies Renee, Lori and molly for making me run yesterday, somehow you always seem to know just what i need !! True friends, dedicated runners, or both ..... whichever it is you guys motivate the crap outta me !! 

Happy Easter everyone

Tely 10 registration

Yip the day has finally come, its registration day for the tely 10.  Have I completely lost my mind?? Am I really gonna do this?? according to the many texts I've gotten from Shelley, Renee and Lori yes I am.  And I've been nominated to sign us all up.  11 am comes and I go in on my phone to register us and honest to god I don't think I was ever this nervous over anything before.  So I try to register myself first and BOOM they say my nlaa number isn't recognizable.  Is this a sign ??? should I just back out now ??? I could tell the girls my phone crashed, but considering Shelley wouldn't buy the fact my number wasn't recognized I don't think they would buy that either.  Well here we go, ill just start with the girls first, Lori done .... Shelley done ... Renee done ..... ugh what do I do ?? Think Paul,  just think.  The pros out weighed the cons, the fact that there was a medal got me thinking, bragging rights that I even completed the tely, and the fact that there's an after party won the decision.  Here we go, my turn.  Paula done !!! Well holy crap, me, Paula savoury is all signed up to do the tely 10. Stomach sick, I got to thinking of my running accomplishments and the turkey tea 10k came to mind.  I've never ran a whole 10k before, and that day with the help of Shelley and Renee I did it, and those same girls plus Lori will be by my side again at the tely.  With their help I can deff do this.  I can only imagine the conversations along the route and how much fun it will be crossing the finish line with them. 
I have 3 of the greatest friends, and completing something this big is just gonna be that much more exciting with them.  The photos of us crossing the finish line, with our medals and later with our beer is just gonna be more memories made and i cant think of better people to make the memories with.
After registration was complete, the PRC Facebook page lit up with everyone completing their registration.  Some for the first time and others back again, but each and everyone of the members were congratulating and encouraging each other for registering.  Made the pains in the stomach lighten a little. 
Congratulations to everyone who has signed up for this amazing race, and good luck to each and everyone of you.
Cya at the finish line.....

Wishes Really Do Come True

Well I guess since this is my first blog I should start by introducing myself.  My name is Paula and I've been sober for, o wait wrong group.  My name is Paula and I've been with PRC since October.  Like everyone else, I found my little group within our large group to run with. Renee, Shelley, and Lori have been the reason I've stuck with running over the winter, mainly because Shelley convinced us to sign up for the half marathon.  See I hate winter and I hate winter running even more, call it the winter blues if you wish.  But after running outside a couple  of days last week with Lori I see now there is a light at the end of the tunnel and spring must be just around the corner.  But in the meantime winter managed to creep its way back and I'm back to hating winter and winter running.  So for the past 3 months we've been going to the gym to get us through the winter, only now were in a rut where we don't want to go and come up with every excuse not to.  When we hear Lori say, "well I got to do something" we know we better haul our self to the gym.  She's the motivator.  Me, Shelley and Renee are motivated too just in other ways.  Shelley found us a new race to do, its the 1st annual couch potato .00010k, I personally think were a shoe in for this one, and that's how we motivate each other.
               So our gym nights have kinda been all over the place but Mondays have always been one of the nights we went later because my son has guitar from 6-630.  Well like every other Monday I came home, exhausted, cooked supper, put my phone on charge for the gym and left for guitar.  I'm sitting in the waiting area while Bradley is in his lessons praying to God I didn't have to go to the gym tonight. What I wouldn't give to get home and get a message saying they weren't going.  But I knew Lori's parents visited the week and she hasn't done much running so she's deff gonna pull the " well I got to do something" bit and I'll have to go.  I wish I didn't have to go to the gym, I wish I didn't have to go to the gym, I wish I didn't have to go to they gym.  I get home, and message the girls to say I'm gonna be late which is nothing unusual for me, and realize there's been a full conversation going on in the group chat while I was gone.  So they come back and say OK.  But as I'm reading up, Lori, the motivator don't forget, is suggesting we go for tea.  Am I dreaming, are we really skipping the gym ????  yes we are, were going to coffee matters for tea.  And it was really Lori suggesting the tea and not me stealing her phone as Shelley suspected.  We would have gotten away with lying and telling everyone we were at the gym but Todd and Sharon were there enjoying tea or coffee as well.  Todd may be on our side though, as him and Sharon were leaving he yelled back at us, " enjoy the rest of your workout."
                 I have no doubt spring is just around the corner and I will like running again, there's a ton of race bibs to collect and I've already got my eye on some new bling to collect.  This will be my first telly 10, and of course my first half marathon in Halifax.  Lots of PB's this year for me, and I can't think of a better club to represent during those accomplishments.  Keep an eye out for those famous finisher pictures.  Cya all the spring !!!

