Good Morning

Me: I slept in..
Jason: Umm, yeah, a little bit.
Time: 2:54pm

On a side note, Jason woke up at 6:30am this morning to meet a friend down at the waterfront for an early morning bike ride. By the time he got back to the house, around 10:30, he had cycled for almost 3 hours and gone a total 85km.

Biking Photos

It seems like I can take good photos while biking! Check this out from this past weekend's triathlon:

Me Biking - 2016 Toronto Island Try-Tri

Multisport Canada Toronto Island Triathlon

August 20, 2016

Photo by ZoomPhoto

Third Time Today

I don't know how I missed blogging about it last year, but I did the Toronto Island Triathlon for a second time and today I did it again for a third.

In 2013, Mom, Jason, Teri, K, and I went to the island for our first triathlon. The event is in August, but I didn't end up blogging about it until October.

Then in 2014, I had planned to do it. Jason and I actually signed up even though it would mean returning early from our Killbear camping trip. Then Jason hurt his ankle, and I was having such a nice time up north we decided to skip it.

Last year, a bunch of us did it again. We launched what I anticipate to be Meg's illustrious triathlon career, Teri and Jason joined me in doing it a second time, and we convinced Matty to come out at the last minute. It turns out I never posted about this, even though we had done a fun training session at the cottage, and I improved my times in almost all the areas, and there was a great picture of me biking!

Me Biking - 2015 Toronto Island Try-Tri

Multisport Canada Toronto Island Triathalon

August 22, 2015

Photo by ZoomPhoto

Go Jason Go

Jason and Meg were awesome Saturday morning doing Max's Big Climb in Dundas. Jason made it up the hill in 3 minutes and 39 seconds the first time and 3 minutes 52 on the second time (yes, they had to do it twice.) I am definitely going to try it next year.

Most of the participants were very serious racers so Jason and Meg didn't place but they did get prizes for raising the most money. I would like to thank you my friends and family for donating, including:
- Mom
- Aunty Nicky
- Rob
- Kristen
- Laura
- Teri (who pledged Meg)

We got to meet Max, and his family, at the event. His father spoke and handed out the ribbons. They made the decision a few years ago to use biking to raise money and donate it to an already well established charity fighting to defeat Duchennes - Jesse's Journey.

Please Sponsor Jason!!

Last month, Jason's family received some devastating news. One of his nephews, Isaac (see photo), has been diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Since it is so early there are still many unknowns, but what is for sure is that finding a cure for this degenerative muscle disorder is a cause worthy of support.

This coming Saturday, Jason, and his sister Meg, will be participating in Max's Big Climb to raise money towards Jesse's Journey which funds research.

For the past week Jason has been insisting that I have no concept of how hard it is going to be to bike up a 8% grade on a hill - "Don't you just shift to a lower gear, I will be fine". Jason thinks that he may not finish the climb because it is just that challenging. After watching the video of someone doing it, I agreed and won't be biking at the event this year. But I want to help Jason raise more money through his efforts to make it to the top of Sydemham Hill.

Please support Jason and help 'defeat Duchenne.' Sponsor his climb HERE.

Self-Care

I really need to practice better self-care. I keep saying it, self-care, self-care, self-care. But I haven't been following through. For me taking care of myself means ensuring the following things:
- Getting enough sleep (regularly having 9 hours a night)
- Eating well (no complex carbs like bread, pasta, or potatoes)
- Exercising three times a week (aka going to Cykl)

It is especially important to get back to spinning which I have almost stopped going to entirely. I would like to blame the fact that I have been so sick but really it has been a combination of that, working on house stuff, and just being lazy. I miss Tessa a lot, since it is the main way we get together. I also miss being able to climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath. I am going tonight!

New Month

There are lots of new things happening in June:

I have a new job title! This is the second change since I started two years ago. The marketing department here is small, so the role is evolving and getting redefined as the work I do changes. I really enjoy the changes actually. I swear position title adjustments are one of the easiest, cheapest, HR paths to employee satisfaction. I don't know why more companies don't take advantage of this. Even better than the new job title is that my work here has moved from a contract position to a full-time one.

