Chariots of Fire

The 'Chariot Sports Series CX 2' was the first thing I knew our family needed to have for our daughter and lifestyle. The only thing is that it was quite pricey but we took the familiar saying into heart, 'You get what you pay for'. We certainly have. 

This beast, despite its size is super light weight. It's the ideal stroller for the active lifestyle family. You can convert it for usage during everyday, running, cross-country skiing, hiking and cycling. The '2' in 'CX 2' stands for it being made for two children. Once people find this out they ask if we are trying for a second child. No! Right now that is not our focus. We thought if we were going to invest in this heavy duty stroller we might as well stretch it a bit and go for the double if and when we decide to have a second child down the line. What's great about the CX2 is even if you don't have two kids you can have just one baby/child in it and the weight won't throw off the ride experience, or push experience. Currently we have the 'Infant Baby Sling' which attaches centrally. 

Chariot Carriers CX Features from the 'Chariot' website:

PERFORMANCE DRIVEN
• Multi-Sport Capabilities
• Aerodynamic Design
• CAS™ Suspension
• Adjustable Handlebar• Drum Brakes-attached at the handlebars
FOCUS ON CHILD SAFETY
• Anodized Aluminum Roll Cage Frame
• 3M™ Reflective Material
• Five Point Child Safety Harness
ENHANCED CHILD COMFORT
• Full Window Venting
• Weather Cover
• Sunshade
• Tinted Windows
• Padded Seating
• Shoulder Harness
• Integrated Helmet Space
EASY TO USE
• Parking Brake
• VersaWing™ Technology
• Patented ezFold™
ADDED CONVENIENCE
• Click n’ Store™
• Rear Storage

Easy storage and assembly.

Many handlebar options with the brake on the right side.

'Infant Baby Sling' has soft padding and footrest.

Two storage compartments, one large that can fold up and one at the handlebars that can be removed and used as a backpack. 

'Full Window Venting' acts as a bug shield and tinted side windows that can be removed. 

To learn more, check out the video above. 

The only difficulty we have so far experienced is that the 'CX 2' is a wide model to accommodate two children. This poses a problem due to its width. Although it can fit in most doorways, you will find that it can be very tight and you may encounter doors and gates that don't allow for its width. 

Bulking Up

Week two of training is underway and prior to starting it I knew I had to add something back in that I had given up during pregnancy...My SHAKES! My morning protein shakes.

I have tried many different brands over the years but there is an outlier that I decided is worth the price and I must have it back in my life.

What is this protein shake you ask... and where can I get it???

The brilliant makers of this shake is by a company called: HERBALIFE

Easily confused with Herbal Magic..The weight loss company. Much much different.

HERBALIFE sponsors many athletes from the MLS Soccer team LA Galaxy, top professional soccer player, Cristiano Ronaldo, top triathletes, Triathlete races and your everyday athletes too!

So the delicious items I purchase to make my shake includes:

• Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix: French Vanilla

They have other great flavours including: dutch chocolate, wild berry, and cafe latte. The reason I choose 'French Vanilla' is because I can then make my shake any flavour I want by adding ingredients such as cocoa powder, frozen fruit, juice, and jello powder. The vanilla mixes well with everything I've tried thus far. 

• Formula 3 Personalized Protein Powder

I add this into my shake for extra protein.

The reason I choose this shake combination over others is due to the flavour and the energy it gives me. Many other shakes I've tried don't mix very well with other ingrediants and can have weird textures to them (often grainy almost). 

I usually have my shake either for breakfast, pre and or post work! I would have it all day if I could. It makes a satisfying healthy dessert too! 

Today was my first day back with it and I had it before I did my weight workout. I decided to make it a Vanilla Cherry Raspberry flavoured shake. Here's my recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops of Formula 1 French Vanilla Nutritional Shake Mix
• 2 tsp of Formula 3 Personalized Protein Powder
• 3 ice cubes
• 6 frozen cherries
• 1 tsp of sugar free raspberry jello powder
• 1 cup of vanilla almond milk

Place ice cubes and frozen cherries in first (if you add them last you have a splash factor to take in), next add the milk and lastly the powders (putting the powder in first I find doesn't mix as well). Place in a blender, and then your good to go (I use the bullett...LOVE IT). 

