How is May Already Over?!?!

Is it just me, or did this past month go by super quickly?!? Before I know it, the summer will be over and I’ll be starting my final semester of university. I’m going to attempt to hold on to every inch of summer I can!

This past month was interesting, as it saw the rehab of knee, which meant no half-marathon. This made me kind of sad, because this is something that I worked really hard towards and it flopped. That being said, I know what I did wrong and what to fix going forward. Enough about my knee…below is what my month looked like!

Total Mileage This Month: 14. Not much I can do about this unfortunately. Though I feel that June will definitely be higher.

Best Performing Blog Post: Ironically enough, the best performing blog post this month was April is Done! I guess you guys like to read about how the month has looked as a whole.

How was the Strength Training this Month: Like I said on Monday, I wish I made more strides in the strength-training department but everyone’s bound to have off-cycles. I’m looking to make crazy gains in June so watch out!

Cool Products I Tried this Month: I posted this on Instagram a bit ago, but I’ve fallen in love with Clif’s Nut Butter Filled Bars. I’ll probably be doing a review on them in the near future, so keep your eyes pealed.

The coconut almond butter is my favourite flavour, but they have a hazelnut one that tastes like Nutella. Mmmmmm 

Cool Things I did: Treetop Trekking hands down. Read my review for it here.

So much green space! The actual area where the treetop trekking takes place is just beyond the trees. This photo doesn’t do it justice, it’s huge!

What cool products did you guys try this month? Anything I should try/do a review on?

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

 

 

 

 

April is Done!

The hardest month of my fitness journey is done! If you’ve been following along with my blog for the last little bit, you might’ve heard about my recent injury. Needless to say, it’s been tough to navigate. Despite that, I still got some decent mileage in, some great workouts, and wrote about some pretty cool stuff. Here’s what the month of April looked like for me:

Total Mileage: 45.7mi

This definitely had the potential to be higher if I hadn’t injured my knee. That being said, I think this is still pretty good. I found some cool trails and started to get the hang of taking gels and chews while on the run.

I also mastered the art of selfie-ing mid-run!

Best Performing Blog Post: Half-Marathon No Longer

It sucks that I had to write that post, but it’s good to share not only all the good stuff that happens with running and weight lifting, but all the bad as well.

Favourite Product This Month: Clif Shot Energy Gels

Like jam in a packet.

Favourite Strength Training Exercise: Although it’s a part of my abbreviated leg day, I love doing lying leg curls. It’s a great way to work your hamstrings, and you can do it unilaterally or isolaterally.

Worst Thing That Happened This Month: My meniscus tear. *insert crying emoji here*

 

How was the month of April for you guys? Anything exciting happen?

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

The New (and not so improved) Leg Day!

As you guys probably know, I tore my meniscus eight days ago and am on a strict, “don’t do anything that will aggravate it”, plan for the unforeseen future. The desire to run and deadlift is strong, but I know that going against the doctor’s advice isn’t going to do me any good. As some of you have suggested, I’m going to take this time to really dial in on my nutrition and work on my strength training.

Since I can’t work my left leg, I’ve decided to change my leg day to accommodate the injury. Rather than just skipping leg day altogether, I’ve decided to change my routine from unilateral movements to isolateral movements so that I could still gain strength in my right leg. Once I’m healed, I’ll continue to do isolateral movements but use both legs so that the strength will eventually be back to normal. I’ve only done a leg day twice since the incident, but this is my current plan:

-Glute Pedal (5 reps for 5 sets with 1 min rest in between)

-Hamstring Curl (5 reps for 5 sets with 1 min rest in between)

-Seated Calf Press (5 reps for 5 sets with 1 min rest in between)

I tried to do a lateral cable leg raise, however I still feel some strain in my knee since I have to stabilize myself while raising my right leg so I’ve decided to omit that. You win some, you lose some!

In addition to the above exercises that I’ll be doing on leg day, I also have the physio exercises that the doctor prescribed to me:

-Quad Sets (Held for 6 seconds followed by a 10 second rest – 8-12 reps total)

-Straight-Leg Raises to the Front (Raise 12 inches from the floor & hold for 5 seconds, then lower – 8-12 reps total)

-Straight-Leg Raises to the Outside (Raise 12 inches from the floor & hold for 6 seconds, then lower – 8-12 reps total)

-Straight-Leg Raises to the Back (Raise 6 inches from the floor & hold for 6 seconds, then lower – 8-12 reps total)

-Straight-Leg Raises to the Inside (Raise 6 inches from the floor & hold for 6 seconds, then lower – 8-12 reps total)

-Hamstring Curls (Lying on the floor – 8-12 reps)

-Standing Calf Raises (Hold for 6 seconds – 8-12 reps)

-Half Squat – 8-12 reps

I’m hoping that I’ll soon be able to workout like I normally do, but good things take time. Wish me luck!