This month, I want to start writing everyday again on Always Standing. May got away from me with busy weekends, trips to Edmonton, and mainly getting really sick. It has taken my all to keep regular hours at work so I have struggled with anything extra. I am starting to feel better but my body still seems to be fighting off several infections and trips to the doctor's office haven't been helping much. I am hoping for a healthy June with a lot more posts.

Besides getting back on track with my writing, I also want to be more diligent with my diet. I need to start going to Spinning regularly again and eat better. I am blaming my weight and health issues over the past month on being sick, but I am sick of being sick!!

Bad Habit, Good Habit

For almost over a week now I have been dealing with a cold. Between work, preparing/painting Casa Verde before moving in, and packing up Rrunuv Bayit - I am scared of burning out. I am being careful to get enough sleep every night and take cold medicine to keep myself functioning, however I feel pretty foggy from it all.

I have also gotten into a bad habit of getting a little bag of potato chips (Miss Vickie's Original) and a chocolate bar (Crunch) from the vending machine almost every weekday afternoon. I usually buy them on my way out the door to have on the bus during my evening commute. Or, if I am staying later than usual then I have it at my desk in the late afternoon. So unhealthy! But, I get so much comfort from it. Also, when I can't breath and everything tastes disgusting because of all the grossness from the cold, it is nice to actual enjoy eating something.

At least I am back to keeping up with my good habit of spinning, specifically going to the Top 40's class and staying overnight at Tessa's after. I missed last week because it was the worst day of my cold (the sore throat part was impervious to medication and hurt terribly.) It is going to be slow going having really cut back from spinning while I get ready to move but I need to keep it up and start attending more often again.

Not A Cash Bar

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

I heard a song at spinning a while ago that reminded me of my dad, Rock the Casbah by The Clash, they were actually showing the music video. It wasn't part of the collection of music videos that Dad had on tape, so seeing that was new and had I seen the video when I was younger I wouldn't have made the mistake of thinking they were saying "Rock the cash bar" - I only recently learned that wasn't the case. Dad played the song a lot - it was a good summer party tune.

Recovery Weekend

I have learnt that it is too difficult to come home from a vacation the night before returning to work (or worse the morning of, which I have also done.) So, Jason and my flight landed in Toronto at 6:00am today and I have 2 full days to recover from my trip before heading into work on Monday morning.

Here are my plans:
- Nap to catch up from 3 nights of bad sleep (bus, plane, plane)
- Laundry, so much laundry
- Load the photos from my SLR, can't wait to see them
- Review the 300 odd emails that have accumulated in my personal account
- Go to a spin class to get back into regular exercise
- Pick up Two from Teri's
- Unpack not only from the trip but also Christmas stuff
- Update Always Standing with more details/photos from Peru!

Photo: The Inca Trail winding through subtropical jungle in the Andes' highlands of Peru. Photo by ME from my phone.

Xmas List 2015

It is December so time for Christmas lists!

Joint (Jason and I)
- Gift Cards: Canadian Tire, Cykl
- King Size Cotton Sheets
- Phone chargers (Android)
- Small water-resistant point-shoot camera
- American Money, Peruvian Nuevo Sol
- DIY, Basic Home Repair/maintenance books (Used but current)
- Empty spray bottles (various sizes)
- Dish Soap (clear/without colour)

Jason
- Gift Cards: MEC, Best Buy, Chapters, Tim Hortons, Amazon
- Tassimo: McCafe Coffee
- Casual Tops/T-Shirts (Med), Jeans (33:30)
- Running T-Shirts (Med)
- Sport socks (Biking)
- Kindle case
- Hiking Boots
- Coke in glass bottles
- Sour candy
- Backpack for travel

Me
- Gift Cards: Starbucks, LCBO
- Tassimo: Tetley Chai Latte
- Sports Swimming Suits (14)
- Hiking socks (not wool)
- Running shoes (7)
- Coke Zero/Diet Coke in cans
- Epson salts
- Trivial Pursuit Bet You Know It
- Label Maker
- Cans of corn (cream, or niblets)
- "Piercing" Earrings (must click strongly to stay in)
- Interesting indoor plants
- Box in mail/Each Month subscription

Two
- Arm and Hammer cat litter deodorizer
- Cat nip
- Grow your own cat grass
- Essential oils: lemon, lavender, eucalyptus

Excited For A Fresh Start

Look what came in the mail today! Chapters was having a sale so instead of the normal $25, my yearly planner was only $20. Unfortunately, they only sell one colour (black) in the weekly-horizontal style that I use. Last year I had pink, but I think I ordered it through Amazon where there are more choices.