What a difference, hey?!

Some days it is extremely hard to get up and exercise.  Some days it is easy peasy. Most days are hard! I miss getting up or getting off work and going for a run (when there are no kid activities to partake in) but those days will soon be here again. I can't wait for the warmer weather. 

When training gets hard and all you want to do it give up, just flip through your older pictures and see how far you have come. The first picture was taken at work on February 25, 2015 and the second picture was taken today, February 24, 2016. What a difference, hey?! 

Saturday was a busy day! We had an awesome Snow and Ice run for our very own Paradise Running Club member, Diane Coffin who has been diagnosed with breast cancer! It was such an awesome turnout!  

I went to the gym that Saturday night, not a soul on the treadmills! 

It was great.  So I jumped on the treadmill and sent a selfie to Shelley, Paula and Lori to prove that I went by myself. Paula said that she wished she had gone, I told her it wasn’t too late! She showed up! I ran 5 km's and then walked for 30 minutes. While I was walking on the treadmill next to Paula I could tell that she had enough and just wanted to stop. So what did I do? I motivated her to keep going…by increasing the speed.  She wanted to be finished the 5 km’s so I made her run faster to get there faster! Smart hey?! Not really because Karma…well Karma knows who I am. 

I get all kinds of energy and go to the gym and then for a few days later I am a ZOMBIE! I can hardly open my eyes. My whole body is tired! Marc wanted to go to the gym with me the other day, I just wanted to sleep. Marc won and off we went. 

So he drove us to the gym.

Shelley wanted to know if I wanted to run outside. 

I didn't. I could hardly run the length of myself, let alone run outside where I HAVE to run back to my car. See, I just realized a pro for running on the treadmill. When you don't want to run anymore, just get off the treadmill and proceed downstairs to Canteen Matters and have a tea. BRILLIANT!

As much as I don't like going to the gym some days, I do like how I feel when I finish an awesome work out or accomplish another 5 km on the treadmill.  But it is a bit discouraging when you get to the gym and you find it hard to lift your feet to get ON the treadmill! Hopefully by the time spring rolls around I will have more energy or find out why I don't have any energy. Well, I will have to suck it up because the Half Marathon is just around the corner!

The treadmill is hard!

I managed to do 7 km on the treadmill the other day at the gym, and then I decided to do 15 stair repeats. It was hard! The next day I didn’t want to do anything but I still went. Well, actually I never really want to do anything at the gym. One day I will convince the rest of the girls to go for a tea and not run. Lori is the problem though, all motivated and stuff!   

Shelley and I ended up going to the gym Friday night, we went around 8:00 pm and there was hardly anyone there! Go figure. Friday night. 8 pm and no one was at the gym. We got a treadmill next to each other and chatted for a bit. We knew Border Patrol was on so Shelley paused her treadmill to go on the hunt for the remote. No luck! So no Border Patrol! Kaitlin must have hid the remote somewhere. (Kaitlin, if you are reading this please change the channel before you leave for the night to detour (or NTV) just in case we go to the gym late on Friday night again.) So we carried on with our run.  We both ran 5 km; I found it hard and looked like I needed a shower. Shelley looked like she never even ran.

I am not sure if I have mentioned this before but I am also in an adult Hip Hop class at Revolutions Dance in Mount Pearl. I. LOVE.IT. I was in it before having kids and a few months after having Ava, then got pregnant right away and then I couldn’t go again.  My pregnancies were not pretty! I could hardly walk, let alone dance. 

Anyway, I think Janelle St. George is trying to (a) kill us or (b) whip us into shape so we can dance to the Missy Elliott remix she got going on!  Two weeks in a row now she has us doing a circuit for our warm up. Last week I had an accident with the broom stick where we were supposed to jump OVER the stick that was place between two chairs. My feet did not like this idea.  I jumped right in the middle of the broom stick and made a "little" bend in it. I did find out tonight that someone did even more damage and the broom stick is no more. We now have to jump over tension bands laid on the floor. Do you think I could jump over that without tripping up? Nope. But I don’t think anyone noticed.

