My run spot.

Bobby did it! And I’m so proud of him and to have been a part of his success! 

A little background.. Last month, Bobby and I sat down and chatted about his fitness and health goals and had a conversation about things he’s wanted to achieve for a long time, but has never put the effort in to JUST DO IT. 

As a personal trainer, I’ve worked with countless individuals itching to make a change in their lives and to lose that last 10 pounds, or to achieve various fitness goals. Of course, each person’s prescription is entirely dependent on their goals - but for the most part, when someone starts exercising (a mix of strength and power type activities) on a regular basis and starts eating 5 small meals per day, they notice apparent progress in their weight loss/toning goals within 6 weeks. 

That’s what happened to Bobby. When we first met, Bobby was eating twice a day on average and exercising almost incessantly but wasn’t seeing any changes in his body. His weight wasn’t coming down, he wasn’t getting more defined, and he wasn’t sleeping well. This is the most common pattern I have ever seen in clients that I have worked with in the last 5 years. If you were to think of the energy in, energy out principle, Bobby should have been losing weight, right? Eating two meals per day (more or less 800 cals) and exercising for an hour (avg 400 cals), on top of everything else he was doing, one would think that this should have been enough, right? Wrong. 

I often get this question - I’m not eating a lot, and I’m exercising. Why aren’t I losing weight? And more often than not, the answer is, you need to eat more. When individuals cut out calories, their body becomes stressed and responds by going into starvation mode. When one is starving, their body is hanging on to every bit of energy (food) it gets for prolonged periods of time. This also means that it adapts to function on that same amount of energy intake. This is what was happening to Bobby. His metabolism was hanging on to everything he was putting in to his body because he wasn’t getting any energy to spare. 

By eating 5 times a day (balanced meals including lean proteins, vegetables and fruit, and healthy fats), Bobby’s metabolism has learned to use the energy he is putting in immediately - and not storing it in case it doesn’t get more soon - and he has turned in to a fat burning machine! Doing three strength training workouts (always working on increasing strength), 2 interval training workouts and some very light cardio each week, Bobby has trimmed up (lost 9 lbs), put on some muscle and is very proud of what he has accomplished thus far. Now on to new goals… 

So proud of your progress Bobby -  keep it up! 

Holy cow. I’m running on adrenaline (literally). The last few weeks of running, cycling, doing yoga, and working out are really starting to get to me! Joined some friends for a longer-than-expected 40 mile mountain climb on Clifford (my bicyclette) yesterday morning and then somehow completed a 12 mile run this morning. By the end of it, my legs were full of lactic acid, I was grumpy, dehydrated, and wanted nothing but a nap. Sounds like somebody needs a little rest time..!

Since most athletes (runners especially) tend to be of “A” certain type of personality, the one thing they will have on their mind, is not to fail. In most things in life, success can be attained through practice. Of course, this is the case with running - but there is always a very fine line between training properly and overtraining. 

Some signs of overtraining include being tired, grumpy, aches and pains, compromised performance - all while still getting enough sleep and properly eating. Many athletes identify some of these signs as nothing other than a decrease in fitness and sometimes will aggravate the problem by attempting to train even harder and causing more damage.

Rest is when the body recovers and becomes stronger. The body can only become stronger during periods of complete rest as there is absolutely no breakdown of tissues happening at that time. They say the recovery time from a marathon is 26 days (1 day per mile ran) and 13 days for a half.

So those out there who have your hearts set on that next race - my advice is to rest and recover first, then re-assess. This, I believe, is one of the most important things I have ever learned through the last few years of racing. 

In January 2011, I set a few goals for myself. I set career goals, personal development goals, financial goals, health goals, and of course, running goals. Though many of these goals are still a work in progress (I still have a few months!), I can proudly say that I have now achieved all of my running goals for 2011. 

It all started on February 13th at the Vancouver First Half, Half Marathon. I had two goals for this race - to set a personal best time and qualify for the New York Marathon. In order to qualify for the New York Marathon, female runners my age must either run a marathon in under 3 hours 23 minutes or a half marathon in less than 1 hour 37 minutes. Only the latter seems possible at the time. My previous best time in a half marathon hovered around 1 hour 39 minutes, so I knew I had a good chance. I was very well trained (spent many nights at the track doing speed work) and well rested for the race. My goal was achieved when I crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour 35 minutes and 47 seconds. #check. 

Next, I wanted to conquer Boston. In the fall of 2010, I attempted to qualify for Boston at the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, and missed the cut by 43 seconds. As devastated as I was at the time, this only fuelled my fire for the next one. I knew that under the right conditions, 43 seconds was nothing to take off my marathon time. 1 second per km, totally doable. Following my NYC qualifier, I added distance and volume to my training up until May 1st. The BMO Vancouver Marathon. The morning of the race, the sun was shining and the legs felt fresh. Rocking out to my playlist and waving to everyone that came out to support me (shoutout to @lululemon cheer squad!) the entire 3 hours and 36 minutes of the 42.2 kms, I qualified for the Boston Marathon with a giant smile on my face. 

Which brings me here. In the next 14 months, I will run two of the most celebrated marathons in the world. The Boston Marathon on April 16th, 2012 and the New York Marathon on November 4th, 2012. 

I have created this blog to share with my friends, family, and fellow internet runners the ups and downs of my marathon training experiences… Among other things. Stay tuned my friends, the fun is about to begin!

Julie