I started out 2008 with 4 major goals:

- at least 1 unassisted pullup DONE! 3/14/08
- run a sub 30:00 5K DONE! 3/30/08
- train for a 10K in late spring 2008 DONE! 5/4/08
- snatch the 16kg kettlebell DONE! 5/6/08

I officially checked #4 off my list today when I bought a 16kg bell and when I started playing with it I felt the "flow" in my body, the juice that powers a snatch and BOOM! there it was!

I would like everyone to admire my pretty shiny new kettlebell, as you can see my cat had to come check it out as well.

As a BONUS, I weighed in at 111 pounds this morning, a new all time low.

Practice Makes Perfect

As no musician would perform without hours of dedicated practice, you should not attend an event where there will be food temptations without first taking the time to mentally prepare and visualize the steps you'll take to avoid these temptations. Will there be pushy diet saboteurs who say, "Oh, just one little bite won't hurt." "I made these brownies just for you, I'll be so sad if you don't try some!"? The key is to practice and practice again these three simple words: No thank you. It's the automatic answer. If you say it often and consistently people will eventually stop offering you junk food. Visualize yourself surveying the food layout and filling your plate with just the foods that will nourish and fuel your body: fresh veggies and fruit, lean meats, whole grains. Then, if you wish, select one small portion of a treat and savour each bite slowly. A healthy lifestyle is not about denying yourself constantly, but to enjoy yourself in moderation.

Eat Regularly

Meals and snacks spaced approximately 3 hours apart throughout the day keep blood sugar levels stable. When we go too long without food, blood sugar levels drop dramatically, often causing a mad dash for any food within reach. The most popular packaged snack foods are high in refined carbohydrates and sugars, which soon cause more fluctuations in blood sugar levels and more cravings...it's a vicious cycle!

Be Prepared

Ever been starving at 3pm at work and trying to ignore the siren song of the vending machine or the call of the donut box in the staff room? The key is to be prepared every single day with your own water and healthy pre-portioned snacks. Don't carry change for the vending machine and stay out of the work kitchen if possible. It also helps to think of the food in the kitchen as 'not yours' - you didn't buy it or bring it in, so helping yourself to this food is akin to stealing. All my personal trainer colleagues - the healthiest people I know - carry snacks with them every day to be prepared in any situation. If there is a family event where you know nothing healthy will be served, eat a full meal beforehand. Again, those magic words, "NO THANK YOU, I'm stuffed." will get you out of many sticky situations. I never worry about hurting someone's feelings by turning food down - your health is more important!

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Continue to improve my oral hygiene by flossing at least once a week. Baby steps.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not yet, but SIL is due to pop one out in the next few days. I am not looking forward to that.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What places did you visit?
Muskoka is as far from home as we ventured.

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
A vacation.

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The day in the summer when SIL stuck an ultrasound in my face, at that moment I realized that I don't care for and will not put up with her goody two-shoes perfection anymore.

8. What was your biggest achievement(s) of the year?
Running that 5K, improving a lot as a personal trainer, getting certified as a kettlebell instructor

9. What was your biggest failure?
Nothing is a failure, I just see them as shortcomings to which I can improve.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
No.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Smartwool socks!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Can't think of anyone in particular.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Definitely my SIL. Depressed enough to seek professional help.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Groceries, gas, food, running gear

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Going to a Leafs game for our first anniversary.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock
Idina Menzel - Defying Gravity

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? About the same.
b) thinner or fatter? Thinner.
c) richer or poorer? Richer, amazingly enough!

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Sleep, relax in general.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Teach piano.

20. How did you spend Christmas last year?
Cooking a healthy meal for Greg's family. That was fun.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?
I love my Greg and I love my poosy cat!

22. How many one-night stands?
ZERO!

23. What was your favorite TV program?
As always, Hockey Night in Canada.

24. What did you do for your birthday in 2007?
Go out for sushi with Greg & my parents and then cake with Amanda at home.

25. What was the best book you read?
Deathly Hallows, of course.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I listened to a lot more old fashioned rock this year, like AC/DC.

27. What did you want and get?
A new camera.

28. What did you want and not get?
A spa day. No one ever gets me a spa day. *sniffle*

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I only saw 1 in the theatre this year - Harry Potter and I liked it, but wouldn't put it in my favourites list.

30. Did you make some new friends this year?
Yes.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More massages.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?
Business casual/trendy athletic wear.