This is week two now of a weight gain with Weight Watchers. I feel like I have to start all over again or be in that mind set again.  I knew I was going to be up again but I still weighed in. I was actually able to get to a meeting later that day! I did really good this weekend and even went to two birthday parties and didn’t have any cake! I didn’t pick at any treats and I tracked everything I ate.  

I pay for the monthly plan and it just comes out of my account every month. I am going to change that plan. I am going to pay for 3 months (like I did when I first started) and set goals within those months. I also get a free month!  By the time the change is made on my account it will be for April (March is already paid for) which is when I started last year. I wanted to lose weight for the Tely 10. This will be a goal for me again!

I will keep you posted next week after my weigh in!

I can't wait to run outside again!

I really can’t wait to start running outside. I think the next “nice” day I might get out there and run! I am writing this while looking out the window on this snow day. I really don’t like the cold but I am glad I get to stay home today.

I am still finding it hard to stay motivated while running on the treadmill (even thought I updated my playlist) and it seems lately at the gym it is harder to find a treadmill not in use. And it seems like it is out of the question for all four of us to have a treadmill next to each other. :) When I am not on the treadmill, I find myself wandering over to the Lateral machine. I used to find it really hard, only lasting about 5 minutes.  This is around the time me and Shelley would give each other the look to find another machine…or go home.  Last night I was on that machine for over 20 minutes!! It was great!

I have been on a weight loss plateau that has been going on for months now! At least the gym is keeping me active, right? I am still in Weight Watchers but they changed the plan…again and I do not really like it. Yes, I know Oprah lost 26 pounds by eating bread everyday but we can save that for another blog. So, to add some more activity into my life I decided to take adult swimming lessons at the Summit Centre in Mount Pearl starting in March. I can swim, and I love swimming but this will make me GO swimming! This class is for intermediate swimmers. I don’t really know what to expect but I am hoping it will make me faster!! Hey, Sara Ralph can I request you to be my instructor? 

I will be 37 this month and I have been playing around with the idea of doing a triathlon for a while now but I really don’t like fish…and the pond…and fish.  I know, I know they won’t be swimming by my feet or face but they are still there! I can feel them looking at me, I really can! I told myself that I would tri to complete one before I turn 40. That is long enough to train, right? 

The pros and cons of having gym buddies

The pros and cons of having gym buddies:

Pros: they make you go to the gym!

Cons: they make you go to the gym!

I didn’t make it to the gym last night because I had to help put together our bed that took way to long, so I planned on going tonight. I sent a message to Shelley, Lori and Paula to see if they wanted to go tonight which is not usually our gym night. Paula was the only one able to go; the other girls had other obligations. Then Paula bailed.  At first I thought, deadly! I don’t need to go to the gym! Then it clicked in to why I actually go to the gym. To be active and to lose weight.

The girls needed proof that I went to the gym solo.  I ended up bumping into Gina Barnes, Shelley Penney, Marion Barnes and Wendy Wall. They were just finishing up their workout while I was starting.  Gina was ever so kind to take a picture of me running on the treadmill. I did 5 km’s on that thing! Brutal! It was brutal!  I can’t wait for the snow to go. Just sayin.

So while on the treadmill, I was thinking that I was done after the 5 km’s and I was going to go home. I then decided to go on the recumbent bike for 10 minutes, then the lateral machine for another 10 minutes.  I don’t think I am going to be able to walk tomorrow.

Something kept me going tonight. Maybe it was because I actually updated my playlist, maybe it was because I missed yesterday’s gym time or maybe it was because I actually had some energy!

I made my way over to the mat to complete my workout with some stretching. I then decided to do a plank! However, I had to find someone to take a picture of me doing a plank (thank you random stranger entering the gym) because it never happened if there is no picture while at the gym without your friends. Lori, you would be proud! I did a plank, it wasn’t for long but I did it!

I am not done yet! I then decided to do 13 stair repeats. That was brutal as well! I had to do 13 because Paula has a thing about odd numbers. See what a good friend I am! (Thank you gym employee for taking this picture while randomly walking up the stairs!)  

Shelley is probably saying, "why didn't you do 15, we stopped at 13 last time we did them."  It was hard Shelley and I didn't realized how much I depended on you to count them! 

This is by far the best workout I have had in a long time. It was really hard but I pushed myself through it!

Tomorrow is my weigh day at Weight Watchers. I am pretty sure I am going to be up but tomorrow is a new day and I will start fresh from there. I have to think about how far I have come.  If it wasn’t for the gym and my gym buddies I would have gained weight already this winter.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!