Thursday, January 2, 2014

The post about bra shopping, a retro 80's dance party and a training run...extreme cold edition

Yeah, that's snow frozen to my face...and my eyelashes are frozen together.
Normally I may have run 50 more meters to make a perfect 5K, but I said, "no
effing way" today!  It was -25C with the windchill and blowing snow in my face!


  • Happy New Year! How was your New Years Eve? Did you all party hard and dance till you dropped? Yeah, me neither.  Well I did dance, but only for about 5 minute sessions in between hands of UNO. I spent my NYE getting my ass kicked at UNO by my six-year-old. And hubby rolled the tunes like he does every NYE. He always rolls some retro 80's tunes and usually starts out by singing some old George Michael ballads. Never a pleasant experience since he has no singing voice. The man is tone deaf, and tries too hard.
  • Every NYE we have appetizers for dinner and break open a nice bottle of wine. I went Primal on NYE and ate cheese. Couldn't help myself. Paid for it in spades on Wednesday. Had an upset stomach most of the morning. And no, it wasn't the wine. I only had a couple of glasses. Made for a sucky New Years Day run. 
  • On NYD we went to my in-laws for an early dinner. I had veal cutlets, meatballs, salad and beans. I also had some nuts, and fruit. Hubby also ate pasta, and lemon pie.  Then he returned to eating Paleo today. I'm not gonna lie. I'm jealous that he can do that. Once in a while I get a longing to have something from my old eating life. Then I remind myself that it's just food and move on. I have to. I always hear, "well it's just one piece of (insert processed carb/refined sugar food here), or one meal". That is true. But what is not understood is that one piece (for me) will undoubtedly lead to many more.  And it's just not worth it. That is why I have to be diligent, always. Even during holidays. Because I refuse to give myself a pass to eat whatever I want. Even if it is for just one day.  That could potentially set me back days, weeks, months. It did in the past, and I know this from experience.  Why would now be any different?  I do indulge and eat a lot, but on foods that are part of the Paleo template. I still tend to overeat at times.  But it makes a HUGE difference what you choose to overeat.  Lots of protein and vegetables have not made me gain any weight over the past two years. And I usually eat until I'm full and always have, even when I was in active weight-loss mode.  There's some food for thought!
  • Today I returned to work. I went into the office which was like a freaking ghost town. No one was there. Only one other person from my team, and a few people here and there. You'd think that I got a lot of work done. Nope! It almost seemed like a waste to go in. And driving conditions were horrendous. I traveled all the way there on snow covered roads, and all the way back on snow covered roads. It took me 1.5 hours there and 1.75 hours on the way back. There were not many cars out because a lot of people are off until the 6th, but it was very slow going. And I was anxious because I could feel the roads were slick. It was so cold that the packed snow was like ice.
  • I was up early today to run before heading into the office.  I contemplated postponing my run until tomorrow (my rest day) due to the very cold temperature (-25C/-17F) and the blowing snow, but kiboshed that idea when I looked at the weather forecast and saw that tomorrow's temperature is going to be -31C/-24F with the windchill. So I procrastinated for as long as I could, before dawning my gear. I put on running capris under my compression pants, a double layer of socks, three top layers (including my three season jacket), two pairs of gloves, a bandanna and a hat. Considering the temperature and the conditions, I think I did a pretty decent pace (6:54/km). There was a few centimeters of snow on the ground and it felt like I was running through sand.  My lungs were freaking cold and my feet were numb by the time I made it home. I had snow frozen to my face and eyelashes, and my snot?  Well, I'll not mention the snot. When I got into a nice warm shower, my feet hurt. My toes were in a lot of pain, and I clearly should have worn an extra pair of socks because they were a bit frost bitten. My big toe on my right foot was still sore up until late this afternoon. So I am either extremely hardcore, or bat shit crazy. The consensus on Twitter is that I'm a bit of both.  Unless there is an apocalypse, an ice or lightening storm, I run. No excuses! Even hubby got up early and ran today before I went to work. Gotta stick to the training schedule.
  • Next Thursday, we start doing hill repeats. And we absolutely have to do them. A 6K stretch of The Bay is rolling hills. About 10 in total. The last one is about 900 meters long. That is almost a full kilometer! I ran it about 10 times last year during training for my 1st half and the 2-person relay for The Bay. It became a piece of cake, but I'm not as confident right now. My pace is definitely getting better, but my mileage is still pretty low. I'm nervous that as I up it, I'll start having problems with my ankle. That shouldn't be the case, because it feels good, but it's always on my mind. That and the crampy toes because of the Morton's Neuroma...
  • Lets talk about my breasts for a moment. I have spent the majority of my life sporting a C or D cup bra, depending on my weight.  I was gifted a few bras by my gf Linda last year and they were padded bras that were a B cup. So when I wore them, I looked like I actually had boobs. They had to be retired and I went shopping for bras. Easy enough. I'll get B cups. Whoa Nelly! Unless they have padding, a B cup is a bit too big for me, and an A cup is too small. I need an A+ cup, but sadly these do not exist. Who knew that if I was "normal" weight my whole life, I would have gone through my entire life being small breasted. I actually don't mind to be honest with you. It's awesome for running. The only way I'd alter my boobs if I had the money is to get them lifted so they were perkier.  And maybe a perfect B cup so that bra shopping would not be so frustrating. When I was losing weight and would see people who haven't seen me for a while (I'm talking about friends and family) the first thing they'd say to me is, "what happened to your boobs"? The funny thing is that now without the padded bras, I'm getting comments about how small my boobs are again. I have been living a lie this past year. I'm coming out right now to tell you all that my boobs are non-existent.  It was all an optical illusion.
  • Here is the 18th video in the Anniversary Series entitled Ode to my Marathon. I talk about feeling melancholy for having to miss my first marathon and hubby fails to tell me that I have a hot ass!