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

End of Week Check In (Week 2 of Half-Marathon Training)

I’m really hoping that I can keep this momentum going…so far, I haven’t missed any workouts and still have had gas left in the tank. This is what my week looked like in detail:

Monday

4mi Run – 10:34/mi avg pace and a moving time of 42:26 minutes. The route that I ran for this run wasn’t the route I intended; I took a wrong turn and didn’t realize until .5mi later, (oops). It was still a good run though, and faster than expected, (even with some snow on the ground)!

Tuesday

Back & Biceps:

-5 min Warm Up

-One-Arm Bicep Curls: 30lbs @ 5 sets x 21 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Back Extension: 150lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Standing Barbell Curl: 50lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Roman Chair: 35lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps (1 min rest in between sets)

-Hammer Curls: 25lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Lat Pulldown: 40lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-5 min cool down

Wednesday

Legs:

-5 min Warm Up

-Calf Press: 170lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Barbell Squats: 100lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Hip Adductor: 145lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Hip Abductor: 145lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-5 min Cool Down

I should probably note that I only work each muscle group in my legs once during a leg workout since I run three days a week.

Thursday

Rest Day

Friday

Intervals (Hills) – 2mi @ 11:01 avg pace with a moving time of 22:45. I must confess; I didn’t do the last set of hills because not only was it pretty windy, the snow was starting to come down and it just wasn’t working out for me.

Chest & Tris

-5 min Warm Up

-Assisted Dips: 100lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Bench Press: 50lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Tricep Press: 90lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Pec Fly: 80lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Dumbbell Tricep Extension: 35lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-Chest Press: 65lbs @ 5 sets x 25 reps total (1 min rest in between sets)

-5 min Warm up

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see the issue I had during my bench press. I still managed to make do with what I had though.

Saturday

Rest Day

Sunday

Intervals – 3.4mi@ 10:38/mi avg pace with a moving time of 36:10

This week was pretty good and like I said, I’m really hoping I can keep this momentum up as the miles increase. One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve started training for my half is that I feel like I could workout even on the days where I scheduled a rest day. I even doubled up on the Friday and I still felt ok.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

Weekly Recap (Jan 30th – Feb 5th)

This past week was honestly really great. It just happened to be one of those weeks where everything aligned and I was able to get all my workouts in with one rest day to spare. This past week was also the start of my Mississauga Half-Marathon training! One week down, 13 to go! Here’s what I did this week:

Monday

Intervals (Fartlek) – 2.2mi in 24:03, 10:46/mi avg pace

This was the first time I’d ever done a fartlek run and it’s actually my new favourite interval run. I did it on the treadmill since I hadn’t activated my gym membership yet, and it turned out to be a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to doing it on a track though.

Tuesday

Shoulders

-5min Warm up

-Standing Shoulder Press: 25 lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Delt Raise: 15lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

This workout kind of sucked because I did it at the condo gym during the evening so it was super packed. I didn’t really plan this workout out since every machine was in use, so I just did whatever I could.

Wednesday

Rest Day

Thursday

Intervals – 3.4mi…

This one is tricky because Strava says that my average pace is 14:23/mi and I know that’s not true since my slowest split was 11:36. Other than that, it was a really good treadmill interval session.

Back & Bis

-5min Warm Up

-One Arm Bicep Curls: 25lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Back Extension: 135lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Standing Barbell Curl: 40lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Roman Chair: 25lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

-Hammer Curls: 20lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Lat Pulldown: 35lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

This was the first workout in the new gym! It’s a great gym and I definitely made the right choice signing up. I so far have only gone during the evenings, but it isn’t super busy which is nice.

Friday

Legs

-5min Warm Up

-Calf Press: 160lbs, 5 sets by 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Barbell Squats: 90lbs (not including the bar), 5 sets x 5 sets w/1 minute rest in between sets

-Hip Adductor: 135lbs, 5 sets x 5 sets w/1 minute rest in between sets

This workout REALLY burned! I was up at my school’s main campus in Peterborough for the weekend and used their gym. My friend was picking me up in between classes so not only did I not get to finish my workout, I also didn’t get to stretch. Holy crap was I sore.