33. What kept you sane?
Exercising.

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
I cannot help reading about Britney.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Is childhood obesity a political issue?

36. Who did you miss?
My church singing posse.

37. Who was the best new person you met?
a lot of cool people at the gym.

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
- There's a really fine line between generosity and charity with a patronising snub.
- I can do whatever I put my mind to do, just have a plan.

To many people, especially my colleagues in the fitness community, completing a 5K might not seem like a big deal. My earliest memories of running/fitness were all bad - the dreaded 1 mile run around the hilly "terraces" in grades 4-5 at MUS where I'd always nearly be last, only faster than the fat kid; getting hit in the head during basketball and in the gut during dodgeball in grade 6-8. In grade 8 I raised the most money in the school for a 10K walk (which I completed) and when I got an award at the June assembly people were so surprised that I survived a 10K walk. There are people who know me from back in those days reading this - do you remember? I'll even mention when I was cast as a psychotic aerobics instructor in the grade 6 Christmas play and everyone laughed because, "Patty? The music geek? playing an exercise nut?!" Well, life imitates art.

I started out small. I remember my first official workout in late summer 2000. I lasted all of 30 seconds on the stairmaster before getting very dizzy, breaking out in a cold sweat and having to lie down (what on earth prompted me to choose such a challenging machine to start on, I'll never know). Eventually I joined a gym and started trying all sorts of classes, and enjoying it so much that I became certified in group fitness and then personal training.

In terms of running, I have improved so much in such a short time. Last May 2-4, Amanda and I tried to go for a jog but lasted maybe 5 minutes before slowing to a walk. In early July, I was huffing and puffing trying to keep up with the other trainers. I only made the decision to start running regularly about a month ago, and I have never failed to meet any health or fitness related goal that I set for myself in the past 7 years.

So, for those of you who have spent your whole lives active, I applaud your healthy choices because I wish I hadn't waited 22 years to start myself. Today I celebrate how far I have come from the girl wheezing through the 1 mile run. To anyone thinking about changing your lifestyle in the near future - if I can do it, so can you!

And that 10K walk I managed 15 years ago? I'm planning on running it next spring.

I finished the Santa Shuffle in 31:42.
It was freezing, -7 C with wind. I'm the speck in black in the picture, taken with Greg's phone because my camera decided to run out of juice just as he tried to use it during the race. The speck in orange is Amber, whom I'm very grateful to for putting up with my snail paced plod through the race and early mornings!

New goals:

- improve 5K time to sub 30:00
- work towards 10K in spring 2008

Next race:
Sunday, December 9 - Jingle Bell 5K

In my day, the buses weren't cancelled unless there was a foot of snow on the ground! And even then, my mom would drive me to school.

I am now a certified Agatsu kettlebell instructor!

More pictures from the certification are here.

Coffee's ready...

Originally I bought a Nalgene OTG bottle, without doing any research. When I got home, I read this on their site:

"So, what we're saying is enjoy the indestructible quality of the bottle, enjoy your liquids without the "dreaded" plastic taste & smell, enjoy the fact that this quality bottle was manufactured in the USA, but don't put it upside down in your backpack."

Uhhh, if I designed a water bottle and it LEAKED, it should be straight back to the drawing board. A slight design flaw, don't you think?

I took it straight back to the store and exchanged for a Camelbak. You don't even need to tilt it to drink, eliminating spinning class showers...and it looks not much bigger than my old 500mL bottle but actually holds more than 750mL, so I get an extra 2 cups of water a day without realizing it.

Seriously...who doesn't like bacon?

So these two nutty guys have come up with BaconSalt, a condiment that's calorie free, vegetarian, and kosher, although definitely not sodium free, heh. The idea is so insane, it's actually brilliant.

I'd give this shit a try.

In case that's not enough for you, there's bacon spray, bacon toothpicks and also bacon chocolate, among many other smoked swine-derived products.

[Bringing Home the Bacon]

It makes me feel a little bit better about the 20 min. run on Couch to 5K that's coming up.

Yesterday I had a training session with Cary Gordon, who is the only RKC in the neighbourhood. He fixed my form on a few basic exercises, hopefully I will not be sustaining any more major bruises. Cary will be running a 3 hour introductory KB workshop on July 14th in Oakville and I am looking forward to that.

My plan for the summer is to not touch a dumbell or barbell, with the exception of team training and teaching muscle classes at the gym (which I don't count as a workout anyways) and see how far kettlebells take me.

In the fall I plan on getting certified through Agatsu.