Well hope you all get a chance to one day enjoy this amazing tasty product, if not try the recipe with your own protein powder and enjoy. 

Better First Than Last

Now that the word 'parenthood' is used as a description of who I am I've experienced many firsts. This weekend was jam-packed with firsts for me, where I got to live them in the moment, and I can now see how much I learned.

It started off with a Saturday of packing up the car for our first overnight trip with iyla and our boxer kaiser. Getting them in the car wasn't an issue, it's all that comes with them for a weekend away. As you will see below a bag for each of us, sleeping pillow, and our pack and play for iyla left our vehicle near filled to the brim (I guess no more kids for us Kevin), and us leaving much later than planned. 

So much for packing everything up the night before, we STILL didn't get out of the house when planned. My advice is when making plans, don't set a specific time to be somewhere, add 'around' and 'ish' to your vocabulary. Example: ah we should be there around 3ish. That way you aren't disappointing anyone waiting for you at an exact time or if you're like me, driving yourself nuts thinking you may be late...I hate being late, it's not how I work...I get so worked up thinking I might be. I'm the girl who was in tears when she was late once to work in 3 years, feeling very irresponsible in that moment.

Kaiser over eager to get in the car...back seat instead of trunk

On our way!

Sunday gave way to my first LSD (long steady distance) at 10miles and my dear friend, Delynn's  daughter, Isabella's baptism and first birthday. I knew I would have to get on the road early so that Kevin, Iyla and I would get everywhere on time since there were set places to meet. To do this I created a plan I thought to be a sure thing:

Get up super early at 530am to pump and throw on my run gear and be out the door by 6am. I'd be back at 8am latest with time to shower and get iyla ready and fed before a 10am Baptism. I even had my mom prepped (bless her heart) with how she takes her bottle etc (I'm lucky my mom could watch her so I could run and Kev could join me).

What actually happened:

Up on time...Iyla got hungry super early so I had to feed her, burp etc prior to pumping a bottle. By the time this was done it was 6:40am. I then had to eat breakfast (forgot to actually factor this in), I just grabbed a breakfast bar because it was quick, filled my camelback and finally hit the road at 7am (Yes an hour later than panned). Once outside I had to run off a bunch of emotions that were coming up for me with my patient partner Kev by my side. My breathing got heavy because I knew I wouldn't be able to do my planned 10miler and would have to cut it short to 6. This felt like death to me...I absolutely hate changing my planned workout in milage and 6miles didn't feel like a challenge, the challenge of 10 I was looking forward to. Crazy as that may sound I'm not happy unless I'm pushing the boundaries on what I can do, I feel so alive when I'm going further, or faster than imagined. 'Counting Stars' by One Republic "Everything that kills me makes me feel alive" describes how I feel with physical activity. The killing part for me is the struggle and the pushing my body to the edge. Kevin could see me over thinking in my head and asked what he could do to help us all get ready when back so we could kill a few more miles. Man I love my man, who can read my mind more than he realizes, he is everything I'am not and more and is all about supporting me (that I will save for another blog, another day). 

So 4 miles out and back we went on the River Road in Chatham. The great thing about running early on a Sunday is that there is rarely ever an interruption of street lights or cars...just quiet streets and the beautiful sun rising ahead of us. For this run I just planned to stay on average under a 9 minute mile and I did just that. Drinking water every 2 miles we made it home not long after 8 am and to the baptism early.

Ready for Isabella's baptism and 1st Birthday

Church...this was Iyla's first time and both Kevin and I were a bit nervous to how she would do. She slept the whole time as we enjoyed the lovely service and milestone occurring in our friends lives. Isabella was gorgeous as ever and full of giggles, bringing the whole congregation to a state of joyous laughter.

After the service we all went back to Delynn and Dave's home to now celebrate Isabella's first birthday. Their beautiful home and yard was full of family, friends and more importantly LOVE. This love was an energy you could feel, everyone truly enjoying the company surrounding them. During her 'smash the cake' experience I found myself getting teary eyed thinking how quickly Izzy has grown up, how quickly her mom and dad also have and our relationships. I can still remember meeting my dear friend Delynn in high school and it then brought me to think about how quick time has already gone by with iyla. Her one year birthday will be here before I know it. It's weird because I almost don't want her to grow up, I want to stretch out and savour each moment. Yet on the other hand each stage brings new thrills and excitement to us as parents. I'm so attached to her it's scary amazing. Love pours out of me for her more than I could have ever imagined.

