We did it!

Well, we didn't quite reach our goal of raising $2000 for the canadian hearing society, but we did raise almost $1400 and thoroughly wore ourselves out!

I took the TTC this morning because my legs are still sore. Must start that c25k program right away. I just did the math, and not counting the times we took the TTC and all the time spent doing challenges (some physical, some not), I ran about 3 3/4 miles on saturday, or about 6 km. That was spread over almost 3 hours, though. So I know it is possible for me to run 5 km, but I also know I am not ready to do it all in one go.

Part of the problem was not wearing proper sneakers... I didn't think we’d be doing that much running (seeing as my team erred on the side of middle-aged, with the exception of my 5-year-old son... not exactly a team designed for maximum efficiency), so I was wearing sandals. But then, our name was picked for expert help: we were joined by amazing race contestant Luke Adams! So that was some added inspiration to get running and going fast!

We didn’t win by any stretch, but had a great time, raised some money, and got a little bit fitter, or maybe a little more aware of the need to get fitter.

The CHS Quest site will still be accepting sponsorships for the next 2 weeks if you care to make a donation!

a childhood dream come true

as a child, i remember reading the sears catalogue religiously, especially the christmas wishbook, and one of the many things i wanted but did not get was a "furkati" - the sears cheap-o polyester version of a flokati rug. oddly, my parents didn't think white shag would be a good match for my childhood standards of cleanliness, not sure why. anyway.

i was at ikea on the weekend, and saw this:

well! who could resist at under $40?

now, what does that have to do with the general theme of this blog, which is supposed to be about regaining health and fitness after a few setbacks? another recurring theme is me making excuses for myself as to why i'm not doing more. example: i keep saying i'm going to start the couch to 5k plan, but then my headphones didn't fit my mobile. also it's so sticky these days i find it hard to breathe walking, let alone running. blah blah blah.

anyway one of the things i was going to do "if only" was to start doing some calisthenics at home. a friend of my husband's does 20 situps every morning, has done for years, and you know what? it doesn't exactly make you a triathlete or anything, but if you do 20 situps every single day of your life, you're going to have better core strength than if you didn't. "but i have no where to do situps." we have hardwood floors, which are hard.

so i got the rug, which is about the size of a yoga mat, and not only is it lovely-squishy-under-the-toes when i get out of bed in the morning, but today when i got up i did 20 situps.

and you know what? it wasn't even hard!

yahoooooooo

tadah!

my implant is out (that hurt a bit in the moment, but was basically fine immediately after, yay), my 12 is sorted, i only have to wear the retainer at night, and i can "taper off" wearing the upper over the next couple of months! yaayy! it was so great at the ortho yesterday to say "have a great summer" because i won't be back there for 3 months!

and just for fun, here's a pic from earlier this spring when my 12 got out of joint:

...and, here's the "before" photo my ortho took way back in september 2010:

another new beginning (number 62 in a series of a million)

ok, after a difficult week with some difficult news and a general lack of energy and bad mood after a spring of difficult anniversaries and a nagging cough since that lung infection i had a while ago, i've gotten pretty slack about taking my supplements and stuff. part of it is that when i'm sick or stressed i get nausesated, and the idea of swallowing pills or fish oil is enough to make me want to vomit. anyway, as of today, i am back on that particular wagon. and, i took an allergy pill this morning, because while i keep talking about it, i haven't really tested the "maybe this lung thing is an allergy thing" theory.

i've also been eating more junky food (went on a bit of a binge when i got my braces off - can't blame me for that!), but today i brought a healthy lunch (leftovers from a healthy dinner a few nights before - pasta with garden-fresh rapini) and two pieces of organic fruit. so that's another step in the right direction.

on the upside, i have been very good about riding my bike to work every day, and on tuesday the kiddo and i walked to the pool (about a mile) and swam for 45 minutes. and yesterday i had a rare evening to myself, and walked a total of 5 miles - was really feeling it by the end!

but, what i really really need to do is get on the c25k. i just checked and my earphones don't fit my mobile, so i guess step one is getting that taken care of... although i can really do it without someone telling me when to run and when to walk, can't i? first week is fairly simple; 5 min warmup walk, followed by 60 sec run/90 sec walk repeated for 20 minutes. i should be able to figure that out, surely... no more excuses!

this is a long weekend, so i hope i get a chance to rest & recharge & get back on track. of course, we have guests in from out of town, and a party to go to, and some family coming over for a bbq, so maybe not!

a whiter shade of pale

today i begin my experiment with whitening trays. i meant to start last night but forgot, so i thought "heck, i'm usually first into the office, i'll just plunk them in at work." because it's really either now or a longish wait; you're supposed to wait 2 weeks after dental work before using them, and i'm getting my miniscrew anchorage implant out next week, so this is my only available week for almost another month.

i went with aquafresh white trays for a number of reasons - cost ($36.99 instead of $54.99 for crest), duration (a month seemed too long to wait, but the expensive superfast ones seemed too fast somehow - like they must be super harsh, or my "transformation" would be too sudden and awkward a la ted baxter's hair dye on the mary tyler moore show).

so far so good, i guess. the goop has a mild minty flavour, and the trays are certainly less annoying than my retainers! we'll see how well they work.

deja vu

once again i am saying i am going to do the couch to 5k. "this time i mean it," of course.

anyway, charting a route using trails.com's google map, so i can figure out when to jog and when to walk, i'm flashing back to 4 years ago, when we were new to the neighbourhood, and i tried to get in the running habit. it just doesn't seem to stick with me, for whatever reason.

but, still i make my little plans, because if i don't at least try once in a while, how will i ever get anywhere?

i have done a fair job of making biking to work part of my routine, so that is something. i've toyed with the idea of saying "if i ride every day for a month, i'll treat myself to a fancy new bike." but realistically, as long as the kiddo is in swimming lessons, i won't be riding those days.

maybe that can be my incentive for running though? i need to come up with some kind of effective motivational treat!

meanwhile, this weekend i will start my white trays (after reading the instructions, i discovered you have to wait 2 weeks after getting dental work done - no chemicals on my tender gums, thank you! then on the 22 may, i'll get my miniscrew anchorage implant out. cannot wait for that!

retainer time

got my retainers yesterday! oh the excitement. the lower one only needs to be worn at night, but the upper is meant to be worn all the time, to nudge my 12 back into position. of course i forgot to put it back on after having my "after" photos done, and went without it all day. i did think of it at one point, but decided to give myself one last day of freedom, since yesterday was such a looong day (started with doing promo for chs quest at a subway station, where i hollered myself hoarse). then i forgot after dinner, although i remembered them for bedtime. it's weird to have my teeth not meet! one at a time is much better. i put in the upper after i got to work this morning, after a coffee, and then some brushing and rinsing. maybe this will help me cut down on my coffee habit. and my snacking habit. cross fingers.

it's also giving me a headache of course - the sinus ache that comes with the shifting. i guess at least that means i know it's working?