Saturday

Chest & Tris

-5min Warm Up

-Assisted Dips: 100lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

-Bench Press: 20lbs (not including the bar), 5 sets x 5 reps w/ 1 minute rest in between sets

-Tricep Extension (Machine): 60lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

-Pec Fly: 80lbs, 5 sets x 5 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

-Incline Sit-Ups w/ Medicine Ball: 3 sets x 8 reps w/1 minute rest in between sets

This workout was nice because I got to do it with friends, which I don’t get to do very often.

Sunday

4mi Run – 43:32 moving time & 10:53/mi avg pace

This was on the treadmill which wasn’t ideal, but at least it was accomplished!

 

I also got some exciting news: I’ve become an Insane Labz Athlete! They have some really cool stuff from apparel, to recovery supplements and more! I have a coupon code for you guys: runlift20. Use it to get 20% your order!

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

 

Product Review: Iron Vegan: Athlete’s Blend Workout Supplement

Price: $62.99 CAD

I’m always open to trying new supplements; I do have a couple favourite brands, (like Vega), but I’m not really 100% committed to one brand for every need. I got a bag of Iron Vegan Athlete’s Blend, (natural vanilla flavour), for Christmas and I have to admit, I was super skeptical. This may sound horrible but whenever I see a vegan product, I’m always worried that the taste might be compromised. I think this is probably due to the fact that I’m a hard-core omnivore, and the thought of all things veggie is a little scary. Vega took a bit to grow on me but once it did, I loved it! I figured if I could love Vega, I could love Iron Vegan. Here’s what I thought of it:

-It has a different vanilla flavour than most vanilla-flavoured protein powders. Not in a bad way though. It just doesn’t have that artificial vanilla taste that you get with most brands.

-It blends really well with smoothies/shakes

-My boyfriend and I both tried it with just water or just milk, (when I say milk, I mean lactose free milk/coconut milk), and we both agree that it tastes better with water. I think since the powder doesn’t have a super creamy taste, it doesn’t complement the milk as well.

-It stores easily since it’s in a bag

-The serving size is quite large, (30g of protein/serving), so you could probably get away with half a serving if it’s in a shake/smoothie.

-It’s loaded with stuff that all athletes can appreciate in the recovery process: BCAAs, Glutamine, and more

 

Other than it not mixing well with milk, I don’t really have any issues with it. I also have used it in some shakes/smoothies that I’ve posted on Instagram, so check out which combinations I’ve come up with!

 

Running Fast, Lifting Heavy Approved: Yes

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

I’m Finally Joining a Gym!

On Thursday I went downstairs to my tiny condo gym, only to discover that one of the machines was broken and therefore out of service. This doesn’t sound like the hugest deal, but considering there are only two upper body machines, it really limits what I can do. I asked the guy at the front desk when it would be fixed and he told me he didn’t know…so now I’m kind of stuck.

Daniel’s talked about joining a new gym, (currently he goes to GoodLife since he gets a corporate discount through his work), and I decided that I should jump on board. Sure, it is an added expense, but I would be able to use a variety of different equipment that I don’t get currently.

About 10 minutes from our house is the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, which is loaded with amenities and recently dropped its rates! It’s closer to our house than the GoodLife that Daniel currently goes to AND they have 1an indoor track. Goodbye interval runs on the treadmill! We’re looking to join soon as we’ve already toured the facility. I’m honestly so excited; all the different strength training machines will have me feeling like a kid in a candy store!

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

Weekly Recap (Jan 9th- 15th)

This week saw the start of a new semester, as well as the start of training season! The first race on the docket is the Achilles 5k in March. I’ll be using the Nike 5k and Nike Half Marathon training plans as I’ve had success using Nike for my previous races. My plan is to train for that until the end of the month, and then switch over to training for the Mississauga Marathon (half marathon distance). The 5k serves as a easy training period in which the distances are shorter, but will still work out the kinks from all my time not training for something. –Side note: my weeks start on Monday and end on Sunday.

Monday

Interval Workout on the treadmill – 1.5mi, moving time: 17mins, avg pace: 10:48/mi

Tuesday

 Rest Day – I have class literally all day, so I didn’t have time to do much of anything

Wednesday

 My friend talked me into swapping my 3mi run for a leg day…how could I turn that down?