Birthday girl with her loving parents

Daddy and his girl...30seconds later his shirt covered in spit

The kids

To recap:

Our first overnight road trip which we came through unscathed. I'm sure as we travel more in the future we will become more efficient. Another first was my LSD, the milage is increasing and I learned yes to planned runs but I myself have to understand the 'around' and 'ish' on my daily scheduling. This week it will mean adding a few more miles to my shorter week runs. Finally Izzy's first birthday and how wonderful it is to watch her grow in a loving family environment. It reminds me to always cherish every moment. 

Back On The Saddle

My 6 week countdown to lacing up, preloading the Garmin Forerunner, and hitting the asphalt is finally OVER!! After given birth, it is recommended by Doctor's to wait a minimum 6 weeks (each pregnancy and labour may differ) to let the body heal from the labour process. I actually can't believe how quickly the last 6 weeks have flown by. It scares me how quickly time has passed since having Iyla. I'm hoping it slows down just a little, because at this rate she'll be leaving for school in the blink of an eye - and that thought can very nearly bring me to tears just thinking about it. 

So back to running. As Iyla turned 6 weeks old, my own official 6 week milestone came to an end Sunday. Not going to lie, I have been itching to get out running in the summer sunshine! I chose to begin my training on Monday because it was a smoother transition back onto my 'Training Peaks' 3hr30min marathon training plan. Since it is a 16-week Training Plan, and working backwards from the November Road2Hope Marathon, it means I jump into the plan already 4 weeks in. Starting it on Sunday would've had me jump into a 14mile long run at the end of the third week of my training. 14miles seemed a bit steep to jump into so with race day 12 weeks away I started week four of training. 

My training plan tells me the distance and a set pace to run for each run I go on. It has me running 6 out of 7 days of the week and includes everything from strides, hills, MP (marathon pace), LSD (long steady distance) and more. It's an intense plan that excites me!

DAY 1 Monday August 5th:

Run: 4 miles easy

Pace: 8:48 min/mile 

This was the pace set as part of the training plan. Having just come back into it, my focus was not on pace, but to just run and see where I was at. Here's what happened pace wise:

Mile 1: 9:22

Mile 2: 9:14

Mile 3: 8:43

Mile 4: 8:30

Mile Avg: 8:56 min/mile

As you can see I struggled in the first mile. This showed up for me in my lungs and it was a feeling I haven't felt since I first started my journey of running. While running and seeing this pace on my watch it made me think of the end of my pregnancy, 30lbs heavier and how I was running in the 8min range. Bizarre what the body can still do when pregnant, yet how quickly it can decline when consistency is lost. I could tell my endurance lagging a little, and it's going to take some time to get it back. Each mile just got easier and the body felt lighter as I went on. I felt ZERO PAIN when running and I am so thankful that I waited 6 weeks before getting back into it. During the run I just celebrated each milestone I made. These milestones I staged as each street I turned onto. When my Garmin watch beeped at each mile marker I celebrated no matter what time showed up. I have to admit though it made me excited to see the pace improve as I progressed. I spent lot's of time after the 4 mile point to walk and stretch.

Despite the stretching I woke up quite stiff today. I'm not in pain at all but my muscles got worked and I can feel the soreness. It's a GREAT feeling.

Moving forward with my training I am shifting some things up. For the next few weeks, pace is not my focus, but completing the milage is. I am planning to run 4-5 times this week vs. the posted 6. The indicator for this is based on how my body is feeling. I don't want to go too hard, too fast, too soon and risk injury, so right now it's about pacing myself as best as I can.

Here's to my first week of running!!!

Long Weekend Recap

Hey All!

Since it's the Civic Holiday this Monday we are currently immersed and enjoying the long weekend therefore I will be keeping this blog short.

Those of you that follow the blog know that last Sunday Kevin was ill and we unfortunately didn't make it out to Bala Falls for his triathlon. We decided to drive out to Bala this past Saturday so that Kevin's parents and Iyla could experience cottage country for the first time. Kevin's parents live in Scotland and came across to visit us for the past two weeks. We wanted them to see where our triathlons typically take place and why we love the cottage country so much. We spent the day between Bala Falls and Gravenhurst (where over one year ago, we began our triathlon fascination).