Steph used to get them for me, when for a couple of years you couldn't get this specific layout in Canada and had to go through the USA. She used to use the one that is smaller than this one, the "pocket-size" but I don't know if she still does. Everyone's phones are so good now and calendars sync to various devices; most people have gone digital.

I actually keep mine, and look through them, it is a really cool snapshot of time to see what I was interested in or doing each year. They store in a compact way. The last couple of years I make sure to white out (or scribble over) any thing that I don't end up doing, so these planners are accurate representation of what I do. This is especially key for spinning since I am trying to keep track of how much I spin now that Tessa and I have an unlimited package (got to see if we get our money's worth.)

I have already torn open the packaging and transferred over the details for my Peru trip, the second week of which was mapped out on a blank page in my 2015 planner since they do minimal overlap between the years. I also put in all the birthdays, in two places. Usually the first 3 pages has a list-version of the year's dates and it goes in there for easy reference, in 2016 they have a full month on each page so I used that. Then I go through and put notes in the individual days too. I already made my first white-out, I tried to draw wedding bells to go beside Rob and Andrea's wedding date but they looked horrible and I had to erase them, there are hearts now instead.

Our Chicago Commute

Chicago Skyline - Rental Bikes

Jason and I, 2015

We brought our helmets with us from Canada.

Yesterday, Saturday, was pretty tiring. We have slept in a bit this morning to recover. Yesterday was tiring because we decided to bike into the city and continue north of downtown. Chicago has an incredible bike share program (Divy) that we had read about ahead of coming here (hence we brought our helmets to use since they aren't provided.) There was a station to pick up the bikes right beside our apartment building and we rode along the Lakefront Trail. We stopped at Lincoln Park Zoo after over 20km biking, seemed even longer because the bikes were heavy and slow - definitely not the road bike that Jason is used to. We walked around the zoo and conservatory, both of which were free. When we took the train home the bus that would bring us to the apartment wasn't due for another 20 minutes. There was a Divy rack right beside the station and our day use of the bikes was still valid. We just unlocked two with our codes and rode the rest of the way back!

Where I Get It From - Fitness Edition

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

My dad was quite athletic and liked to be active. He played squash at a local racquet club multiple times a week until his hip issues required him to stop. I am less active but here is where I get some of my fitness inclinations.

Running: Mom - She started in the early 2000s when helping me train for my misguided desire to apply for RMC, then she stuck with it for a while. Running was too boring for my Dad and it hurt his joints, if he joined us on a jog he would try to run beside us in the grass because it was softer. (And also did funny 'extras' like running backwards, or arm workouts, or cheering us on.)
Biking: Both - My mom and dad did a few bike trips together, (and we did biking day trips a lot as a family). They liked rail trails because of the gradual hills. I am now using my his bike since mine was stolen this summer.
Swimming: Mom - My mom used to swim at the YMCA when she worked in downtown Brantford. She has always liked swimming and been very good at it.
Yoga: Mom - She now does it each morning when she wakes up. Though similar to the running, it may have been me that got her into it initially.
Fitness Classes: Neither - My mom goes to them more than my dad ever did but in general it is more my thing. I love spinning classes.
Competitive Sports: Dad -  My dad liked the challenge of competition. When he sailed he preferred to race. His squash playing was competitive and he was parts of multiple leagues for it. My mom plays volleyball in the winter but says that they don't really keep score.
Team Sports: Neither - I played a few years of baseball growing up and a lot of soccer. However, my parents weren't really into team sports themselves. My mom prefers solitary fitness activities and my dad was social with his squash but it is still an individual sport. Keelboat sailing is as closest thing to team sports that they ever seriously participated in. As I have gotten older I have also moved away from this type of fitness activity.

