My parents recently celebrated 30 years of marriage!

:: Mom on her wedding day 30 years ago ::

They are both a huge inspiration to me. Seeing two people who work together, workout together and have fun together for 30 years is actually pretty amazing. They both make each other better people and their teamwork has proven to be very successful! I am so happy for them and I consider myself lucky to have them as parents.

:: 30 years later in the same dress!! ::

Can we talk about the fact that mom fit into her dress?!?!? Pretty amazing after 30 years it still fits like a glove! My mom and dad are healthier than ever, they workout at Bod Squad three times per week, dad lifts weights once more per week and my mom does yoga once or twice a week. They put me to shame!!! My parents are proof that age is really just a number, I think they look and feel even better than they did at their 20th anniversary! I look forward to 30+ more years of family Bod Squads and interval sprints!! Congratulations to the strongest couple I know, love you both!!

Yesterday was the Sporting Life 10k race for Camp Ooch!

My goal was to break 40 minutes with the thinking that I had run the race in 42 minutes three years ago. On Saturday night I re-checked the past records and realized I'd only run 44:38 last time whew!! 

I'd trained for the run but nothing really more than I typically would do just for life training. I woke up feeling great and ready to go! When I got down to the start it was pretty cold but manageable. To stay warm I did a bit more warm-up stuff than I normally would which was fine but it made it really difficult to get a good starting position since people were standing at the start for 30 minutes prior to the race. When the race started I was having a hard time getting around people which drives me crazy!! If you sign-up to run a race in under 45 minutes you need to be a runner, not a jogger!! There are plenty of other corrals to join in. People where pushing behind me, I was pushing people in front of me who were looking at my like, 'stop pushing!', and I'm looking at them like, 'start running!". Next year I will try to be closer to the front for sure and I also hope that they make a sub 40 minute target group because I think that would help with the crowding at the start. 

The first 5k felt amazing, like I was floating down Yonge street. Then the wall hit like a ton of bricks between the 6 and 8 km markers. I know again for next year I need to do more longer, faster distance runs to keep me fast here. I thought I had sub 40 in a bag and then BAM! on came a huge cramp that I just couldn't shake for 2 km. Finally I started to pick it up again and finished in exactly 42:00! A personal best by 2 minutes and 38 seconds, can't ask for more and overall I'm really happy that I did the run! I can't wait to crush the 40 minute barrier next year! I want to go again right now and try!!

I wish Toronto did another huge 10k at the end of the summer, like September, down Yonge street. It would be great to have raced after a season of strong running. I'm sure a lot of people are in the same boat I am where I just got back into running after the winter about a month ago, it would be great to see what improvement we could make over a summer of running. Maybe I'll just make my own 10k!!

Who's with me?!

The best part of the race was knowing that over 2 million dollars were raise for Camp Ooch, a summer camp for kids with cancer. If you're thinking about running this race next year I highly reccommend it! It's a true athletic event highlight for Toronto, the feeling of looking down Yonge street and seeing 27,000 people running with you is pretty amazing! 

p.s. The reason why I don't have a finish photo is because I blondely gave Matt the wrong finish line area!! Again, more reason to run next year!

1. Instructors make the class. I don't care what the discipline, if the instructor is great any class can be amazing.

2. There is no perfect workout for everyone. We were all born to excel in different areas – just like some of us loved science in high school where others couldn't balance an equation to save their life, speaking from personal experience here! The key is finding the workout that works for you and sticking with it!

3. Diet is EVERYTHING. Gahhh I wish it weren't true but it is. Unfortunately it's wayyyy easier to eat 3,000 calories (one big bowl of fettuccine alfredo will get you close!) a than it is to burn them (running about 25 miles)!! The key here is preparation, make your meals in advanced and bring food to work, it's 100x healthier and you'll eat way less when you're not starving and making quick choices at a cafeteria.

4. Injuries are inevitable but the real sign of true fitness is how you pull yourself back off the floor from them. A lot of the time when we get injured it's hard not to think about what you can't do, where really the focus should be on what you can do. Physio and rehab is great but you also need to keep your training and fitness up in other areas, this will help keep you strong in the long run everywhere. The brutal truth about injuries that few practitioners will actually admit to is that they might never feel the same again. Learning how to work with your limitations and will make you stronger! This is SO important.

5. Myofasical release is the most under talked about form of therapy in fitness. The only thing I do every single day to say limber is foam roll / stick therapy. Especially in the hips and IT area. Happy hips, happy body! Watch me foam roll here.

6. Exercise is the fountain of youth.