In Bala Falls we had lunch at Bee Jays Diner. The staff were even kind enough to bring Kaiser a bowl of water to quench his thirst. It wasn't long before Kaiser, our boxer dog, got the chance to swim. He tends to sense when there is water around. Although he's not an avid swimmer...just try getting him out of the water! At least from chest deep!! Across the street and over the bridge above the Falls, there was a Regatta Day with canoe races including all ages which was fun to watch.

We drove the 27 kilometres to Gravenhurst where there happened to be a Pirate Festival that we took a gander at. It was coming to a close but looked like great fun for the kids with giant inflatables, a ferris wheel, and of course PIRATES arrrrr!!!! Before heading back south, we dropped by a quaint little Tea Shop. Despite the little chill in the air we sat on the patio for tea and something sweet and delectable. The cozy tea certainly warmed us up....the price we pay (not a price at all) in travelling with our four-legged friend!

Sunday we had my Grandma and Grandpa Skipper over for the first time to our place and to see Iyla. They came with my mom and we also had my Sister Shae, her husband Bohdan and their son Kai over.   Below you will see the two fathers with their wee bairns. Below is Iyla's great grandparents. 

Both my mom and sister wanted a shot holding Iyla who slept the whole time. She has a habit of missing all the days events. All this sleeping gives her an angelic reputation!

The last photo was the three generations together. It was a beautiful day full of great conversations, and great food. My grandma brought up some of my favourite cookies that she makes.

Left to Right (Myself, My Mom Peggy, Iyla, My Grandma Bev and Mother in Law Veronica)

We finished our Sunday with a BBQ, bath time for Iyla and enjoying some more sweets while watching Dirty Dancing. I will finish my long weekend off tomorrow with my first run in 6 weeks...nervously excited!

How did you use your long weekend?

Celebrating The Small Things

Those of you that know me know that I'm a big user of checklists. I love the feeling of checking things off my list, it gives me that sense and joy of accomplishment. In the past 5 and a half weeks my checklist has been non-existant since having Iyla and I haven't been feeling the best about myself. It's like a part of me is missing! After talking this out with Kevin, he had me look at my situation as if I was a client who came to me for coaching, and asked me "how would you coach a client that was experiencing the same thing?"

PERSPECTIVES! Once hearing Kevin lay it out so simply, I quickly got into my own head and started looking at the situation from different perspectives. One of the perspectives I explored and decided to keep in mind was that of my boxer dog Kaiser. How would Kaiser perceive this dilemma? Kaiser is so cheery and happy-go-lucky on every walk. Each time he catches a new scent, feels the freedom of the outdoors, hears his surroundings, and encounters other animals, his ears perk up and little tail starts wagging! This allowed me to look and appreciate the small things by shifting my focus towards the process rather than the outcome. Taking the time to take a deep breath, appreciate the 'small stuff', and acknowledge myself for the challenges at hand.

The 'small stuff' I've celebrated includes:

• Brushing my teeth, showering and having clothes on before 11am 
• Iyla smiling
• Having visitors over
• Cooking and/or baking a meal for others
• Small trips out of the house (this week included visiting my old team at lululemon)
• Getting a thirty minute span of reading in
• Working out 
• Cleaning 
• Catching up on guilty pleasure shows (Currently this includes 'Camp', 'The Amazing Race' and 'PLL')

In an effort to combine both my love for lists and sense of accomplishment, my husband and I devised a schedule for keeping our home in check. This checklist is meant only as a guide and should we stumble across 10-15mins of free time in our day, we have a blackboard of tasks to-be-done that maintains our sanity and home. Sometimes doing only one thing a day can make a difference both internally and externally. 

Overall, in becoming a new mom it's about setting and celebrating small victories, no matter how small or how seemingly unimportant. There is no shame in staying in pj's all day (This has been my Sundays as of late). My husband still loves me AND kisses me, even if I don't brush my teeth. The world keeps on turning.

Motherhood is a journey, and I believe that I will learn more from Iyla than she may ever learn from me. That in itself is such a humbling and rewarding notion.