2 Months - 5 Pounds

I mentioned back in June that I was starting the Curves Diet again. I hope that combining that with spinning will help me lose weight. It is working, but an an insanely slow pace!

At the end of June I bought a fancy scale that could measure body fat and muscle mass as well as weight. I think it could also tell me my BMI but I find that BMI is a problematic measurement, since it is completely tied to weight. Muscle weighs more than fat, it is much better to have muscles and less fat, just looking at weight is missing some key results of the difficult lifestyle changes I am making. I much prefer to monitor my body fat percentage and try to lower that number, while also watching my muscle mass percentage, trying to raise that one.

So, in the two months (June 26 to August 28) that I have had the scale and been tracking (each Friday morning) my body's reaction to eating healthier and exercising more I have noted the following changes:

Lost 5 pounds
Lost 1.5% body fat
Gained 0.5% muscle mass

The time period includes my trip with Teri for two weeks along the west coast of the USA. The numbers are moving in the right direction but it is not going as quickly as I would like.

Travel Diary - Thursday July 30, 2015

Date: Thursday July 30, 2015
Theme/Title: The Boys Are In Town
Overview: Woke up early, had big omelette at Omelette Express in Santa Rosa. We got to the San Francisco airport in time, but The Boys' flight was delayed. After Jason and Greg got all their stuff (not much) added to our stuff (lots) in the trunk, we drove around Silicon Valley (Google, Facebook, Apple). We checked-in to our room at The Clift, a hotel that includes bike rentals (if the four bikes they have are available. We went for a short bike ride to Golden Gate Park, and caught a view of city at Alamo Square. The four of us had dinner at Reverb. Jason and Teri went to pick up Monica and F at the airport, I went to bed.
Woke-up: 6:30am in the Tiny House
Transportation/Distance: 240km driving. 14km biking.
Meals: Egg white and cheese omelette. Salad in Silicon Valley, then a visit to Philz Coffee. Beat Salad and some drinks at Reverb.
Highlight of the Day: Biking "The Wiggle"
Lesson Learnt: How to light a gas stove (with a BBQ lighter). Teri guided me through it at The Tiny House so we could boil water to make coffee in the french press.
Night's Accommodation: Shared double room with Teri and Greg at The Clift.

Back With Compression

I am sure that you have noticed that I have been away; besides my Stay Tuned post, I haven't written anything for Always Standing for the past two weeks. However, I am going to get back in gear and post at least everyday, hopefully more.

Let me start by explaining that nothing bad happened. Toronto is hosting the Pan Am Games and leading up to this event there was a lot of worry that rush hour commute times would increase greatly. Everyone who works in the city was asked to adjust their schedules to try to make traffic and transit better.

My office responded by moving into three weeks of compressed hours. We would close the office on Fridays, but would still need to work a minimum of 37.5 hours, on site, from Monday to Thursday. This would shift our commute times outside of the normal rush hour times.

Because I am trying to spin regularly with Tessa at Cykl, I am unable to stay late at the office most nights. Instead, this adjustment to our working times meant 6:30am starts. It has been very challenging to adjust to and not left me any time to blog. In fact it actually made me borderline ill. The exhaustion was pretty rough.

This is the last week and just as I am adjusting to the new schedule it is going to be returning to normal. It was quite nice to have the Friday off and I have enjoyed the 3-day weekends. However, the sleep deprivation and difficulties staying focused during extended work days have not really been worth it.

Dad

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down - A post about my Dad each Sunday, named after a song that he loved.

A nighthawk and a social butterfly.
Mental numbers focused on prices.
Sailing, squash, bikes, and Wi Tennis or Golf.
Mama's boy, baby brother, posthumous grandfather.
Suits, old tank tops, sandals with socks.
Loving and kind - an amazing guy.

More Forgetting

Earlier this week I described My Most Forgetful Spin and I listed all the different items that I didn't have with me. Well, the list should have been even longer and last night's spin class with Tessa reminded me of the final item I had forgotten on that frustrating day last week - My Headband.

My headband is basically a nicer version of my dad's old forehead sweatband that he wore for squash. It took me forever to find a good one for me! I knew I needed something to keep some of the sweat off my face when I spin, and out of my eyes since I wear contacts. However, I wanted it to be thinner than the thick towel-style ones.

