New Sponsorship: Bellefleur Physiotherapy

I couldn't be more thrilled to announce my newest sponsorship: Bellefleur Physiotherapy !!!

There are many reasons why I'm BEYOND excited about this:
#1 - I put my body through hell, and need to be sure I am taking all the steps necessary to care for it (dry needling is my personal fav treatment for muscle knots and sore spots)

#2:  Bellefleur's owners/physios are community leaders, and deeply involved with the Orleans communtiy (something that is very important to me)

#3 Did I mention that they are award winning physiotherapists?!?! Voted Health Care Professional of the Year and Business Person of the Year!!

#4 Their clinic is NOT your usual physio clinic with rows of beds, and impersonal treatment!  They pride themselves on a more personal touch, with beautiful private treatment facilities.

Meet Dave and Jason Bellefleur, and please check them out online http://bellefleurphysio.com/

It's caring professionals like this that make me want to train harder and push myself even further!  I have no doubt that 2015 will be an amazing year, with them keeping my body working at its optimal fitness level!!

THANKS SO MUCH TO BELLEFLEUR PHYSIOTHERAPY!! 

And to all my athletes who read this, remember that I always stress the importance of caring for our bodies! Don't wait for an injury to see a physio!! See them for maintenance and care of those muscles and tight spots (hips, glutes, knees, ITB and back to name a few!)

New Race Added!!

In addition to my previously posted race lineup, I have added one more 100 miler in November!! The course is fast, and has been the site of some wicked-fast 100 mile times.  I'm stoked to have a fast race after my extremely mountainous season!!

Stay tuned for more info, wooooohoooo!!!

Never tell me that I can't... cause I will!!

So today I arrived at my absolute fav ski trails, only to discover that they were completely ungroomed!!  With over 20 centimeters of fresh powder.  Another skier said to me "the trails are unskiable"... hmmmmm, sounded like a challenge to me!!

I took off!! (well, took off at a turtle's pace) trudging through the snow, pushing as hard as I could.  Before i knew it I was done the distance i had set out to complete. Sure, it took me twice as long as I had planned. Sure, my poor legs were completely destroyed afterwards and my upper body/arms were complete jello. But I had conquered the "unskiable" trails!! muhahaha!!  There is something very powerful about being out on km after km of untouched trails.  I heard the trees cracking, the snow blowing, the woodpeckers and the sled-dogs in the distance, and I couldn't have felt more alive! It was just me, my skis and kms of fresh powder.  True bliss.

Ok, now i need food and a nap!

A Thank You

Just wanted to send a thank you to all my sponsors who support my crazy adventures!!  You are all so wonderful and supportive!!

And of course, thank you to my wonderful husband Corey, my amazing parents and parents-in-law, and my wonderful friends!!

PiYo Review

Ok, so as many people are already aware I recently started to do the at-home workouts called "PiYo".

What is PiYo?
PiYo combines the muscle-sculpting, core-firming benefits of Pilates with the strength and flexibility advantages of yoga.  

What I got when I ordered it?
- 3 Blu-ray Discs (each with 3 or 4 different workouts on them)
- workout calendar (see below)
- nutrition guide
- measuring tape (for before and after)
- Beachbody coach (this is FREE!)

My thoughts on the program:
I'm pretty skeptical with these at-home workouts programs, as I either find the videos boring and/or the instructors super annoying (and I want to kick my TV screen).

The program starts out by getting you to know all of the basic movements, this includes a lot of yoga movements and poses, proper pushups and some really great core strengthening moves.  Each day you only have to commit to ONE workout per day (they vary in time from roughly 25mins - 50mins)... who doesn't have time for that?!?!?  

The best part of the videos was that it wasn't BORING at all.  I felt constantly challenged, and excited to keep going.

The first week was definitely challenging! I felt like my arms, shoulders, glutes, thighs and abs were going to explode!  After only 2 weeks I already see results!!  It's nuts!! I am a believer: PiYo works!

What can I say??

Let me start with the reasons why I really like the program:
1.  It is challenging for all fitness levels: you can really adapt this program to anyone.  And YOU decide how far you will push yourself.  You decide how deep you go in a squat or a lunge, you decide whether you will hold that plank, or do those extra tricep pushups... it is truly adaptable for anyone! And it definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone.

2.  The instructor (Chalene Johnson) is AMAZING!! She can guide you through an entire workout without you even looking up at the screen once! She explains everything clearly and easily, and she might be the coolest chick EVER (ok, I don't know her.. BUT I WANT TO!)

3.  Every workout is different.  Yes, there are some of the same movements (sun salutations etc), but each day is uniquely challenging.  I can see myself doing this every day for A LONG LONG TIME!

4.  The Calendar: it is easy to follow and keeps me motivated.  (I actually printed out some from online so I can take notes on each day's workout and how I felt).

5.  Through Beachbody you are assigned a coach for FREE!  I just so happens my friend Flo Barnes-Zurkinden is a Beachbody coach, so I get to work with her.  Through this I got into a great support group, where we share our daily workouts, nutrition and goals.  It's really great!

** I highly recommend this program to EVERYONE!!! ***

I will be posting another review in 2 weeks (I'm currently 2 weeks into the program).  
I already feel stronger!! 

The Pain Barrier

It's not very often that I talk about the details of my training, I'm just quiet about the nitty gritty details.

But I wanted to post about today's run and about what I do when it truly starts to suck.

Today was a normal LONG trail run day.  We set out early, quickly got rolling.  Corey really pushed the pace today, and I just fought to keep up!  I kept looking down at my Garmin (which I rarely do) and kept seeing 4:20/km, 4:15/km, 4:10/km...WTF?!?!?  What was I doing... I had to remind myself a few times about what Timmy Olsen once said to me about running within myself.  Great words from a wise man!   I settled into my pace and just kept on rolling.

Today was a tough day for me, not because I wasn't running well.  But because the conditions sucked and I hit a BIG pain barrier.  Everything just started to get sore all at the same time, UGH!  But, for the first time I didn't let it shake me or stop me.  I just kept plugging away and ticking the kms off.  My pace never faltered... When it hurt (oh, it HURT!) I just kept telling myself "keep moving, this will pass"... so I'd keep moving, never stopping, and sure enough, "the suck" passed!   :)

  

During my run today I though a lot about someone who inspires me!!  Her name is Karin McMillan and she just completed a 10 day race!! (Yup, 10 freaking days!!)  Karin is so strong and so inspiring!  When things got tough today, I thought about Karin and what she just endured... made my little run seem like nothing.

Thanks for being AWESOME Karin!!

New Sponsor!! 7SYSTEMS endurance sports supplement!!

Ok, I'm super excited to announce my newest sponsor!!  7 Systems!!!

For years I have searched for the perfect vitamin supplement combination, and always felt somewhat lost.  7 Systems takes all the guess work out of it, and conveniently packages all the necessary supplements into ONE pouch.  :)

Visit the site to find out full details... but here are some of the ingredients that I LOVE:
L-Glutamine
Glucosamine
MSM
CoQ10
Ginseng

I love having a great company like this supporting me!!