-5min warm-up

-Squats (3 sets x 10 reps) @ 90lbs (not including the bar) – 30 sec rest in between sets

-Standing Calf Raises – (3 sets x 15 reps) @ 150lbs – 30 sec rest in between sets

-Seated Leg Press – (3 sets x 10 reps) @ 140lbs – 30 sec rest in between sets

-stretch/roll

Totally forgot how much you get pushed sometimes when you workout with other people haha.

Thursday

 2mi Run – moving time: 20:56, avg pace: 10:28/mi – this run felt a little tricky to me for the simple fact that I kept having to tell myself to slow down! It was only supposed to be a recovery run, and I felt like I was getting carried away at points

Friday & Saturday

Accidental rest days…studying got the best of me

 

I have less on my plate this week at school, so I’m hoping that that will help in terms of being able to get out there.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

 

 

How to Stay on Track with your Weekly Workouts

How tricky can it be sometimes to stay on track with your training plans? Sure, the motivation may be there, but time management skills could seriously be slipping. I know personally as a bachelor’s student, my day will instantly fall apart if I don’t plan it out properly. I learned this the hard way; by missing strength training days that I shouldn’t have, or forgetting to roll out and paying for it dearly the next day.

If I wanted to continue being serious about running, something had to give. My hugest issue is procrastination, so lack of procrastination coupled with organization would help me, (and you) be able to stay on track and crush those prs! I do two things that help me stay on top of things, and like to call them macro planning and micro planning. I’ll start with macro planning first.

Macro Planning

Here I focus on the bigger picture. What am I training for? How many days of running will this require? How many miles? I then reference my calendar in my phone, (which I would die without), to see what my daily, weekly, and monthly commitments are. From there, I’m able to see what days are write-offs. For instance, on Tuesdays I have class from 9:10am-9:30pm and won’t get back home until 11:00pm. On a day like that (unless I get out of class early or start late), I just count it as a rest day and move on.

Micro Planning

This is when I plan how each particular day will play out. I usually have a to-do list in my phone that I can check off when I’ve completed each activity (running related or not). If I have a long run, this will require a couple hours of my time to account for the actual run, stretching/rolling out, and showering. A shorter run will only take about an hour to do all those things, so if I have a day where I have a few more things going on, I should still be able to squeeze that in. The biggest tip during micro planning is GET THE RUN DONE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The longer you put it off, the more likely it is that you won’t do it. When it comes to running, I run as early as possible in the day since I tend to get stomach upsets if I run after I’ve eaten. If this isn’t possible, I give myself as much time as possible to digest whatever I’ve had before I head out.

To get a full picture of my running and non-running commitments, I put both my running schedule and non-running schedule in different colours in my phone calendar so that I can tell them apart. As the week goes on, things obviously change. You may get sick, you may get held up doing something…if this happens it’s ok! That’s why I plan for the worst. I don’t put rest days into my schedule unless I know for sure that my day can’t accommodate a workout. That way, if something does pop up, I have the rest day get out of jail free card. If I make it to the end of the week and have to use my rest days because I haven’t yet, I obviously do. I just don’t like to put them in right away in fear that I use them prematurely.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy

Product Review: Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer

Price: $39.99 CAD

I honestly have nothing but good things to say about Vega as a whole. I’ve tried quite a few of their products and have yet to find one that I didn’t like. This product is no exception.

Daniel purchased this along with the Electrolyte Hydrator as a healthier take on the pre-workouts that we used to use. My complaint with those is that they would leave me jittery, my lips itchy, and they more often than not had a bad after taste. To give you an idea of how Vega’s Pre-Workout Energizer stacks up against the typical pre-workout, here’s what I thought of it:

PROS

-doesn’t cause the jitters

-no bad aftertaste

-affective for workouts that are 1hr or less

-the flavour doesn’t taste “chemically”

CONS

-limited flavours (lemon lime & acai berry)

-the flavour isn’t super strong, (it does taste citrusy, but isn’t necessarily true to taste)

Is the Vega Sport Pre-Workout Energizer effective? Yes. That being said, the flavours are limited and aren’t necessarily true to what’s indicated on the container. I find that part a tad disappointing, since their other products are so spot on.

Running Fast, Lifting Heavy Approved: I’m going to say yes, providing you can overlook the fact that the flavours aren’t as strong as desired.

 

-Running Fast, Lifting Heavy