For Christmas my mom gave me a giftcard and I went and picked out the Bang Buster Headband at lululemon. It was wider and more substantial than the ones designed to just hold back hair fly-aways, but more sleek then the most serious style that had fancier workout fabric. I bought two and they are seriously the best!

I just went online to find a picture of them, and I was also considering buying a third one online from lululemon as a treat for myself. I discovered some sad news - they have stopped making them! They now have a version for the same price that is of lower quality when it comes to style, design, fabric, etc. You can read a good comparison of the two HERE.

It took almost six months the first time, and I love the two I have, but my search for a nice spin sweatband continues as I try to find a third one to add to my workout wardrobe.

A Forgetful Spin

Last night I had to do a spin class without socks. I was worried that my feet would be gross or that I would get blisters, but it was fine. Normally I would buy a pair of little cycling ankle socks from the studio but I had my most forgetful spin ever last week and had to buy a pair then - couldn't justify doing it two weeks in a row.

The Most Forgetful Spin

(Last Monday)

It is hard for me to go and work out on a Monday evening at the best of times, let alone when I forget SO many things! But I powered through and am glad I did. Here's what I had to deal with:
No Sports Bra - Both of the ports bras that I wear to spinning were dirty and seeing that it was laundry day I wanted to leave them at home to get clean. I made the decision that it would be okay to go in my normal (padded, push-up) bra this one time. So I didn't forget this, it was a conscious choice but it ended up getting compounded with a lot of others.
No Shoes - I realized this on my way to spinning after work. Sitting on the streetcar I remembered that I had taken my running shoes out of my workout bag because they were still wet from Ride For Heart. I wanted to give them the day to dry. I then forgot to put them back in my bag when I left work. Luckily the studio has tons of special clip-in bike shoes that people borrow and all the bikes have the clippy-things on the reverse side of the peddle. I figured I would just try that out this time.
No Socks - I often forget socks, at least four other times. I know this because that is approximately how many pairs of specialty bike socks I have, which I buy from the studio every time I forget to bring a pair. When I noticed in the change room that I hadn't packed any I wasn't that bothered by the thought of picking up another $15 pair. The socks are great and I use them all the time. I also hadn't forgotten in a while so hadn't needed to buy any in a long time.
No Athletic Shirt - I technically remembered to bring a proper tank top to work out in (I think it was a Nike one.) However, I hadn't ever wore it with a normal bra and upon putting it on the see-through-ness was pretty intense. I guess it doesn't matter when my sports bras are brightly coloured little crop-tops that look like a bathing suit top, but it did matter when wearing a normal blue bra with bumpy black lace. I decided I would be more comfortable in the basic cotton tank top (cami) that I had worn to work. I haven't done that since very very early on with my spinning - they are too warm and gross when wet.
No Contacts - The little container that I had brought with me, complete in a little ziplock so that the solution doesn't get all over my workout bag, turned out to be empty. No contacts in it, no solution either, can't believe I didn't notice. That meant doing the class with my glasses on.
No Water Bottle - This is a regular issue. I often forget, though usually remember in time to text Tessa to ask her to bring me a spare one (which I bought to keep at her house just for these occasions.) Tessa responded to my request reminding me that I had taken the spare home by accident a few weeks earlier. She will nicely share her's with me during class when I am in this predicament. Tessa is an excellent workout pal and if it wasn't for her - this huge list of forgotten items would have probably caused me to walk out and skip that class that day.

My First Forgetful Spin

(Months Ago)

The list above isn't actually my most forgetful spin. I once made it all the way to spin class without my workout bag, meaning I was wearing work clothes and only had my purse with me. I was also ready to walk away from doing class that day. But my spinning studio is amazing! The instructors are so friendly and helpful. They really encouraged me not to skip the class and tried to find a way for me to join Jason and Tessa on the bikes. The Manager explained the clip-style shoes and got me fitted to use them for the first time. The owner lent me a sports bra and offered me her own pants (which would have never fit) but I decided my pants were a stretchy enough type of jean to bike it. They then found my a promo t-shirt. It really appreciated their support to help me keep with my fitness goals.