Gratitude - Week 5

My listing:

• One eared headphones
• I lost one of the inserts for my headphones so I had to do one of my 4k runs with one headphone.
• Weird as it sounds, it helped me to focus on my breathing. My breathing was quite shallow and listening to it during the race really drove it home.
• I started taking deep breaths in and deep breaths out and it feels like it's making a difference. I am not there yet, but each time I go for a run I have to remind myself to breathe properly.
• It will come in time with practice.
• Friends who bring cider
• Friends who we don't see much of these days, came over for a game night and brought us 2 large bottles of cider!
• Skittles
• Skittles, Starburst, and Snickers. These are my top 3, if I buy candy at the checkout, it's one of these.
• I had a craving and tried out the new "Orchard" flavorings. It was ok... I couldn't tell the difference between the cherry and the red apple flavors. Next time, it's regular flavored Skittles for me!
• Hanging out with this guy
• I struggle to give each corgi their alone time with me. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out in a fair manner, so that's an area for me to improve.
• On Saturday Merida went to the groomers, which meant Gimli and I got to take the long leash out to the park.
• It's a shame there wasn't a bit more snow, but he enjoyed what little was there - rolling around in it and eating it.
• 
  

Golden Mickey

On the Disney Dream, there's a stage show called The Golden Mickeys, which is the cruise line's equivalent of an award's show. We've never seen the show because we're just not interested in it.

However, outside the theater, there are Golden Mickey statues, which is where we've found the Flat Corgis this week.

Flat Corgi Friday - Wild Merida

Those wild Meridas, they will pop up when you least expect them!

Gratitude - Week 4

Here's my listing for this week:

• 4 day weekends
• This past weekend was a 4 day weekend for me. It was nice - I got my wings craving in, we saw Deadpool, (highly recommended), I napped, played with the corgis, and just rested my mind.
• the indoor track
• This past weekend was -20something C. That's not just cold, it's frigid!
• We went to the indoor track early Saturday morning and we were greeted by about a dozen other runners.
• It was nice, there was no running around people, no confusion, no people stopping in the middle of the fast lane. It's amazing how smoothly things go when everyone is on the same page.
• diet change ups
• I've recently finished reading Racing Weight 2nd edition by Matt Fitzgerald. In it, he outlines a bit of the science and nutrition behind fueling your body for exercise.
• I must admit, I don't know much about nutrition and I always thought that eating too much carbs was bad for you. However in his book he talks about finding the right balance for you, which includes carbs and protein.
• Over the past few weeks I've increased my carb intake over breakfast and lunch and slowly been increasing my protein. The result? I've lost about 2 pounds.
• How? By adding the foods that make me fuller, I've eliminated the need to snack between meals and that has resulted in a net loss.
• I'm nowhere near where I need to be, but I'm glad that I've finally found a resource that dispenses the 'why' and 'how this ingredient works' instead of 'go eat this and don't eat that'.
• I haven't started calculating my DQS yet or found my ideal racing weight, but I'm pleased with this initial set of results.
• awesome family doctors
• Who will fax over a prescription refill to the pharmacy for you.
• signed up for my first half marathon
• I'm going to be busy and sore for the majority of the year.
• Now, what will I wear :)

Throwback Thursday - snow

Remember that time last year when we had deep snowdrifts in the backyard?

Me too. This year we have a few centimeters. Snow corgi Merida is not amused.

Gratitude - Week 3

I missed last week's posting, *sad face*. But you know what? It feels different now, coming back to this post. I didn't have the stress and guilt of missing posts on the blog.

Here's my list:

• Neighbor kids who shovel our driveway.
• The week before last, we had some snowfall enough to where we needed to go out and shovel. On two occasions, our neighbors' kids were out and cleared away the snow for us. It's nice to be on the receiving end of good karma every once in a while.
• Xpen for Gimli.
• Gimli was at the vet's a couple weeks ago to investigate this "weakness" in his back leg. He was sore on the vertebrae closer to his bum, but he had full use of his back legs and full range of motion. The only way you could tell he was weak was his limp and that he'd lose control of his back feet and slide if he was running.
• The vet was at a loss, but prescribed full rest and anti-inflammatory medication for 2 weeks. If it didn't subside, we were to bring him back for x-rays.
•  Thankfully he's back to normal now. Whatever he did, he did a number on his back. He was confined to the xpen, and while he was unhappy, it definitely made a difference.
• Increased lung capacity
• This one's a little silly, but since I've started running, I've found my lungs are stronger. I've gotten better at measuring the air release in my exhale, which I think is pretty darned cool.
• Thighs
• I've always had larger thighs. I remember being a child feeling my thighs rub together under my school uniform. Their size never bothered me over the years, mainly because they came with hips and a butt and gave me some nice curves.
• The other day, I realized that it's these thighs that help me on my runs. They are less jiggly, but I'm starting to feel some actual muscle.
• It feels really good to be in this place right now. I've stopped fighting with my body and I'm finally listening to my body and giving the form it was meant to have.
• Cooking in bulk
• I made two large dishes of lasagne. We ate some for dinner and froze the rest. It's nice to have homemade food in the freezer for us to heat up after we complete our runs at the track.
• These two